Parisian Institutions and Student Access

Investing in Arts and Culture

An Invested Government

France has a history of investment in the arts, and Paris has long been a center of French artistic life. The France 2030 investment plan, which aims to safeguard French industrial and technological competitive advantage over the course of the current decade, places cultural and creative production as one of ten key investment pillars. The Ministry of Culture has recently invested €1 billion in the cultural and creative industries in order to help overcome the challenges posed by globalization, digitization and ecological transition.

La Ville Musée

In Paris, 14 of the city's more than 130 museums are managed directly by the city: the permanent collections of these museums are free for all, and temporary exhibitions are accessible to students at a reduced rate. A further 18 museums, including several of the city’s most famous, such as the Louvre and Musée d’Orsay, are owned and managed by the French state. Many of these museums are free year round for those aged under 26. Yet more are free for all entrants on the first Sunday of every month, or offer reduced student rates to permanent and temporary exhibitions. The annual Nuit Blanche festival, held every year in June, sees museums and cultural attractions stay open all night and special artistic performance trails all across Paris. 

The Stage and Silver Screen

Paris also has thriving music, theater and film scenes, and you’ll always be able to find something happening, no matter your budget or cultural tastes. Paris has 140 theaters and countless live music venues showing performances all year round. It hosts a number of prominent music festivals, including Rock en Seine and the Paris Jazz Festival. The Fete de la Musique celebration, held each year on the summer solstice, is a country-wide musical celebration that sees one-off musical performances in bars, cafés and restaurants as well as out in the street. The city has nearly 400 screens showing both contemporary and classic movies and operating across around 75 cinema venues, more than half of which are independently owned. The UGC Unlimited cinema card provides unlimited access to 59 of these venues for a fixed monthly fee; it is cheaper to purchase for under 26s. The Paris International Film Festival takes place every year in February.