Journées du Patrimoine 2025 in Paris: the little-known Musée Cognacq-Jay and its program

Art and history lovers are invited to the Musée Cognacq-Jay for the 42nd edition of the Journées du Patrimoine on Saturday September 20 and Sunday September 21, 2025. The museum features a rich collection of sculptures, furniture, paintings and other works of art assembled between 1900 and 1925 by Samaritaine founder Ernest Cognacq and his wife Marie-Louise Jay.

This major cultural event is an opportunity to admire not only theHôtel de Donon, which houses the museum, but also the many paintings, sculptures, drawings and precious objects collected by Ernest Cognacq, founder of the Samaritaine department stores. A great lover of18th-century art, the wealthy businessman now allows us to contemplate all that made up the spirit of the French Enlightenment.

• To be read
• Journées du Patrimoine 2025: the program at museums in Paris and the Île-de-France region
• Heritage Days 2025 at the Musée Carnavalet: guided tour and stroll
• This Week's Best Deals in Paris and Île-de-France, December 15–21, 2025

The Musée Cognacq-Jay invites you to discover its exceptional collections. This museum, often overlooked by the general public, also surprises us with an unusual artistic program, not to be missed! Take advantage of the JEP 2025 to discover one of the treasures of the Marais and the City of Paris. Reservations are essential.

On the program for the Journées du patrimoine 2025 at the Musée Cognacq-Jay:

• Hôtel Donon, between courtyard and garden
  Saturday, September 20, 2025 - 10:30 ⤏ 12:30, 14:30 ⤏ 16:30
  

  Architectural drawing workshop.

  
  
  
• A stroll through the Marais: architecture of yesterday and today
  Saturday, September 20, 2025 - 11:00 ⤏ 12:30, 15:00 ⤏ 16:30
  

  Guided tour of one of Paris's oldest districts, between preserving its rich heritage and adapting to the city's current challenges.

  
  
  
• Meeting marquises, princes and princesses
  sunday, september 21, 2025 - 11:00 ⤏ 12:30
  

  A family tour of the Marais, one of Paris's oldest districts.