Heritage Days 2026: Printemps Haussmann reveals its secrets in Paris

It's the marquee event of the season! Heritage Days in Paris are making their big comeback this weekend, September 19–20, 2026. Two days during which Printemps Haussmann will host exclusive guided tours, weaving through the department store's best-kept corners. Plenty of surprises in store!

Step into the season’s must-attend event! On September 19–20, 2026, the Heritage Days in Paris give you the chance to discover your favorite Parisian sites from a fresh angle. Guided tours, performances, creative workshops—a weekend brimming with activities along a cultural route that threads through the capital. With family or friends, set out to explore the City of Light’s riches and step into venues that are often off-limits to the public!

Heritage Days 2026 in the temples of fashion, luxury and beauty
Heritage Days 2026 in Paris take place this weekend, September 19–20, 2026. To mark the occasion, we invite you to discover Paris's fashion temples that are opening their doors. The secrets of the couture houses and flagship department stores are waiting for you! [Read more]

A cultural journey with an obligatory stop at the Parisian department stores, of course. Printemps has stood proudly at number 64 Boulevard Haussmann since 1865. Created by a visionary couple, Jules and Augustine Jaluzot, and rebuilt in 1882 by Paul Sédille following a devastating fire, the building is now one of the most beautiful in the world, dedicated to commerce.

For 160 years, Printemps Haussmann, formerly "Au Printemps", has been at the forefront of trends. Historians have even called it the "prototype of the modern department store", while Émile Zola drew inspiration from it to describe the "cathedral of commerce" in his novel "Au Bonheur des Dames".
Today, Printemps is one of the capital's most important showcases, bearing witness to a rich history of French art de vivre.

On the occasion of Heritage Days 2026 in Paris, discover Printemps Haussmann like you’ve never seen it before!

Heritage Days 2026 program at Printemps Haussmann:

Spring, a journey through innovation, restored architectural heritage, and never-before-seen archives
In 1865, the grand department store Au Printemps was born. Created by Jules and Augustine Jaluzot, a visionary couple, in a neighborhood still peripheral and not yet bustling with commerce, it established itself from day one as a brand with a distinctive identity: “Au Printemps, everything is new, fresh and pretty—just like the name.”

Rebuilt in 1883 by Paul Sédille and regarded by historians as the prototype of the modern department store, Printemps inspired the “cathedral of commerce” described by Zola in The Ladies’ Paradise, published the following year.

During the Europe-wide Heritage Days weekend, we invite you to gain exclusive access to the behind-the-scenes secrets of Printemps Haussmann, which has been listed as a Historic Monument since 1975. This is a completely free guided tour—an authentic odyssey through architecture, fashion and history: from the private terrace with a 360-degree panorama of Paris to 7th Heaven, the floor devoted to circularity; from monumental façades to the underground spaces where craftsmen and technicians work, including the Machines Hall and the World War II galleries.

And there’s more: a treasure trove of patrimonial gems that have regained their original luster after major restoration efforts, from florally adorned rotundas to the majestic glass dome conceived in 1910, not to mention the grand Art Deco staircase… The department store will reveal itself like never before.

And this year, for the first time within the framework of the Heritage Days, Printemps will exceptionally open its archives to the public.

At the end of the tour, participants will access a rarely seen Art Deco chamber where our Heritage team will unveil emblematic 19th- and 20th-century archives, recently restored, along with documents that chronicle the major renovation campaigns carried out over the years inside the store. One highlight is the façades and domes of Printemps Haussmann (2007–2011), which was then Paris’s largest private construction project.

A unique opportunity to dive into Printemps’s patrimonial collections, echoing this year’s Heritage Days themes: “Heritage in Peril” and “Heritage of Photography.”

Starting point of the visits: the reception on the ground floor of Printemps de l’Homme (on the Haussmann Boulevard side).

(The route includes stairs; please wear comfortable shoes). Registration opens on August 24.

Alongside the guided tours, you can also explore the exhibition “Pas à pas,” presented from September 9 to October 28 beneath the dome on the 6th floor of Printemps de la Femme, and on the pedestrian bridge on the 2nd floor.

Shoes—objects of fashion and desire—mirror our relationship with the world and our changing beauty standards across the ages. They shape the gait, complete a silhouette, and aspire to be both myth and symbol, torment and transformation. The footwear transcends its social utility to become an artistic language. Through a prism of historical and contemporary pieces—loaned by fashion houses, museums, collectors, the ESMOD study archive, and Printemps archives—the exhibition “Pas à Pas,” conceived as an immersive, interactive, multi-sensory experience, summons an expansive imagination drawn from visual, literary, and sonic references.
Participation requirements: (The tour includes stairs; please wear comfortable footwear). Registration slots open on August 24. - Free | Booking required - https://evenements.printemps.com/
Hours: Saturday, September 19, 2026 — 10:00 to 18:30 | Sunday, September 20, 2026 — 11:00 to 18:30

Are you ready to discover Printemps Haussmann 's best-kept secrets?