Museums open for free on 'European Night'[fr][de] 

The fifth edition of the event, which began in France at the initiative of the French Culture Ministry and was rolled out across Europe under the patronage of the Council of Europe and UNESCO in 2005, will see the public visit over 2,200 museums in 39 countries. 

The aim of the night is to "shed new light on [Europe's] historical heritage" by offering "unexpected, surprising and deeply moving" ways of visiting museums, according to the French Culture Ministry. 

Some of the special events that museums are putting on to attract the public are unique, like at the Rodin Museum in Paris, which will see visitors tour its corridors by torchlight, or at the Museum of Rural Life in Reading (UK), where visitors will be offered a bed for the night. 

Other museums are organising joint events in collaboration with foreign institutions on a trans-European theme, to be broadcast on the Web. 

French Culture Minister Christine Albanel said the night would offer citizens an "exceptional encounter with culture" and provide an opportunity for people to "rediscover the world". 

Indeed, an "online sharing space" was set up last June "to support and promote collaboration between museums" and to provide a forum for best-practice exchange, as well as to allow visitors "to share their emotions". 

Last year's European Night saw all of Moscow's museums stay open free of charge throughout the night, with visitors able to use public transport for free too. 

"Free entry is a fundamental principle of the European Museums Night," said French Museums Director Marie-Christine Labourdette, allowing people to "take that first and sometime intimidating step into the museum world". 

Meanwhile, an International Museums Day held two days later (18 May) will address issues surrounding museums and tourism, addressing the need for sustainable cultural tourism in particular. 

The two events have taken place side-by-side for the last three years.