The Musée d’Orsay very close to our hotels is celebrating its thirtieth anniversary with free entry and interesting events including modern dance, a costumed ball in the nave and a banquet by the museum’s chef!

Here’s all the info.

Time goes by… so quickly! Our neighbour the Musée d’Orsay has been open for thirty years now, and as French newspaper le Figaro reminds us, things could have been very different – the grand former railways station was almost pulled down in the 1960s, with an 800-room hotel poised to take its place.

Luckily, the building was saved and the museum is now one of the most popular monuments in Paris, with over 3.5 million visitors per year and a fantastic collection of art.

To celebrate all that, a host of events is planned:

– Carte blanche for José Montalvo

Choreographer José Montalvo, his dancers, musicians and nude models (!) take over the nave and the exhibition rooms, reinterpreting in a playful and poetic way the representation of the body in 19th century art.

– Loans from around the world

Orsay’s museum partnars from around the world have lent over thirty pieces from their collections. Seek them ou in the exhibition rooms.

– France Culture at the museum

The French radio station will be recording from the museum all day Saturday.

– Non-stop projections

A selection of films and documentaries about the museum and its collection are being shown in the auditorium.

Week-end gratuit et festif pour les 30 ans du musée d’Orsay : du 2 décembre à partir de 19h, jusqu’au 4 décembre à 18h. Plus d’informations sur notre site et notre page Facebook. ———- For its 30th anniversary, the Musée d’Orsay is waiting for you from december 2, 7pm, to december 4, 6 pm. More informations on our Website and Facebook page. #museedorsay #museeorsay #orsay30ans

A photo posted by Musée d’Orsay (@museeorsay) on Nov 30, 2016 at 6:42am PST

– 30 years, 30 stories

Every hour from 11.30am-4.30pm, staff of the museum tell stories and anecdotes about the museum.

– Second Empire banquet

As part of the Spectacular Second Empire, the chef of the museum’s (beautiful) restaurant had concocted a banquet with gourmet dishes from the era.

– Dancing in the nave

Saturday and Sunday afternoon, there’s a ball in the museum’s nave with José Montalvo’s dancers (again) and the group Carnet de Bals (unfortunately, the other costumed ball is booked up already).

– Backstage coffee

The restaurant’s petit salon hosts special talks, but you’ll have to buy a drink or cake to attend – menu here (PDF).

And Deezer has compiled a 30-track playlist called “30 years, 30 musical masterpieces” that you can listen to below, but what Mobb Deep and Led Zeppelin have to do with the museum is a mystery…

Orsay en fête is at the Musée d’Orsay (here) 2nd-4th December 2016

Free entrance until Sunday 4th December 6pm

Website: www.musee-orsay.fr

Facebook: facebook.com/museedorsay

Twitter: twitter.com/MuseeOrsay

Instagram: instagram.com/museeorsay