The Quai Branly Museum

Inspiration

ParisCultural HeritageCities

OTCP/David Lefranc
© OTCP/David Lefranc

Reading time: 0 minPublished on 9 March 2024, updated on 15 April 2024

A quelques mètres des quais de Seine, le musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac est un havre de paix dédié aux arts non-occidentaux. Son ambition ? Promouvoir le dialogue entre les cultures et reconnaître la place des civilisations non-occidentales dans l’histoire de l’art. Grace à une collection d’œuvres de référence et des expositions temporaires, les visiteurs découvrent le patrimoine des peuples d'Afrique, des Amériques, d'Asie et d'Océanie. Un musée pas comme les autres.

Explore new cultures through art

Paris’s Quai Branly –Jacques Chirac Museum has been honouring indigenous art and non-western civilisations since its opening in 2006. The aim of the museum is to encourage inter-cultural dialogue and underline the importance of non-western art and heritage.

What’s to see?

Quai Branly houses exhibitions that show defining artworks from African, American, Asian and Oceanic cultures.It has three sections:

• Musical instruments collection;

•Textile collections - including more than 25,000 pieces (267,417 to be exact);

• Historical collections (linked to global exploration and the history of French colonialism).

The Museum itself

Designed by Jean Nouvel, the building's architecture leaves its visitors speechless. Enjoy a contemporary environment, which champions a green-feel with luxuriant natural elements (including living plants) mixed with modern construction elements, forming a sharp contrast with the bustle of Parisian life. Looking for a green space in the city centre? A real haven located just by the Eiffel Tower, the museum has a long footbridge - built partly of wood - which winds through 36,000 m2 of wild gardens.

A 200 m long (and 12m high) glass wall marks the entrance to the museum from the Seine. Along this glass facade, the botanist Patrick Blanc created 800m² of living wall covered with plants that are sure to delight any botanical enthusiasts. There is a surprising array of greenery from China, Japan, the United States and Central Europe.

Beyond the glass wall, enter the 2 hectare garden where valleys and trails meander underneath hanging "boxes" that host a variety of exhibitions.

Inside the museum there are large reserves open to researchers, a multimedia library, classrooms, conference rooms and a theatre which opens onto the "green amphitheatre" in the summer.

Address

Musée du quai Branly

37 Quai Branly 75007 Paris

 Figure féminine tatouée, datée de la fin du XVIIIe siècle ou du début du XIXe siècle exposée au musée du Quai Branly à Paris.
© Marianne Franke - Figure féminine tatouée, datée de la fin du XVIIIe siècle ou du début du XIXe siècle exposée au musée du Quai Branly à Paris.

Recommandations et conseils : Pour accéder à la plupart des musées et monuments parisiens, inutile de vous encombrer de votre véhicule. Grâce aux multiples transports en commun disponibles dans la capitale, vous accéderez à ces lieux culturels plus vite tout en prenant soin de l'environnement.

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