Nuit des Musées en Seine-Saint-Denis

The Nuit des Musées en Seine-Saint-Denis: an invitation to rediscover the 93

Each year, on the third Saturday of May, Seine-Saint-Denis participates in the European Night of Museums, a national cultural event coordinated by the Ministry of Culture. For an entire night, numerous museums and cultural institutions in the department welcome the public for free until midnight for unprecedented artistic experiences that only happen once a year. In 2025, the 20th edition of the Nuit des Musées was an occasion for anniversaries and particularly rich programming.

Participating Museums

Nearly ten cultural institutions in Seine-Saint-Denis participate in the Nuit des Musées each year. Among the main ones:

Musée d'Art et d'Histoire Paul Éluard (Saint-Denis): Named in honor of the surrealist poet from Saint-Denis, this municipal museum houses collections ranging from local archaeology to decorative arts of the 20th century. For the 20th Nuit des Musées in 2025, the museum offered guided tours of its temporary exhibition “Les tissus simultanés de Sonia Delaunay. Une vision moderne,” with slots at 4 PM, 6 PM, and 8 PM. The Night was also an opportunity for artistic performances related to the permanent collections.

Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace (Le Bourget): Located on the historic site of the Le Bourget airfield, this national museum houses an exceptional collection of civil and military aircraft. For the 2025 Nuit des Musées, the museum offered a special evening of concerts in tribute to Maurice Ravel, combining music and aeronautical heritage in a spectacular setting. An original way to combine two forms of art and heritage for a memorable experience.

Musée de Drancy: The town of Drancy hosts a museum dedicated to the internment camp of World War II. During the Nuit des Musées, the museum offers particularly striking night tours, accompanied by a percussion concert by students from the Drancy Conservatory, followed by collection tours and quizzes. An experience that combines memory and contemporary creation.

Thematic and Surprising Nights

Each institution is free to build its own program for the Nuit des Musées, leading to very different experiences from one museum to another. In 2025, the department hosted dance performances in museum halls, jazz concerts in inner courtyards, night workshops for families, light projections on historic facades, and sound trails through the permanent collections. This diversity of offerings is one of the riches of the Nuit des Musées en Seine-Saint-Denis.

Cultural Accessibility at the Heart of the Event

The free admission and late-night hours of the Nuit des Musées are particularly appreciated in Seine-Saint-Denis, a department where economic and practical barriers to museum attendance are real for a part of the population. This event is part of a proactive cultural policy of the Departmental Council, which aims to make cultural facilities places of life accessible to all residents.