NIGHT OF THE MUSEUMS. The 18th edition of the European Night of Museums is launched this Saturday, May 14 until midnight. Museums in Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux and across France are opening their doors. Consult the map and our selection of the program.
[Mis à jour le 14 mai 2022 à 16h40] This 18th edition of the Night of Museums is an opportunity to discover the riches of the collections at unusual times and this for free. For this somewhat special night, more than 1,000 museums exceptionally open their doors until midnight and offer original entertainment to the public. An opportunity to have another approach to the heritage and monuments of your city at night, more playful, and also to visit Castles and Monuments under a night sky.
There are many Parisian museums taking part in the event, such as the Museum of the Order of the Liberation, the Museum of Arts and Craftsthe Army Museum, the Orsay Museum, but there will also be plenty to do in the cities of Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux, Toulouse or Nice. In Île-de-France, nearly 400 free events in nearly 140 museums, Maisons des Illustres, exhibition venues and foreign cultural centers in Paris await the public.
What is the program for Museum Night 2022?
The Ministry of Culture and Communication provides the interactive map below to find the European Night of Museums event that suits you. Thanks to geolocation, you can discover the events taking place around you or carry out your search by city in France. Discover without further delay the details of the nearby program as well as our selections of museums by major French city thanks to the summary opposite.
This year again, as part of the “La classe, l’oeuvre!” students will present their creations around a work or an object kept in the collections of the museums participating in the operation. Conducted in partnership with the Ministry of National Education, Youth and Sports, this system allows students to become, for one night, cultural mediators and to share the artistic and cultural work carried out throughout the year with their teachers.
The capital puts its finest museums in the spotlight during the event. Here is a selection of the museums participating in the program of the 18th Night of Museums:
- the Museum of the Order of Liberation proposes to follow actors embodying great figures of the Second World War from 7 p.m. to midnight.
- the Cluny museum National on the Middle Ages invites the musician Frédéric Nogray to perform a 3-hour musical performance in the heart of the cold room of the ancient baths of Lutèce called “frigidarium”, through a stroll to the soft sounds of crystal singing bowls.
- the Louvre Museum opens its doors from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. and offers participatory choreography in the Richelieu wing. Five 20-minute sessions are scheduled, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., to attend this performance entitled “Bal boom” with two hip-hop dancers from the National Choreographic Center of Créteil.
- The Paris Philharmonic offers “a sound journey around the world and through time” with its exhibition of nearly 1,000 musical instruments to be visited freely from 7 p.m. to midnight. Instruments will be played in an unusual way like the didgeridoo revisited in electro mode or unusual like the hardingfele, the nyckelharpa, the Ondes Martenot and the OMNI.
- The Trade exchange participates for the first time in the Night of Museums and offers free access to its exhibitions between 7 p.m. and midnight, the opportunity to discover the architecture of the monument and the exhibitions Charles Ray, Roni Horn and Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Dominique Gonzalez- Foerster as well as the selection of artists’ films Protest Sounds.
In Île-de-France, you should not miss a visit to Boulogne-Billancourt, the departmental museum Albert Kahnwho has imagined since its reopening a new permanent exhibition of 1,000 m², offering a dive into the world of Albert Kahn, mixing images and natural heritage. DGuided tours will be offered on this occasion on 14 May. But the public will also be able to discover the temporary exhibition “Around the world, crossing images from Albert Kahn to Curiosity”.
Here is a selection of the museums that will participate in the Night of Museums program in Lyon:
- the Confluence Museum invites you to participate in a magical night with magic tricks, mentalism shows and fantastic holograms, and to discover its temporary exhibition on the magic of the world and its architecture from 7 p.m. to midnight. All the program.
- the Lyon contemporary art museum opens its doors from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. to allow you to take full advantage of its 5 exhibitions. Program.
- the Lyon Fine Arts Museum invites you to browse its permanent collections in partnership with the La Martinière-Diderot School of Applied Arts and students of the Design Espace Higher Diploma in Applied Arts, from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Here is a selection of the museums that will participate in the Night of Museums program in Marseille:
- the historical observatory museum organizes an evening observation of the Moon at the telescope from 9 p.m. to midnight and a visit to the historical instruments of the observatory. Mandatory reservation.
- the Marseilles Fine Arts Museum invites you to discover its exhibition dedicated to Théodule Ribot as well as a concert by the female vocal ensemble Mise Babilha.
- The municipal museums Chateau BorelyGrobet-Labadié, History of Marseilles and the Préau des Accoules also open their doors for free from 7 p.m. until midnight (except 10 p.m. for the Préau des Accoules) this Saturday, May 14.
Here is a selection of the museums that will participate in the Night of Museums program in Bordeaux:
- The Submarine base of Pools of Light opens its doors from 8:15 p.m. to midnight (last entry at 11 p.m.) to discover the immersive exhibition “Monet, Renoir… Chagall. Voyages in the Mediterranean” which has already been shown at the Atelier des Lumières in Paris.
- At CAPCfree admission from 6 p.m. to midnight to attend performances, meetings, slams, flash or chewable visits, pajama workshops and play areas open non-stop!
- At science and nature museum of Bordeauxmarvel at the multitude of colors present in nature and meet the mediators and their colorful anecdotes.
Here is a selection of the museums that will participate in the Night of Museums program in Toulouse:
- the museum invites you to discover a course imagined with Albin Warette entitled “It’s all natural” from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. In the program ? Artistic performances, illumination of the wall of skeletons, night visits to the botanical garden. All the program.
- the Georges Labit Museum give you an appointment for a night of the samurai with unusual entertainment: martial arts demonstrations throughout the evening, storytelling tours, film screenings…
- The Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Toulouse Slaughterhouses gives carte blanche to PRIDE Toulouse as part of the 2022 diversity festival, from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m.
At “Nissa la bella” as part of the Night of Museums, MAMAC, Matisse, Anatole Jakovsky International Museum of Naïve Art, Massena Museum, Lascaris Palace, Terra Amata Prehistory Museum, Archeology Museum of Nice / Cimiez, Jules Chéret Fine Arts Museum, Charles Nègre Photography Museum and the Natural History Museum open their doors from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Know everything.
In Valenciennes in the Hauts-de-Francethe Museum of Fine Arts currently undergoing renovations until 2025, exceptionally reopens its doors for this evening of May 14 with the exhibition ULTRAVIOLET imagined for the occasion. Major works are illuminated by the glow of ultraviolet rays! An original approach punctuated by workshops and guided tours for all audiences.
In Grenoble in Rhone-Alpesthe museum of the former bishopric will immerse you in the footsteps of a ghost, escaping the guards and spreading terror.
The European Night of Museums was created in 2005 by the Ministry of Culture and Communication and it will celebrate its 18th edition this year on Saturday 14 May.
The Night of Museums is a completely free event that has taken place every year for 17 years.