La Nuit des Musées
I have a great deal of admiration for the way the French embrace their cultural heritage. Often times, they stubbornly cling to ideas that came to life hundreds of years ago, having been passed down from generation to generation which to those of us looking in, can seem outdated. And yet, you cannot convince them otherwise. They are held together by these beliefs, united by their art and architecture, raised on their philosophers’ discourse, take their politics to the streets as their ancestors did and the thread that holds them all together is their combined sense of “French-ness”.
Here in the United States, we are a mixed bag, our particular ancestors bringing art, music, foods, religion, stories from whatever country they emigrated from, some holding on to the “old country’s ways” while others dusting themselves off and having nothing to do with “back there”. What emerged culturally, feels less unifying than what I feel when I am in Europe. How could it not. A tiny example: I celebrate Christmas with Italian and French Canadian traditions, while my neighbor might be cooking Portuguese or English, or not celebrating Christmas at all. Cultural differences are clearly rearing their heads in France as well, however, the French do have a very long standing history that is firmly ensconced in their psyche and good or bad, creates strong ties that bind them together. They love to celebrate their history and who wouldn’t with all that splendor.
Celebrate they will. On Saturday, May 17th, museums in Paris and throughout France will be open through the late night hours, free to the public, to explore the best in both their temporary and permanent collections. La Nuit des Musées is an initiative launched by the Ministry of Culture in 2005 as a way for its citizens to take advantage of all that defines France, in addition to holding debates, conferences and competitions starting at dusk and ending at 1:00am.
While living in France, I took advantage of not only this event, but Nuit Blanche and Versailles Off! which were other late night rompings through Paris that allowed my daughters and I access to things that we would never have had the opportunity to be exposed to (particularly in the case of Versailles Off!). They can be crazy, crowded and loud but really quite memorable. I would highly recommend taking advantage of this one.
I will send you to the official website, although it is limited in what information it has to offer. Your best bet is to visit the website(s) of the particular museum you would like to take advantage of to see what, if any, events they have planned. Then map out your route on the metro to save time so you can cover more ground. Trust me: you will love it!
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