Journées du Patrimoine is Sept 20 & 21

It's that time again: The 42nd annual Journées du Patrimoine (Heritage Days) takes place next weekend, September 20 and 21, in cities and villages all over France. The program was launched by the French Ministry of Culture in 1984 and has since spread all over Europe; this year 50 countries are expected to take part. 

Officially it's called European Heritage Days or JEP (for Journées Européennes du Patrimoine) but everyone just calls it Patrimoine.

Roughly 20,000 sites or so across France are expected to participate in 2025. This is one the biggest events in the country and one of my favorite weekends of the year.

The idea is that a wide range of monuments, religious sites, estates, gardens, museums, workshops, galleries, ateliers, factories and more are open for special visits, including many that are normally closed to the public. Most sites are offering free entry and will have a guide on hand; some host special tours and events. Some of these events may require you to sign up in advance, for others you just show up. 

Throughout the weekend, some activities happen at specific times, on one day of the weekend on both. You can expect tours to be in French but a translator is sometimes provided or the guide may speak some English. Often someone in the group will offer to translate.

Some cities and villages will have events on Friday Sept 19 as well. For example, there's a special nighttime double-decker bus tour in Marseille from 7 to 9 pm on Friday night, with an exceptional opening of the Notre Dame de la Garde Basilica. 

Every year, Patrimoine has a loose theme. This year it's ''Architectural Heritage,'' highlighting the richness and diversity of architecture across France.

Ok, allons-y! What to see and do?

The main Journées du Patrimoine website is here and the department-by-department listings are here. But keep checking back because details continue to roll in as the weekend draws closer. Local tourist offices have Patrimoine info on their websites and over the years I've found that their info tends to be more comprehensive and up-to-date than the nationwide Patrimoine website. 

Every year, my village (St. Remy) publishes its own terrific map/guide to all its Patrimoine sites and activities. To see it, click here. This year, in addition to tours and visits, there's a 20 km bike ride on Saturday ''with five sensory stops to awaken the senses and rediscover historic riches.'' The ride is open to all but please reserve here or here. There's also live jazz around town both Saturday and Sunday. You can grab a printedcopy of the schedule and map at the St. Remy Tourist Office and elsewhere around town. And the Mairie of St. Remy has published additional info on some specific visits here.

Moving on, here are the programs for Avignon, Vaison-la-Romaine, Apt, Carpentras, Aix en Provence, Arles, Nimes, Marseille, Toulon, Cannes, Nice and Monaco.

The department of the Vaucluse, which includes the lovely Luberon, has published their Patrimoine intel here. And you find lots of Luberon info here.  

Don't forget about our hundreds of smaller, lesser-known villages which sometimes offer fantastic tours and visits as well. A lot of villages have published their Patrimoine schedules here.

Then there are listings for the six departments of PACA (Provence Alpes Cote d'Azur): Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Alpes-Maritimes, Bouches du Rhone, the Hautes-Alpes and the Var. For the Vaucluse, try here and here. And here's the Gard (which is not technically in Provence but never mind…we love the Gard anyway!). 

Up in Paris, there are more than 1,500 sites participating this year. See a great listing of events and highlights here.

As the Patrimoine weekend gets closer, organizers will continue to update the clickable nationwide map, which you can see here. It's all a bit clunky but you're smart and you'll figure it out! Vive le Patrimoine de France! 

Photos: Get out there and explore! (1 - 4) A few of the thousands of sites holding Patrimoine events include the Basilica of Notre Dame de la Garde in Marseille, the Camargo Foundation in Cassis, the Glanum architectural site in St. Remy and Le Jas de Bouffan, the Cezanne family home in Aix, shown here as painted by the artist. (5) Discover 250 varieties of bamboo (along with rare trees and shrubs) in the 4-hectare garden called Bambous en Provence, in Eyragues. Visits are discounted for JEP but not free. (6) To see what's being offered at the Fondation Vincent Van Gogh in Arles, click here.  (7) LUMA Arles will participate too, of course...info is here. (8) Chateau de Fonscolombe (in Le Puy-Saint- Reparade, near Aix) dates to 1730 and is now a five-star hotel. They're offering guided visits, by reservation. (9) The Chocolaterie de Banon has free guided tours with tasting, reservations required. (10) Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild on the Cap Ferrat has posted their JEP offerings here. (11) Free guided tours of Les Docks Village in Marseille, taking visitors from its construction in 1856 to the present, will be available Sat and Sun. For info click here.  (12) For historical tours of the Marseille St. Charles Station, click here. (13) The Jewish Cemetery in St. Remy will be open Sat (10 to 11 am) and Sun (3 to 4 pm), with a local historian present. (13) Further on up the same road, you'll find the Lac Peïroou, a gorgeous reservoir originally dammed by the Romans to provide water to the town of Glanum below. Meet at Les Antiques at 10 am for a hike up to the lake with narration by a local historian. (14) The Maison Carrée in Nimes. (15) Rides on the TER Zou train are free all weekend during JEP...but you have to buy a pass...do that here. There's also a special narrated round-trip (Sat only), leaving Gap at 10:59 am, arriving Briancon at 12:16. For the return, leave Briancon at 1:19 pm and arrive Gap at 2:41. Boarding at intermediate stations permitted. (16) In Paris, take a free guided tour (Sat or Sun) of the historic Hotel du Nord, the legendary Right Bank brasserie created in 1913. (17) The Museum of the History of Medicine in the 6th has free entry and tours all weekend; see how medicine and surgery have evolved over the centuries. More info here.  (18) Visits to the Dior Gallery in Paris are discounted for JEP but must be reserved in advance. (19) One of the many, many Paris tours during JEP is a free guided architecture tour of the Marais, by reservation. (20) This year's Patrimoine poster.