Heritage Days (Journées du Patrimoine): The “inside houses” of Paris

Who among you is not familiar with “Houses from the Inside”? These are a few days a year when private homes, or historic buildings housing government offices, open their doors to the general public, allowing a peek inside. “Houses from the Inside” is not an Israeli invention. This event was invented by the French in 1984, and has since been adopted by all member states of the European Union.

In my opinion, “Heritage Days” (or in French Journées du Patrimoine) are an amazing time to be in France and especially in Paris. During them you can enter palaces, which on normal days, you can only try to imagine the treasures that lie behind their doors. The purpose of this article is to help you plan your Your next visit to Paris, so you can maximize your enjoyment of all that French Heritage Days can provide for you.

When are Heritage Days held in Paris?

The date changes slightly each year, but Heritage Days almost always take place on the third weekend of September. So, if you're planning Fly to Paris In the fall, I highly recommend you take these days into account and be in Paris during this period.

This year (2022) Heritage Days will be held on the following dates: September 19-20, 2026.

Popular monuments during “Heritage Days”

Much to my surprise, as you will see in the following list:

• Palais des Invalides
• הConcierge and the church ofSainte Chapelle
• Senate Palace (Luxembourg Palace)
• the pantheon
• Hotel de Ville (Super-municipality of Paris)
• Elysee Palace (residence of the President) France)
• The Tapestry Museum in the 13th arrondissement.
• Bourbon Palace (National Assembly)
• Chateau de Vincennes
• Arc de Triomphe

Many of the most popular monuments during Heritage Days are actually those that can be visited the rest of the year. Is this because admission is free during Heritage Days? I don't know, but if you take my advice, I highly recommend that you visit all of these monuments at another time, and save for Heritage Days the places that cannot be visited during other days.

Recommendations for monuments worth visiting during Heritage Days

If you enterLink this You will find hundreds(!) of palaces and monuments to visit. Of course, you won't have time to visit them all, and that's without even mentioning the never-ending lines (if you thought you were the only smart people reading this guide, you're wrong 🙂 ).

In other words, it is recommended to do detailed planning work in order to choose the monuments that best suit you. Take two important criteria into account:

• Your interests
• The length of the queue you will be waiting for (as a rule of thumb, the more famous the place, the longer the queues will be)

To try to help you choose the monuments you will visit, I have created two lists of places I have visited in the past or plan to visit in the future. You are welcome to get inspired by them and who knows, we may even meet again in one of the upcoming Heritage Days.

Famous monuments open on Heritage Days

These are the “celebrities” of Heritage Days in Paris, so the lines will be long (there are quite a few Francophile heritage battle stories circulating about people who stood in line for half a day at the Elysee Palace just to see where the president eats his macaron). If you decide to visit these places, bring comfortable shoes, a bottle of water, and lots and lots of patience.

Elysee Palace

Address: 55 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré

There is no doubt that this is the most famous monument that can be visited during Heritage Days, and I admit guiltily, I have never had the opportunity to visit it again, due to my unwillingness to stand in the huge line that awaits anyone who wants to come, but in recent years I have begun to change my mind and it is very possible that I will visit there in the coming years.

Why, you ask?

• The fascinating history – Just think what fascinating stories the walls that have seen the Madame de Pompadour, Napoleon I And the third and a long line of presidents (One of them Died at the Elysee Palace under somewhat embarrassing circumstances.
• architecture And interior design – this is a spectacular palace and I would be very happy to take a peek inside and bring you some photos of the rooms and the impressive garden.

Senate Building (Palais du Luxembourg)

Address: 15 Rue de Vaugirard

I got to tour this palace, but only virtually, as you can see in the video.

Of course, I have no intention of being satisfied with the virtual tour, and on one of my upcoming trips to Paris I intend to tour it. The reason for this is the fascinating history of the palace, which was built in 1625 at the request of Marie de Medici, the widow of King Henry IV. From that year to the present day, the palace has seen the neo-feudalism of the daughter of Regent Philip II of Orléans, and has been transformed into a prison during her time. French Revolution And finally, during the reign of Napoleon I, to the Senate House.

Like the Elysee Palace, this palace is also considered very popular, so you should have a lot of patience (and comfortable shoes).

Bank of France

Address: 31 rue Croix des petits champs

While the Bank of Israel is housed in a rather ugly building in Jerusalem, France decided to place its national bank, created by Napoleon in 1800, in a palace that belonged to the Duke of Toulouse, the illegitimate son of Louis XIV.

