White Night 2019: a night race in Paris museums, pictures

For Nuit Blanche 2019, the Mairie de Paris imagined two unusual "races" in partnership with Adidas, this Saturday, October 5, 2019. In the company of over 10,000 people, we set off across the capital to discover Paris's most beautiful museums, landmarks and monuments.

It was a novel Nuit Blanche 2019 that we experienced this Saturday, October 5. In addition to the traditional art installations to be seen in the streets, the Mairie de Paris came up with an unusual race, the Grande Traversée, in which we took part.

In addition to being a nocturnal event, this race combined sport and discovery, taking us to the heart of normally closed monuments, in the evening from 10pm. Imagine crossing the Palais de la découverte, the Invalides or the Musée Cernuschi in a privileged situation.

The race featured 2 routes.

The routes of the Grande Traversée 2019 :

Route 1: Concorde - Les Invalides - Tour Eiffel - Musée de l'Homme - Cité de l'architecture - Théâtre Chaillot - CESE - Musée Guimet - Théâtre des Champs-Elysées - Palais de la Découverte - Grand Palais - Concorde.

Route 2: Concorde - Musée des Arts Décoratifs - Musée du Louvre - Centre Pompidou - Musée Picasso - Hôtel de Ville - Théâtre du Châtelet - Institut de France - Ecole des Beaux-Arts de Paris - Concorde.

We were able to rediscover Paris in an incredible atmosphere, with privileged access. This experience at the crossroads of culture and sport reminds us of the Run My City race, which takes runners right into the heart of the monuments. But at night, it takes on an even more special character. So yes, the race route was difficult, and many runners got lost and had to find their way back. But it was almost comical.

That said, it didn't detract from a fantastic experience that left us wanting to come back and see certain places and museums in more detail. Among the highlights of our 10 km run, we loved:
Passing under the Eiffel Tower