Paris unveils a new side this third weekend of September... And for good reason! It's the return of the Heritage Days in the capital! This European cultural event carries us into its 43rd edition, as exciting and full of surprises as ever, inviting us to explore the various highlights of the City of Light.
Little-knownmuseums, hidden corners, private mansions usually closed to the public, behind-the-scenes tours of major institutions: the Heritage Days are an opportunity to visit exceptional, unusual and secret places... Or learn more about places you thought you already knew!
You’ve probably stepped into the town hall of your district to ask a question or complete an administrative step... But what if you returned to uncover all its secrets? On September 19 and 20, 2026, for Heritage Days, several Paris arrondissement town halls will throw open their doors to the public, inviting you to discover them with guided tours and special activities.
5th arrondissement town hall
Heritage walks: Along the brick-architecture routes of the 5th arrondissement
As part of the 43rd edition of JEPs, on September 19-20, 2026, with themes "Photographic Heritage" and "Heritage in Peril," CICAT invites you to its 8th edition to discover the iconic brick architectures of the 5th arrondissement.
On the program:
From the City Hall of the 5th arrondissement to the Marie Curie Laboratory, up to the block of HBM brick buildings by Paris Habitat at 4, rue Larrey, just steps from the Grand Mosque of Paris, which this year marks a centenary since its inauguration.
CICAT's objectives:
- Spotlight Paris's brick architectural heritage
- Reveal the richness and diversity of brick heritage in each arrondissement
- Encourage Parisians and visitors to venture beyond the iconic sites: the Eiffel Tower, the Basilica of the Sacré-Cœur...
- Propose a dedicated tourism development framework and a label "Parisian Brick Architectures: Heritage & Tourism"
Meeting point: Town Hall of the 5th arrondissement, 21 Place du Panthéon
Participation conditions: Participation is free - Free | Booking required - contact.cicat@wanadoo.fr, 0753125595
Hours: Saturday, September 19, 2026 — 08:30 to 09:00, 10:00 to 12:00, 14:00 to 16:00 | Sunday, September 20, 2026 — 08:30 to 09:00, 10:00 to 12:00, 14:00 to 16:00
Street Art & Graffiti – Paris 5th
Graffart association, active since 2010, aims to raise awareness of Street Art and Graffiti. The association has already exhibited twice in the Capitant room in 2023 and 2024 at the City Hall of the 5th arrondissement for the Graffiti Prize, a event that drew lively interest and fostered artist encounters. A guided walk through the streets of the district is being planned.
An exceptional on-site exhibition and a visit are scheduled for September 19, 2026.
Rendez-vous in front of the City Hall of the 5th arrondissement.
Contact 0660905511 / _graffart.asso@gmail.com_
Participation conditions: Limited to 20 people per visit — Free
Schedule: Saturday, September 19, 2026 — 2:00 PM to 2:30 PM
European Heritage Days 2026: Paris’s 5th arrondissement Town Hall
### Visit the 5th arrondissement town hall, a 1920s Art Deco showcase
After a long search for a location, the 5th arrondissement's town hall finally sits on Place du Panthéon. From its construction—begun between 1844 and 1846—it was designed as a mirror image of that great monument, conceived as an architectural setting to highlight it.
In 1913, plans for enlargement were approved and, in 1921, entrusted to architect René Patouillard-Demoriane. He transformed it into a true showroom of Art Deco, the artistic current that dominated at the 1925 Exposition.
This visit will let you discover its spectacular interior spaces and its crowning piece: the grand hall, the fruit of the work of the renowned designer and master decorator Jacques-Émile Ruhlmann.
Participation conditions: Limited to 30 people. The ticketing link will go live in the first half of September — reservations required | Free — https://www.paris.fr/evenements/jep-2026-mairie-du-5e-arrondissement-114435
Schedule: Saturday, September 19, 2026 — 2:30–3:30 PM, 4:30–5:30 PM
City Hall of the 7th arrondissement
Conference "Built heritage at risk: resist, revive, reimagine"
In response to the exhibition Patrimoines en résistance at the Cité de l’architecture et du patrimoine: recognizing and resisting peril, reviving and reimagining architecture.
