What are the Journées du patrimoine?

The Journées du patrimoine (literally 'Heritage Days') are an annual event where museums, monuments, castles, churches, and even government buildings across France open their doors for free or offer special tours and activities.

The Journées du patrimoine take place over a weekend - usually the third weekend of September - and is part of the larger European Heritage Days, a pan-European initiative supported by the Council of Europe and the European Commission.

This year (2025), they will take place on 20 and 21 September.

The idea originated in France in 1984, when then-Minister of Culture Jack Lang - the man responsible for La Fête de la Musique - created the Journée portes ouvertes dans les monuments historiques (Open Doors Day for Historic Monuments). Just as La Fête de la Musique was designed to make music more accessible for everyone across the country, the idea behind Journées du patrimoine was to allow everyone to share in France's rich heritage more easily. According to Lang:

'J’avais voulu organiser ces Journées du patrimoine sur une idée simple : autoriser à tous les citoyens l’accès aux monuments qui sont les leurs, à ce bien commun. Les impôts par lesquels on restaure les monuments viennent des citoyens. Il fallait rendre aux Français ce qui leur appartient.'

('I wanted to organize these Heritage Days on a simple idea: to allow all citizens access to the monuments that are theirs, to this common good. The taxes by which monuments are restored come from citizens. It was necessary to give back to the French what belongs to them.')

The idea was such a success that - much like La Fête de la Musique - it was quickly adopted by other European countries. In 1991, European Heritage Days were inaugurated, and are now celebrated in nearly 50 countries, from Ireland to Azerbaijan.

While not all heritage sites are free to enter on Journées du patrimoine, many are, including chateaux, public gardens, museums, galleries and other attractions. Some of the sites offering free entry include:

• Château de Condé (Condé-en-Brie, Aisne) - Built in the 17th century, the rooms of this private estate in Aisne are full of decorations by some of France’s most esteemed artists
• Sainte‑Chapelle (Paris) - this gothic church, known around the world for its brilliant stained glass windows, is free to enter, although bear in mind that you can’t book in advance and may be waiting in the queue for quite some time
• Élysée palace (Paris) - the home of the French president, this 300-year old building in Paris is usually closed to the public, but opens its doors during Journées du patrimoine
• Hôtel de Matignon (Paris) - the official residence of France’s prime minister is also open to the public during Journées du patrimoine
  
  

You can find an exhaustive list of places participating in Journées du Patrimoine on this website.