Museum Night 2026 in Paris: a special after-hours at the Cité de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine

The City of Architecture and Heritage is also taking part in the Night of Museums this Saturday, May 23, 2026. Accordingly, special activities await you during this exceptional late-night event. Here’s the programme!

The Nuit des Musées 2026 is the perfect chance to explore a multitude of the capital’s monuments and museums through a rich program of after-dark visits, often free and accompanied by special events that delight both young and old. Paris and the Île-de-France region are joining in, with a broad panorama of cultural deals awaiting Parisians, both first-time visitors and lifelong locals. The upcoming and 22nd edition of this flagship rendezvous awaits us on Saturday, May 23, 2026.

Cité de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine in Paris, opening hours, tickets and exhibitions
The Cité de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine, located in the Palais Chaillot on Place du Trocadéro, is an exceptional, monumental 22,000 m2 museum housing numerous models, city plans and immense scupltures. Here, you can take an in-depth look at some of the world's most beautiful buildings, and immerse yourself in the world of technology, architecture and urban planning. [Read more]

From the Place du Trocadéro, the sublime view of the Eiffel Tower is not the only heritage masterpiece to be admired. At the heart of the Palais de Chaillot is the Cité de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine. This is a showcase for French know-how, its history, evolution and influence around the world. It features temporary exhibitions with fascinating angles, and an impressive collection of models, plans of fortified towns, pieces of forgotten buildings and stained-glass windows. The monument itself is a remnant of the Museum of Comparative Sculpture, which opened in 1882.

In celebration of the 22nd edition of the Night of Museums, the City of Architecture and Heritage in Paris invites you to discover its treasures to the pace of a special late-night program, enriched with brand-new animations. See what’s in store below!

The lineup for the 2026 Night of Museums at the Cité de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine in Paris:

Super Shack! Mini Maousse 10 contest (Hall About, professionals’ entrance)
Super Shack! Mini Maousse 10 Contest: art, architecture, and design students were invited to envision a cabin built from recycled materials. The exhibition showcases the winning projects from the competition.

From 7:00 PM to 10:45 PM, Hall About, professionals' entrance

Free

All audiences
Entry requirements: Free of charge
Hours: Saturday, May 23, 2026 — 11:00 AM to 10:00 PM
“Murder in the City” Season 1 (murder party)
Another murder at the museum! The investigators need your help to crack the case: inspect the crime scene, question the suspects, and make your accusations!
Participation conditions: Flat rate: €23. Online purchase, limited spots. Suitable for ages 13 and up. Please arrive 30 minutes early to form teams on site (teams of six). Paid | Booking required
Hours: Saturday, May 23, 2026 — 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Video mapping in Nohant-Vic — Gallery of Murals
A new digital experience (video mapping) to decode the frescoes of Nohant-Vic’s Romanesque church!

The City is expanding its permanent route with new digital mediation tools. The first installation is now in place, and you can check it out this weekend, during the European Museum Night.

Free, ongoing activity
Participation requirements: Free of charge
Schedule: Saturday, May 23, 2026 — 7:00 PM to 10:45 PM
Super Cabanes! (Jean-Louis Cohen Library of Contemporary Architecture)
The 28 winners of the national project for artistic and cultural education, “Super Cabanes!”, are now open to visitor voting. conceived by classes from kindergarten through high school, from academies across France—from mainland to overseas—these projects were selected from 279 applications received in March.

Come explore these Super Cabanes and vote for your favorite project.

From 7:00 PM to 10:45 PM, Jean-Louis Cohen Contemporary Architecture Library

Free

All audiences
Participation requirements: Free
Schedule: Saturday, May 23, 2026 — 7:00 PM to 10:45 PM
Soto: a kinetic journey
For the first time, the City of Architecture and Heritage is presenting one of the monumental works by Jesús Rafael Soto (1923-2005): Soto. La Traversée.

At the crossroads of art and architecture, this piece, one of the artist’s most emblematic works, delivers a remarkable sensory and immersive experience.

A must-see!

From 7:00 p.m. to 10:45 p.m.
Participation conditions: Free | No reservation required
Schedule: Saturday, May 23, 2026 — 7:00 PM to 10:45 PM
Exhibition “Heritage in Resistance — From Timbuktu to Odessa”
From Timbuktu to Odessa, from Bamiyan to Gaza, armed conflicts make cultural heritage a prime target. In the face of these destructions, the exhibition "Heritage in Resistance" questions acts of erasure, but also the forms of resistance and repair that allow us to imagine the future from the ruins.

Throughout the evening, female speakers will guide you on this crucial topic for humanity's heritage.
Participation conditions: Exhibition recommended for visitors aged 12 and up – Free | No reservation required
Schedules: Saturday, May 23, 2026 — 7:00 PM to 10:45 PM
The museum's psychoanalysis
Ready for an astonishing experience? Then come explore this psychoanalytic tour led by Laurent Petit, an urban psychoanalyst renowned worldwide!

Breaking with the usual tour-guide script, he offers an offbeat historical plunge with a touch of burlesque. In this performance where fact and fiction mingle, you'll discover the museum like you've never imagined!

A co-production by the Cité de l'architecture et du patrimoine and L'ANPU.fr
Conditions de participation : Fee: €13 / online purchase / limited seats available - Paid | Reservation required
Schedule: Saturday, May 23, 2026 — 7:00–8:30 PM, 9:00–10:30 PM
Quick tour: discovering the contemporary architecture gallery
Mediators are on hand in the museum to guide you through the artworks, offering brief introductions for visitors of all ages.

On the program: “Soto: The Penetrable, or The Crossing,” Le Corbusier’s Unit of Habitation, and other surprises…

Hourly from 7:30 PM to 10:00 PM
Participation terms: Free | No reservation required
Schedule: Saturday, May 23, 2026 — 7:30 PM to 10:00 PM
Dance in the Revolution!
As part of the artistic and cultural education program “La Classe, l’œuvre”: performances in three tableaux, staged by the student dancers and musicians of Lycée La Fontaine.

These performances will spotlight modernity through three landmark women of dance: Loïe Fuller, Isadora Duncan and Mary Wigman.

Elisabeth Schwartz, a dancer, inspector and historian of dance who oversees this project, will dance alongside them.
Participation requirements: Free | No reservation required
Timings: Saturday, May 23, 2026 — 8:00 PM ⤏ 8:15 PM, 9:00 PM ⤏ 9:15 PM
Torchlight Tours: Gallery of Mural Paintings
During the visit, the Gallery of Paintings will be plunged into darkness. Equipped with flashlights and led by a guide, you’ll explore the gallery and its hidden corners. The flashlights offer a playful way to highlight these gems of medieval mural art.
Participation terms: Limited to 20 participants - Free | Reservation required
Schedule: Saturday, May 23, 2026, 8:45 PM–9:45 PM