Join architect and artist Iglal Boulad for a moment of constructive reflection!
Participation terms: 60 attendees - Free | Booking required - rachida.dati@paris.fr
Schedule: Saturday, September 19, 2026 — 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM
8th district town hall
A deep dive into the heart of French industrial architecture, visit Hôtel Cail
Testimony to France's industrial might and to the evolution of architecture through its quality and unity, the Hôtel Cail stands as one of the finest examples of the Second Empire style. Now housing the 8th arrondissement town hall, the building keeps getting more splendid as renovations and upgrades go on.
Attention: the entrance will be at 56 Boulevard Malesherbes (special opening)
Entry requirements: Note: Entrance is at 56 Boulevard Malesherbes. - Free | No reservations required
Hours: Saturday, 19 September 2026 – 14:00 ⤏ 18:00 | Sunday, 20 September 2026 – 14:00 ⤏ 18:00
City Hall of the 9th arrondissement
Pigalle–Martyrs, tracing the footsteps of the 19th-century luminaries
On the occasion of the European Heritage Days, the Mairie of the 9th arrondissement of Paris, in partnership with CAUE Paris, offers the public a guided urban stroll co-designed with the Pigalle-Martyrs neighborhood council.
Discover Pigalle-Martyrs in the 9th arrondissement, a cultural, artistic and social reference dating back to the 19th century.
The distinction between Nouvelle Athènes and the Saint-Georges district rests less on precise borders than on a succession of plots developed in the 1820s. As early as 1819, financier Adolphe Lapeyrière opened up the plots around Rue de la Tour-des-Dames, between Rue Blanche, Rue Saint-Lazare and La Rochefoucauld. This first core, soon named “Nouvelle Athènes” (1823), asserted a neoclassical identity and a strong cultural ambition.
The same year, a new decree allowed expansion to the east and north, led notably by André Dosne around the future Place Saint-Georges and the former Ruggieri and Tivoli gardens. This second development created a broader network of streets, strengthened after 1824 with the plaza’s opening and its radiating avenues.
Originally distinct, these clusters quickly became contiguous, then inseparable as urbanization intensified. By the late 1820s, artists and the new bourgeois elite moved in, erasing the initial boundaries: Nouvelle Athènes and Saint-Georges eventually overlapped into one urban landscape.
The district established itself as a major cultural hub, drawing in all the era’s leading artists and writers. Cafés, brasseries, workshops, theatres, salons and, later, galleries became spaces of exchange where the identity of one of 19th-century Paris’s most influential quarters was forged.
Participation requirements: Free and mandatory registration, subject to availability - Free | Reservation required - https://caue.pr-rooms.com/release.aspx?ID=229463
Schedule: Saturday, September 19, 2026 – 10:00–12:00
Shows and the Art of Living: From Trinité to Blanche
On the occasion of the European Heritage Days, the City Hall of the 9th arrondissement of Paris, in partnership with the CAUE de Paris, invites the general public to a guided urban walk co-designed with the Blanche-Trinité neighborhood council.
In the mid-18th century, Paris had not yet crossed the line we now call the Grands Boulevards: just past the rue Saint-Lazare you could reach the countryside. Bas-Montmartre housed orchards and market gardens, guinguettes amidst the fields, and also follies—these pleasure houses with gardens intended for amusement and leisure.
From the 1820s, this open space, close to the vibrant life of the Grands Boulevards and the Opéra Le Peletier, yet not overwhelmed by their hustle, saw private subdivisions emerge that welcomed mansions, investment buildings, and artist studios. The actors, painters and musicians who settled there, multiplying salons and gatherings, made this district a privileged cultural hub of the capital. In 1820, the neighborhood counted 9 artists; by 1850 they numbered 80. The place became the epicenter of the Romantic movement.