It is one of the most beautiful palaces in Paris and its Gallery of Mirrors can certainly beat its famous sister in Versailles. In addition, over the years, the bank has acquired many hundreds of works of art, some of which you can view during your visit.

In short, the path to solving the question “where is the money” has never been more interesting and beautiful.

Palais Royal

Address: 8 Rue de Montpensier

https://youtu.be/PFJf7MM51jM

Who among us hasn't visited the Palais Royal gardens and strolled among the elegant shops located within the colonnaded avenue, which was built by the Duke of Orléans (you can read about them and the palace in the article Palais Royal – What really happened between the palace walls and the pastoral garden?The problem is that the palace itself, which currently serves as the home of the French Ministry of Culture, cannot be entered during renovations.

Luckily, we have Heritage Days so we can walk within the walls of the palace, which Cardinal Richelieu built for himself and which became a den of burglars when the Orléans family lived in it. There is quite a bit to see, but the lines at the entrance are correspondingly long.

The Sorbonne

Address: Place de la Sorbonne

I will end this part of the article at the Sorbonne University. For years I tried to get in here, to see the church where Richelieu is buried, but the guards at the entrance demanded a French student ID and without it they wouldn’t let me in. I know there are people who have managed to “sneak” inside, but if you want to discover all the beauty hidden within this impressive building, without all the unpleasantness associated with illegal entry, Heritage Days is an excellent opportunity.

If you would like to learn more about the history of the Sorbonne, you are welcome to read the article. Le Sorbonne – When the University Becomes a Place of Ignorance and Extremism.

Less famous but intriguing monuments (at least to me)

To avoid standing in line for hours, I recommend you go to the smaller, less famous places. The fact that they don't have the public relations system that the Elysee Palace has doesn't make them any less interesting, sometimes quite the opposite.

Here are some places I chose for you:

Hôtel de Beauvais

Address: 68 Rue François Miron

https://youtu.be/SxKiLKVVbYg

There are quite a few magnificent palaces in Paris, but very few of them can compete with the Hôtel de Beauvais in terms of the story of their construction (if you don't know the wonderful story of this palace, you are welcome to read the article Hôtel de Beauvais – So what do you get in France for raping a minor?).

Today, the palace serves as a courthouse and even its courtyard is not open to the public. Therefore, Heritage Days are the only days you can visit this palace and it is highly recommended not to miss the opportunity.

Mazarin's library in the French Academy building

Address: 23 Quai de Conti

The Collège de France building, which houses the Mazarin Library, is one of the most famous and beautiful buildings in Paris (if you don't know it, I recommend you read the article The Story of Von des Aers and the Collège de France or the Right to First Look at Paris).

During normal times it is not so easy to get in there, so Heritage Days are an excellent opportunity to do so. You can see the impressive library, with its many ancient books, and of course the church where Mazaran is buried, whose dome adorns the Paris skyline.

Hôtel de Brienne

Address: 14 rue Saint-Dominique

We will end this article with the Hôtel de Briand, located in the heart of the aristocratic 7th arrondissement. Somewhat ironically, the palace that houses the French Ministry of Defense is actually associated with 3 women. The first is Madame du Pré (Jeanne Agnès Berthelot de Pléneuf, marquise de Prie 1698-1727), who built this palace. Today, her name is not so familiar to the general public, but for a few short years, she managed, as the mistress of the Prime Minister, the Duke of Bourbon, to control the entire royal court (thanks to her, the young Louis XV married Marie Leszczynska rather than a French princess, Voltaire was briefly accepted into the royal court, and more). Ultimately, Madame du Pré was unable to maintain her political power and was exiled in 15 to the town of Courbépine, where she committed suicide from boredom about a year later.

The next woman to leave her mark on the palace was the Princesse de Conti (Louise Élisabeth de Bourbon 1693-1775), sister of Madame du Pré's lover. After years of marriage to an abusive husband, she moved here and later, briefly, returned when she was chosen by King Louis XV to present the Madame de Pompadour At the king's court (in return, the king covered her debts).

After the death of the Princess de Conti, the palace passed through several hands, until it came into the hands of Maria-Letizia Buonaparte (1750-1836), mother of Napoleon I, Emperor of France. She, in turn, sold the palace to the state and since 1 it has housed the French Ministry of Defense.

There is no doubt that the glorious history and splendor that can be found inside are definitely worth the time spent visiting there.