Parisian Culture and Beyond
Paris is usually pretty high up on most people’s places-to-see list. Its art galleries and museums offer some of the world’s best culture, set in one of the world’s greatest cities. With so much on offer, it can be hard to know where to start, as well as being financially intimidating. But if you’re working to a tight budget, don’t be put off – there is plenty in the way of culture to soak up, without the need to break the bank.
One of the newer additions to the already impressive array of museums and exhibitions in Paris is the Musée de Quai Branley, featuring a staggering collection of primitive art and artefacts from African, Asian, Australasian and Native American civilisations. Everything is clearly presented in an innovative, accessible and incredibly aesthetic manner, providing a truly insightful anthropological study into the mixtures between cultures and how they have evolved. It gives new perspectives on old, non-westernised cultures and shows how modern technology is now provoking new kinds of cultural integration as every culture becomes available for discovery at the click of a button. All this is to be found at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, the world famous symbol for all things Parisian.
The museum is a great starting point for a cultural trip around the city. Set on the left bank of the Seine in a suitably eccentric building, adorned with greenery, it’s neither an homage to French classicism, nor a parody of tribal architecture, but a triumph of modernity. Designer Jean Nouvel has done away with the conformity of Baron Hausmann’s classic town plan, whilst cheekily setting the museum amongst those very boulevards.
Of course, the culture is the people. And there’s no better way to experience the inhabitants of Paris than taking a drive through those famous streets, and engaging in the cat and mouse warfare that rages under the Arc de Triomphe, where the city’s character and characters collide, ofte literally. Lastminute.com proved holiday car hire to help you see Paris in style.
Even if you’re not working to a budget, Hostelbookers.com can help you find hostels, the ideal way to meet new people from far-flung places. Perfect strangers from all over the world make friends, share stories, give advice, go out, make food together and provide one of the simplest and most effective demonstrations of how cultures can mix together. In fact, youth hostels are one of the most positive developments in modern tourism promoting integration between people of all cultures.
In a Parisian hostel, you will soak up many world cultures, not just the French that you came for. There are a dozen cultures to be discovered under one roof – rather like the Musee de Quai Branley itself. To make your trip even more budget friendly, companies such as Travelzoo offer regular cheap flights to Paris.