12 hours of nocturnal modern art across the city!…


The Nuit Blanche is another one of Paris’ great inventions, together with Paris Plage (when the expressway along the Seine is turned into a beach party!) and Vélib, the great (and cheap) bike rental system.

Basically, La Nuit Blanche – this year during the night of 6th October – runs from 7pm to 7am, with different installations or ‘happenings’ in five zones across the city. Some of it’s so-so, some of it’s pretty damn good, and some of it is absolutely brilliant. Whatever you think about modern art, you should get a solid night’s sleep the day before and try and see as much as possible.

This year’s edition – curated by Jérôme Delormas and Jean-Marie Songy – has been built around métro line 14, an all-automatic line with no drivers in the train. It’ll be running all night, and all the events are to be found less than ten minutes walk from one of the stations. With a train every five minutes (and from 2am they’re free), this will probably be the quickest way of getting from site to site for many people.

There are also the usual nightbuses (but more of them) and the Batobus which will ferry people up and down the Seine (8pm – 3.30am. 6 euros).

The night is dedicated to Ingrid Betancourt, kidnapped in 2002 and still held hostage in Columbia.

Unfortunately, there’s not much information in English, but if you have some grasp of French, have a look at the main site here, or download the programme here.

Some highlights of the Nuit Blanche 2007

To symbolise the fact that other European cities (including Bucarest, Bruxelles, Madrid, Riga et Rome) have now also created their own Nuit Blanche, a “lounge” area will be created in each city, designed by a Eurpoean artist. In Paris, it will be situated in the north of the city – on land beginning to the French railway company – at Cardinet, with an installation by Radi Designers called Train de Nuit. The press release says that “the train will be there, but as an abstract perception”. Hmm. Not quite sure what that means, but it sounds intriguing… A special bus (not train!) will be running every 15 minutes from Saint Lazare (95, rue de Rome) in order to make access to the site easier.

If we had to pick out one event amongst the hundreds on offer, we think that the Nuit Ardente by the Company Carabosse in the Tuileries gardens (8.30pm – 3.30am) sounds impressive: 2,000 little fires being lit at the same time! Should be good…

The Mairie de Paris will even lend you a free bike! Just go to the Maison Roue Libre Les Halles (at the corner of the passage Mondétour and rue Rambuteau, 1st arrondissement) or the Maison Roue Libre Bastille (37, boulevard Bourdon, 4th arrondissement) with your passport/identity card and either a cheque or your credit card, and they will let you use a bike free all night! Just make sure you get it back to the same place before 7am…

To know which events are accessible to those with reduced mobility (and there seem to be quite a few), check out the official guide. A printed edition of the programme is also available in each mairie, at public libraries, the tourist office…

This is one of the most interesting artistic events in the Paris calendar, so plan it well and have a great night!

Photo credits: www.paris.fr / www.m6info.fr