Musée du Quai Branly

Overview

Sitting almost completely obscured by a dense, wild garden right next to the Eiffel Tower, the Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac is a spectacular, immersive museum dedicated entirely to the indigenous art and cultures of Africa, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas.

Highlights

• The Architecture: Designed by Jean Nouvel, the building is famously built on stilts above a wild garden, featuring curved, colorful boxes protruding seemingly at random from the facade.
• The Living Wall: Check out the massive, lush vertical garden scaling the entire exterior wall facing the Seine, designed by Patrick Blanc.
• The Collection: A mesmerizing, theater-like main gallery completely devoid of internal walls, showcasing breathtaking masks, statues, and textiles.

History

Opened in 2006, the museum was the major cultural legacy project of former President Jacques Chirac. It ambitiously unified massive, previously scattered ethnographic collections from other Paris museums into one highly contemporary, dedicated space.

Visitor Tips

• Navigation: The main exhibition hall is intentionally dark, winding, and labyrinthine to evoke a sense of continuous discovery.
• Café: The rooftop restaurant, Les Ombres, offers one of the most unobstructed, fantastic views of the Eiffel Tower in the city.
• Duration: 2–3 hours.