Musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac

Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac is a major non-Western arts centre on the banks of the Seine opposite Palais de Tokyo and Palais Galliera near the Eiffel Tower.

A museum where cultures come together

The idea of devoting a museum solely to the arts and civilisations of Africa, Asia, America and Oceania came in 1996 during Jacques Chirac's presidency. The project by architect Jean Nouvel was shortlisted 3 years later and Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac opened to the public in 2006. Its main purpose is to exhibit non-Western civilisation collections to give them and their often unknown arts their rightful place and create a dialogue between cultures. The museum is home to over 3500 items. The ultimate unique museum doesn't just address a theme but takes in all points of view so it's seen as an educational and open-minded site.

Unique architecture and grounds

The challenge in building the museum was to create a space that could bring the arts and civilisations of Africa, Asia, America and Oceania together yet free itself from the shackles of Western architecture. Jean Nouvel pulled off the feat with a 5-storey building featuring large multi-coloured cubes sitting on pylons. The visitor doesn't instantly see the design as the museum is surrounded by untamed grounds and a glass wall separating the grounds and museum from the street.

The wild grounds were designed by Gilles Clément and are integral to the museum. The gardener is famous for designing Parc André-Citroën. Over 150 trees and almost 1000 plant species form the leafy grounds at Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac covering over 15,000m². There's also a huge 800m² wall bursting with over 15,000 plants from different countries. Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac is a space devoted to nature and culture near Hôtel La Tamise.