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Institut du Monde Arabe Review
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Institut du Monde Arabe
- Address: 1 rue des Fosses-St-Bernard, Quartier Latin, Paris | Map It
- Phone: 01-40-51-38-38
- www.imarabe.org
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IMA; Institute of the Arab World
- Category: Libraries
- Location: Quartier Latin
Fodor's Review:
Jean Nouvel is a master of glass construction; here he tempers transparency with a beautiful facade of variable, irislike apertures that control the light entering the building, evoking Moorish-style screen. The IMA's layout reinterprets the traditional enclosed Arab courtyard. Inside, items largely on loan from Syria and Tunisia help present Arab culture from prehistory to the present day, with an emphasis on painting and medicine, but the temporary exhibitions tend to be a bigger draw than the permanent collection. The museum also includes performance spaces, a sound-and-image center, a vast library, and a permanent collection of Arab-Islamic art, textiles, and ceramics. Information in English is limited, but temporary exhibitions usually have English audioguides. Glass elevators whisk you to the ninth floor, where you can sip mint tea in the rooftop café, Le Ziryab, and appreciate Nouvel's subtle bridging of the massive Jussieu University complex with the medieval wonder of Notre-Dame.
- Cost: Exhibitions EUR 9, museum EUR 3
- Open: Tues.-Sun. 10-6
- Metro: Cardinal Lemoine
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