In the context of the ‘International Museum Day’, which will be commemorated on 18 May, 37,000 museums from all over the world decided to open their doors for free this weekend, including more than 40 in Luxembourg.
Most of them saw many visitors make use of the offer, which consisted of guided tours, workshops, concerts, and activities for children. Furthermore, museums exhibited both permanent and temporary collections.
Laura Zaccaria, coordinator at the International Council of Museums, provided further insight: “We are already celebrating our 25th edition this year. Looking back, we can see our success in the growing number of visitors that we get each year. During the first edition, there were about 2,500 people visiting museums in Luxembourg City.”
By now, the number of visitors has reached more than 20,000 and museums from all over the Grand Duchy participate. This allows people to learn about a variety of subjects, such as Luxembourgish art history, cultural heritage, and natural sciences.
Patrick Michaely, new director of the National Museum of Natural History in the capital, also commented on the event: “In normal times, we usually see spikes in visitors when there is a new exhibition. However, this weekend showed that people are also interested in our permanent exhibitions.”
Special workshops were organised to provide people with an overview of the exhibition material: “We wanted to give people a glimpse behind the curtains. For instance, we had a palaeontologist who demonstrated how they interact with fossils on a daily basis, how old they are, and how their age can be determined.”
Even though Luxembourg’s museums prevailed over the pandemic, they still noticed the lack of tourists. Large groups are not coming as regularly as before, but international tourists are nevertheless finding their ways back to Luxembourg’s museums.
Zaccaria explained: “The Museum Days always take place in May, which means that there are already tourists in the country. When they walk by a museum and see that entry is free, it certainly incentivises them to give it a go.”
The Luxembourg Museum Days always take place on the third May weekend.
