All over France and Europe, the attendance of the European Night of Museums, Saturday, May 18, 2019, confirms the event as an attractive, necessary and unifying event, which the Ministry of Culture, initiator and coordinator of the event is delighted with.

Franck Riester, Minister of Culture, welcomed the success of the European Night of Museums, which “reflects the public’s enthusiasm for the richness of the collections and the diversity of the museums' cultural offerings.”

Once again this year, more than 3,000 museums in France and Europe have opened their doors free of charge to an audience as enthusiastic and eager for discoveries.

During an exceptional evening, more than two million people in metropolitan and ultramarine France, whether they are young or old, amateurs or curious, have been able to enjoy an exceptional offer of visits and programming. From 18:00 until late at night, they were able to enjoy the more than 3,000 animations offered to them, promoting an approach that was as playful as it was enriching. Musical, theatrical, cinematographic, literary, performative, interactive or playful activities… , were added to a multitude of programs of permanent or temporary exhibitions that embraced all the arts to allow all audiences, whatever their tastes and desires, to invest in museums, to appropriate them and to express themselves there.

In Europe, some 30 countries have responded to the call of the Ministry of Culture to celebrate this 15th edition of the European Night of Museums. The public was there too, from Spain to Finland, from Portugal to Russia. For example, the Museo del Greco in Toledo, which was experimenting this year for the first time outside France with the Class, the Work! which attracted nearly 400 visitors.

A night of mediation by young audiences

For the seventh consecutive year, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Culture have teamed up to propose the Class, Work! to bring school audiences closer to museums. Throughout the year, students from kindergarten to high school, participating institutions study the work of a local museum. They then present the fruit of their work on the evening of the European Night of Museums, thus becoming, in turn, smugglers of culture. This year, more than 360 museums participated in The Class, the Work! In total, 500 projects were studied in 571 schools and presented by 805 classes involving 16,100 students.

A night of activation of social networks

With favourites, original trailers, great deals, tips and photos, contest games, the European Night of Museums has again this year reiterated its invitation to share on social networks. The visitors were actors of the event by offering a formidable resonance with their respective communities.

The Twitter account @NuitdesMusées recorded more than 12,792 tweets during the night from Saturday to Sunday. Visitors consulted the programs on nuitdesmusees.fr and echoed them on social networks (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram) with the hashtag # NuitdesMusées.

In Paris and Île-de-France

• Louvre Museum: 16,324 visitors
• Orsay and Orangerie Museums Public Institution: 11,943
• Orsay Museum: 8,264 visitors
• Orangerie National Museum: 3,679 visitors
• Exhibitions at the Grand Palais: 4,776 visitors
• Le Petit Palais: 5,446 visitors
• National Museum of Asian Arts, Guimet: 1,111 visitors
• Eugène Delacroix National Museum: 300 visitors
• Picasso Museum Paris: 3,529 visitors
• 11 quai Conti - Musée de la Monnaie de Paris: 1,485 visitors
• National Museum of Natural History (Museum of Man and Grand Evolution Gallery): 8,608 visitors
• Philharmonie 2 Music Museum: 1,642 visitors
• National Museum of Arts and Crafts: 4,552 visitors
• The Museum of Modern Art of the City of Paris: 3621 visitors
• Jean-Jacques Henner Museum: 426 visitors
• Hunting and Nature Museum: 2,998 visitors
• Centre Pompidou: 7,888 visitors
• Quai Branly Museum – Jacques Chirac: 10,960 visitors
• Fontainebleau Castle: 1,659 visitors
• The National Renaissance Museum in Écouen: 564 visitors
• MAC VAL: 780 visitors
• Champs-sur-Marne Castle: 4,000 visitors
• The Palais de Compiègne: 2,115 visitors
• Versailles National Estate: 4,780 visitors
• Rodin Museum, Meudon: 1,280 visitors
• Arab World Institute: 1,191 visitors
• Musée de l’Armée – Hôtel national des Invalides: 8,090 visitors
• UNESCO Museum: 2,300 visitors

