Thursday, September 2, 2010

Musée du Quai Branly, Les Ombres




The Quai Branly museum is located at 37, quai Branly - portail Debilly, 75007 Paris. It is a beautiful building covered with live vegetation, not too far from the Eiffel Tower. It features indigenous art notably from Africa, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas. Tickets are EUR8.50 for adults and free for those below 18 years of age, and free also for those who are unemployed (isn't France great??)

In general, I do not like museums. I just don't! That does not mean that I'm not cultured, however. I just do not appreciate endless halls of art and the throngs of people pondering over a painting of dead fruits. This museum however, my husband and I visited during the month of August, vacation month. All the Parisians flee the city, and you get tourists here and there, but in Paris you ALWAYS get the tourists here and there and everywhere. Anyways, in August, the city is empty. That's why we took the opportunity to checkout Quai Branly.

The museum is not too big, which is a HUGE advantage point for me. In total we spent about 3 hours in the permanent and current exhibitions. The lighting in the museum was very somber, and that made me sleepy. However, at the first sight of an African mask from the 17th century I paid attention once again. In the end, everything kinda looked the same to me. I was not mesmerized, and I was disappointed that there were no exhibits from the Malayan continent.

So, you should go if you told yourself that you MUST visit a museum in Paris, but you can't stand the endless halls of the Louvre. You should NOT go if you're expecting pretty and colorful artwork. You should be somewhat careful if you're with young children, for there are many depictions of the male genitals in 3D. And some sculptures in compromising positions. But obviously some parents don't care, there were tons of kids when we went..

On top of the museum (my favorite part) is the restaurant Les Ombres. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! It is somewhat pricey for a restaurant that does not have any Michelin stars. Expect to pay about EUR100 per person without any alcohol. But the menu consists of specialties from Brittany (where my husband can trace back his roots) and it is delish! Call at least a month in advance for tables on Fridays and Saturdays, and at least 2 weeks in advanced for other days. Do not forget to request for a table that faces the Eiffel Tower. Though cliché, the view is breathtaking...

Metro: Iéna
Photos by Me

2 comments:

  1. hey great blog alia! looking forward to visiting France. Especially Normandy! Rich in WW2 history. I love it!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks Afik! Yeah Normandy isn't far, can drive there it takes like about 2 hours je from Paris..

    ReplyDelete