Paris Museums Open Their Doors
May 14th offers a perfect opportunity to see some of Paris’ finest museums under the late spring moon. Part of a series of European free museum nights, Paris museums willl be open to the public for one night only. Around 200 participating museums, galleries and monuments will have free entry and stay open until 1am.
Some of the most internationally renowned museums like the Musee de Louvre, Musee d’Orsay and the Pompidou Centre will see thousands through their gates. For visitors looking for things to do in Paris, there will be few opportunities like this to take an evening or midnight stroll through Paris and enjoy some of its great art.
And to avoid the rush of the Louvre crowds, why not head to the left bank of the Seine and check out the Orsay? Housed in the former beaux-arts railway station of Gare d’Orsay, it holds the key impressionist and post-impressionist French painters of the 19th and early 20th century. A wonderful Paris attraction for art connoseiurs, here you will find Monet, Manet, Renoir, Cezanne and Gauguin under one roof.
For history and military buffs, the French Air and Space Museum, opened in 1919, offers a trip through France’s exceptional aviation history. With material back into the 16th century and over 150 aircraft located in the museum’s hangars, also displays protoype spacecraft rockets.
A trip to the fashionable quarter of La Vilette will take you to the wonderful Cite de la Musique. Opened in 1995 and designed by architect Christian de Portzamparc, it consits of an amphitheatre and concert hall that can accomodate upto a thousand people. The centrepiece for music fans must be the museum’s outstanding and rare collection of instruments collected by the Conservatoire de Paris. In addition to over 200 classical guitars, visitors will find instruments dating back to the 17th century including rarities such as the octobass and crystal flute.
And finally, to complete a wonderful free night of culture why not pay a visit to the Sevres Ceramincs museum? The most famous and illustrious of ceramics makers in France are considered to be the finest ceramics makers in the world, and the museum contains over 10,000 works in the permanent collection.
So if you are going to visit Paris this May, make sure you dont miss out on a fantastic opportunity to see some of the world’s finest paintings, sculpture, architecture and music!
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