As for theatres and venues, they multiplied from the 1890s to the 1930s along the major axes: Rue de Clichy, Blanche, Pierre Fontaine… Their architectures testify to changing tastes and styles.
In the Paris arrondissement with the most theatres, let us discover the theatres and the actors’ townhouses that helped shape the district’s identity.
Participation conditions: Registration is free and mandatory, subject to availability - Free | Reservation required - https://caue.pr-rooms.com/release.aspx?ID=229463
Schedule: Saturday, September 19, 2026 — 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Faubourg Montmartre, in the spotlight
On the occasion of the European Heritage Days, the Mairie du 9e arrondissement of Paris, in partnership with CAUE de Paris, invites the public to a guided urban stroll co-created with the Faubourg Montmartre neighborhood council.
Set off to uncover the district’s remarkable architectural heritage, and trace the places that have, or still today have, been the beating heart of Paris’s cultural life.
Participation requirements: Registration is free and mandatory, subject to availability - Free | Reservation required - https://caue.pr-rooms.com/release.aspx?ID=229463
Hours: Saturday, September 19, 2026 — 10:00 to 12:00
Town Hall of the 10th arrondissement
The 10th arrondissement town hall turns 130: guided tour, music and a lecture
Visit and lecture by Sylvie Scherer and Marie-Ange Daguillon from History and Lives of the 10th, with music by students from the Hector-Berlioz Conservatory
Exactly 130 years ago, on February 28, 1896, the 10th arrondissement’s town hall was inaugurated—a striking little palace of the republic, in Neo-Renaissance style and designed by Eugène Rouyer. After eight years of work, its façade will once again emerge from behind the scaffolding in 2026, allowing visitors to admire the sculptures depicting the trades of the district from the Belle Époque.
The tour will begin with an exterior view of the building before moving inside: the wedding hall and its high relief by Jules Dalou, the banquet hall with marouflaged paintings, the offices of the elected representatives and other spaces normally off-limits.
At the end of the visit (3:00 p.m.), a musical interlude will be offered by the students of the Hector-Berlioz Conservatory. Starting at 3:30 p.m., a conference in the banquet hall will recount the early years of the town hall, set against a turbulent historical backdrop that combines the Dreyfus affair with the birth of cinema in the arrondissement.
We will see that the banquet hall of the 10th’s town hall demonstrated remarkable versatility, hosting ceremonies, prize distributions, associative meetings, but also feminist rallies and a boxing match!
Participation requirements: Free | No reservation required
Times: Saturday, September 19, 2026 — 2:00 PM to 4:15 PM
And since you're in the area, find out what else you can do in these arrondissements. And don't forget to take a look at the events scheduled atHôtel de Ville.
Heritage Days 2026 in Paris (75): the schedule of visits and activities by arrondissement
For Paris’ 2026 Journées du Patrimoine, the capital’s monuments and historic sites throw open their doors—often free of charge—to reveal their secrets. Don’t miss this must-attend weekend, scheduled for September 19–20, 2026, as you discover the program built around the themes “Heritage in Peril” and “Heritage of Photography.” [Read more]
For the 2026 Journées du Patrimoine, the City Hall of Paris will exceptionally throw open its doors for free, self-guided tours. Mark your calendars for Saturday, September 19 and Sunday, September 20, 2026 to explore the Mayor of Paris’s office, the City Hall library, the Council Chamber, and the ceremonial salons. Here’s the program. [Read more]
Dates and Opening Time
From September 19, 2026 to September 20, 2026
Places
5th arrondissement town hall
21 Place du Panthéon
75005 Paris 5
Route planner
Town hall of the 8ᶱ arrondissement of Paris
3 Rue de Lisbonne
75008 Paris 8
Route planner
Accessibility info
Prices
Free
Heritage Days 2026 in Paris (75): the schedule of visits and activities by arrondissement
Heritage Days 2026: Tour of the Hôtel de Ville — Paris City Hall, the program
