Musee du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac (Jacques Chirac Museum of Branly Quay), Paris

The Jacques Chirac Museum of Branly Quay is the newest major museum in Paris, opened in 2006. Designed by the renowned French architect Jean Nouvel, it is considered an architectural attraction in its own right. The museum is dedicated to the indigenous arts and cultures of Africa, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas, and as such showcases a staggering collection of over one million items, including ethnographic objects, photographs, and documents. Of these, 3,500 items are displayed at any given time through both permanent and temporary thematic exhibits.

Situated near the Eiffel Tower and the Alma Bridge, the museum serves as both a vibrant showcase of non-European cultures and a center for scholarly research. Realized during Jacques Chirac's presidency, it reflects a longstanding tradition of French presidents endorsing significant cultural projects.

The building itself, designed to foster an inclusive viewing experience, stretches 210 meters and covers an area of 4,750 square meters. It features a vast roof terrace and a main gallery that leads visitors through a winding, darkened ramp ideal for viewing displays. The museum complex also includes classrooms, an auditorium, and a multimedia library, among other facilities.

Upon entering the main building, visitors are greeted by an enormous Moai ancestor carving from Easter Island. The African collection includes masks, tapestries, and textiles. The Asian collection features the back of a seat of honor from Sumatra, figurines and masks from India, and textiles from China.

The Americas collection showcases Mayan artifacts from 600 AD, Aztec sculptures, and Canadian totem poles. Meanwhile, the Oceania collection comprises figurines from Papua New Guinea, masks from Vanuatu, and Māori sculptures from New Zealand.

The museum's library complements its rich collection, offering vast resources including a significant archive of photographs, documents, and numerous books accessible through its dual-structured reading rooms.

Externally, the museum's gardens are an innovative departure from traditional French formal gardens, featuring a blend of native and Paris-acclimated plants spread across 17,500 square meters of streams, hills, and groves, protected from street noise by a high wall of plate glass. The exterior wall is covered by a green carpet of living plants that spans over 800 square meters.