Nuit Blanche

The French expression "passer une nuit blanche" means to go the night without sleeping, and each year Paris hosts an event called Nuit Blanche where museums, food carts, and more are open throughout the night to encourage both citizens and tourists to spend a "nuit blanche" encountering Paris in a new way.
This year's eleventh annual Nuit Blanche was the night of Saturday, October 5. Exhibits and museums were open for free, while DJs lined the Seine river. Fashion, art, music, and cuisine combined to create a big event. TimeOut gives a brief, English listing of events, while the program can be found in French here.

We downloaded the app, checked out itineraries, and planned our night, deciding to go to le Grand Palais to see the Felix Vallotton exhibit "Le feu sous la glace." We waited in line for the museum, entranced by the lights, music, and smoke coming from the building.

 

Imagine the last scene of Night at the Museum where there is a big party inside the museum, and that will give you a good idea of what we got to experience. We went through the exhibit viewing an immense amount of works, all the while hearing a hint of the music coming from outside. As we then stepped onto the balcony of the Grand Palais, we entered the lit up area we had seen while waiting in line.

There was a DJ, strobe lights, and bartenders giving out free drinks. Meanwhile, a slideshow of art pieces was being shown on one of the walls of the balcony. It was an extremely amusing way to view the arts before walking down the street to Pont Alexandre, where we concluded our night by watching a firework show over the Seine river.