In regions: attendance figures by museum

• The Confluence Museum in Lyon: 6,951 visitors
• Lyon Museum of Fine Arts: 3,500 visitors
• MAC Lyon (Museum of Contemporary Art): 1,357 visitors
• MUCEM (Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilizations): 3,657 visitors
• Louvre-Lens Museum: 7,794 visitors
• Rouen Museum of Fine Arts: 2,009 visitors
• History of the Vendée: 5,212 visitors
• MuMa Le Havre: 1,887 visitors
• Magnin Dijon National Museum: 507 visitors
• MAMC+ (Musée d’art moderne et contemporain de Saint-Etienne Métropole): 1,900 visitors
• Le Touquet-Paris Plage Museum: 717 visitors
• Le domaine national du Château d’Angers: 2,034 visitors
• Pau Castle National Museum: 855 visitors
• Brest Baux-Arts Museum: 1,844 visitors
• CLDC in Bordeaux: 4,661 visitors
• The Augustins Museum in Toulouse: 7,274 visitors
• The Saint-Raymond Museum in Toulouse: 3,760 visitors
• Toulouse Lautrec Museum in Albi: 1,048 visitors
• La Piscine in Roubaix: 3,769 visitors
• Le musée Fabre Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole: 5,053 visitors
• Toulouse Natural History Museum: 7,554 visitors
• Museum of Impressionism in Giverny: 537 visitors
• Centre Pompidou-Metz: 1,723 visitors
• Reims Museum of Fine Arts: 1,179 visitors
• 20th Century Alpine Maritime National Museums: 1,457 visitors
• The Petit Palais Museum in Avignon: 575 visitors
• Musée Réattu in Arles: 1,307 visitors
• Unterlinden Museum in Colmar: 1,716 visitors
• Valenciennes Museum of Fine Arts: 1,328 visitors
• Museum of Corsica in Corte: 407 visitors
• Shoe Museum in Romans: 655 visitors
• Matisse Museum in Nice: 254 visitors
• Villèle Historical Museum: 838 visitors
• Tours Museum of Fine Arts: 1,350 visitors
• Valencia Museum of Art and Archaeology: 1,449 visitors
• Palais des Beaux-arts de Lille: 5,115 visitors
• Printing Shop Museum: 1,429 visitors
• Casa Pairal Museum in Perpignan: 675 visitors
• Toy Museum in Colmar: 1,546 visitors
• The Grenoble Museum: 1,561 visitors
• Bordeaux National Customs Museum: 2,780 visitors
• Georges Labit Museum in Toulouse: 1,273 visitors
• Musée des beaux-arts de Calais: 904 visitors
• MAMAC (Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Nice: 2,800 visitors
• Dieppe Museum: 522 visitors
• The National Naval Museum in Toulon: 911 visitors
• Tours Natural History Museum: 1,012 visitors
• The Renoir Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer: 882 visitors
• Les Champs Libres – Musée de Bretagne: 3,218 visitors
• Butterfly Museum in Saint Quentin: 1,240 visitors
• Saint Germain Abbey Museum in Auxerre: 1,139 visitors
• Dunkerque Port Museum: 1,670 visitors
• The Château des Ducs de Bretagne in Nantes: 2,269 visitors
• Nantes Museum of Arts: 1,900 visitors

Attendance figures by city

• Paris Museums: 11,000 visitors
• Mulhouse Mystery Night: 27,574 visitors
• Museums in Strasbourg: 15,086 visitors
• Troyes Museums: 3,424 visitors
• Musée de la Réunion des musées métropolitains Rouen-Normandie: 4,500 visitors
• Le Mans Museums: 3,822 visitors
• Orléans Museums: 1,775 visitors

Some examples in Europe

• In Spain, in Barcelona (82 locations) the Nit dels Museus gathered 170,000 visitors; in Valladolid, the Valladolid Museum: 2,007 visitors
• Italy, Regional University Library, Sicily: 3,720 visitors
• Belgrade Historical Museum in Serbia: 1,032 visitors
• In Finland, the Pori Museum: 1,035 visitors
• In Romania, the Artistic Center Baia Mare; 1,368 visitors
• Peloponnesian Folklore Foundation in Nafplio, Greece: 2,500 visitors
• Tournai Museums in Belgium: 5,890 visitors
• Vinnytsia Regional Art Museum in Ukraine: 910 visitors
• In Bulgaria, the National Museum Earth and Man (Sofia): 4,035 visitors
• In Slovakia, the SNU Museum (Banská Bystrica): 715 visitors and the Gemer-Malohont Museum (Rimavska Sobota)
• Albasete Municipal Museum in Spain: 620 visitors
• In Madeira, the Quinta das Cruzes Museum: 1,059
• Kaunas City Museum in Lithuania: 7,560 visitors

European Museum Night in figures

Number of participating museums in France
700 in 2005
1,300 in 2019

Number of participating museums in other European countries
450 in 2005
2,000 in 2019

Number of participating countries
29 in 2005
30 in 2019

The European Night of Museums is organized by the Ministry of Culture. It is sponsored by the Council of Europe, UNESCO and ICOM (International Council of Museums). It is supported by the French Federation of Societies of Friends of Museums, RATP, Paris Musées, as well as France Télévisions, Radio France, France Médias Monde, TV5 Monde, Museum TV, Toute l'Histoire, Le Figaro, Technikart, Konbini, Parents-Kids, Detours in France and PhenixDigital.