What to Do and See for Nuit Blanche
Nuit Blanche is an annual event organized and run by the city of Paris to celebrate art and culture in the city. This year, it falls on Saturday, Sep. 30, and marks the 20th anniversary of the festival. Being run by the city itself, attendees can expect events to be up to par.
The point of the night is that museums and other art-related venues stay open until midnight or later, and all have free entry. Most also have new exhibit that will only be available for Nuit Blanche, making the unique night and something that you won't want to miss. In normal years, the RATP has partnered with the city to offer all night metro service, but this year metros will only be open until 2 a.m. The best way to get around on a night like this, though, is by walking.
For someone who has never gone to Nuit Blanche, the quantity of events around Paris can be intimidating and might diminish any excitement that would surface at the idea of the night because one simply does not know where to start. So to make things easier for you, here are the top five things that you should do Saturday night to participate in the fun!
1. Art Parade at Place de la Concorde
Image credit: Unsplash/Beth Macdonald
This event takes place at around 7 p.m., making it one of the earlier events of the night. It is a giant parade around Concorde with floats, music, and carnival food.
2. Interactive Art Installation at Place de l'Hôtel de Ville
Image credit: Wikimedia Commons/Benh Lieu Song
Starting at around 9 p.m. you can go to Hôtel de Ville in the first arrondissement to participate in an interactive Art Installation by Alain Fleischer. After receiving a cape, you will enter Hôtel de Ville to see a white ball and art films being projected over the people dancing. You can join in on the dancing or simply watch the magic unfold.
3. Fireworks at Place de la Bastille
Image credit: Unsplash/Yiran Yang
After the parade, make sure to head over to Bastille to enjoy an hour of fireworks that begin at 11 p.m. This is not something that you can see often in Paris, so seeing this will make the night extremely special.
4. Dance at La Gaîté Lyrique
Image credit: Unsplash/Modesta žemgulytė
Starting at 9 p.m. but running until 1 a.m., you can go to a three-hundred and sixty degree audiovisual DJ concert featuring some of the best DJs from San Francisco. If you are into techno music and immersive concerts, this is definitely the event for you.
5. Bistrot de Jardin
Image credit: Wikimedia Commons/Janine and Jim Eden
Last but definitely not least, in order to make sure you aren't starving after a long night of events you can visit this bistro in the first arrondissement that is open until around 2 a.m. The burger with frites comes highly recommended and would be perfect for rejuvenation.
For more information you can visit Paris' official website or at the city of Paris' official Twitter page, which have guides for the night and a complete list of all the events that are taking place.
#NuitBlanche | Plus de 200 événements artistiques seront proposés au public ce 1er octobre à Paris et dans la métropole du @GrandParisMGP.@Anne_Hidalgo @carine_rolland
Toute la programmation : https://t.co/RrQxGV7LJX pic.twitter.com/uwysFkEG0Y— Paris (@Paris) September 29, 2022
