SHARE
COPY LINK

CULTURE

These are the museums you can visit in France as lockdown lifts

Often overlooked by tourists flocking to the Louvre, the Centre Pompidou and other superstar museums, France's more intimate galleries and cultural sites are preparing to open their doors as the coronavirus lockdown is progressively lifted.

These are the museums you can visit in France as lockdown lifts
Photo: Manoir de Kerazan/Facebook

Unlike their huge rivals that attract throngs of visitors every day and are expected to remain shuttered for weeks if not months, smaller museums can more easily implement the new normal of virus-curbing social distancing measures.

“Little museums,” as Culture Minister Franck Riester called them this month, will be allowed to open from this week if directors secure approval from municipal authorities.

They will have to prove that visitor flows can be managed, perhaps with staggered entrances or limited ticket sales.

A handful have already sought permission to reopen, hoping to attract locals starving for a culture fix after two months of strict stay-at-home orders — residents are still required to stay within 100 kilometres of home to minimise COVID-19 contagion risks.

They include the Manoir de Kerazan in Brittany, one of the best-preserved feudal estates of western France, and the Musee de l'Image in Epinal in eastern France, which celebrates traditionalist prints popular since the 18th century.

The following map shows the small museums in France which have opened so far and some that will open shortly.

The Ingres-Bourdelle collection of classic paintings in Montauban, southern France, will allow access on weekends starting May 16th, and the museum in Rodez for Pierre Soulages – one of France's most celebrated living artists – will open May 21st.

Welcoming the public will also be easier at open-air sites such as the Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire in central France, which plans to hold its International Garden Festival this month.

But no decision has yet been made on reopening the hugely popular home and gardens of Claude Monet in Giverny, northwest of Paris.

National monuments and museums like the Eiffel Tower or Musee d'Orsay remain closed until further notice, and the government has extended its health state of emergency until July as it tries to combat the crisis.

But over a dozen smaller museums in Paris overseen by the city are aiming to open entirely or at least for some exhibits by mid-June, said Delphine Levy, the head of Paris-Musees.

“We're focusing on the museums where shows were already under way or almost ready,” Levy told AFP, adding that officials had taken advantage of the lockdown since mid-March to carry out minor repairs and renovations.

She estimated the 14 museums and sites her agency runs in Paris, including the Catacombs, the Carnavalet history museum and the home of the revered writer Balzac, had suffered €12 million of lost ticket sales and other revenue during the closures.

The privately run Giacometti Institute, which recreates the Swiss sculptor's Montparnasse studio, is opening Thursday, though only 10 people will be allowed in every 10 minutes, and the bathrooms will remain off-limits.

It has drawn up a “visitor's charter” on its website explaining the necessary safety precautions, including a minimum of 1.5 metres of social distancing.

Other lesser-known Paris museums, such as the Marmottan or the Jacquemart Andre, which had obtained loaned works from the Tate in London for a vast Turner retrospective before the crisis hit, are aiming to open on June 2nd.

Each museum will need to have regional authorities sign off on new security measures, which could include barriers at ticket windows, or restaurant and cafe closures.

As in other public buildings, directors may also have to trace obligatory itineraries on the floor, and have procedures for ensuring that people keep their distance from one another.

Among the major sites outside the capital, the Louvre's satellite museum in Lens, northern France, is hoping to reopen gradually from June 3rd.

And the Centre-Pompidou in Metz, near the eastern border with Germany where the outbreak hit especially hard, could reopen by June 13th.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

LIVING IN FRANCE

5 tips to have the best possible night at France’s Fête de la musique

It can be the most fun day of the year - when France goes music crazy and bands suddenly appear on every street corner - but there are some tips to make your Fête de la musique experience as good as it can possibly be.

5 tips to have the best possible night at France's Fête de la musique

First, a caveat – this is an entirely personal manifesto based on the things that I have enjoyed over my Fête de la Musique outings over the years. It’s not intended as any kind of hard-and-fast rule and plenty of people will have different experiences.

Feel free to disagree and/or share your festival tips in the comments section below!

1 Ignore the big-name artists

There are always a few big-name artists or concerts in major venues on the Fête de la musique (which happens every year on June 21st).

Ignore them. Sure, stadiums gigs can be great and huge venues can have a wonderful atmosphere – but you can do that any night of the year. It’s not what Fête de la musique is about.

The true spirit of the Fête is the smaller acts who play on street corners, in bars and community venues. They’re free, you can wander between them and stay as long as you like – and there is always something else around the corner.

2 Ignore the big towns

You might think that the big cities have the best music, but if you have the choice, go for a small town or a suburb.

I’ve enjoyed some good Fêtes in Paris, but the best experiences had have been smaller towns or the Paris’ suburbs (Montreuil is good – a commune that carefully cultivates a small-town / village vibe, albeit a very diverse small town where everyone is a hippy, a leftist, or both).

It’s partly a practicality thing – in big cities the acts are spread out and you have to make plans to see something and meet up with friends. In small towns, you just wander along to the main square, then when you’ve seen the acts there, you can saunter up the side streets, each of which will have dozens of bands playing, pausing only to grab a beer and snacks.

But it’s also the vibe; in big cities you can hear good live music all the time and the population is consequently complacent – small towns truly appreciate the Fête de la musique and properly go wild.

Once, in Paris, I was watching a blues band play in the street when a woman tipped water on their heads from her apartment window because she was tired and wanted to go to sleep. Small towns appreciate it when bands play for them.

3 Experiment

There’s a lot of variety on the night, so take advantage – this is your opportunity to hear all kinds of live music from rock to swing, jazz to classical, choirs to DJs.

Didn’t think that a five-piece oud band is your thing? Fête de la musique may change your mind. It’s the night of the year when anything goes, musically, so it’s also the night to try something new.

If you hate it – well it’s free and there’s another band down the street that might be more your thing. But you might discover a lifetime passion for oud music – in fact, by this time next year you might be playing in the oud band. Thanks to the Fête de la musique.

4 Don’t insist on quality

You’ll hear some great bands, but you’ll also hear some that are more about enthusiasm – and that’s all part of the fun.

You’re going to be hearing everything from classic rock to reggae to blues to the above-mentioned five-piece oud band, and as well as the styles the quality may be variable to.

For me, the true spirit of Fête de la musique is the 50-year-old accountant rocking out on his guitar and enjoying the one night of the year when he can dream that if only he hadn’t given up on his high school band, he could now be rich, famous and selling out stadiums, as opposed to filing tax declarations in an office above the florist.

5 Dress comfortably

Some people like to dress up for the Fête and that’s great – it’s a party after all – but the key thing is to wear something that is comfortable and allows you to shake your stuff.

Yes, you will be dancing – you’ll be dancing on street corners, in parks, cafés and perhaps on street furniture if things really get going, and you’ll be dancing with kids, dapper 70-year-old gents and everyone in between.

You need comfortable shoes and clothes that you can really move in.

Dance like no-one is watching. They may be watching, but they won’t be judging. Much. It’s Fête de la musique.

SHOW COMMENTS