Journées du Patrimoine 2025: tours of the former Babcock factories (93): the program

How about visiting old factories for the Journées du Patrimoine 2025 ? The Journées du Patrimoine return on Saturday September 20 and Sunday September 21, 2025 in Paris and elsewhere in France. For two days, the most curious can push open the doors of must-see places, historic monuments, major institutions, churches, numerous museums, châteaux and even hidden spots !

Here's a not-to-be-missed opportunity for fans of unusual outings! On the occasion of the 40th Journées du Patrimoine, the former Babcock & Wilcox factories open their doors to you for free tours !

Located in the heart of La Courneuve, this industrial site with its monumental architecture is rarely open to the public. For the record, it was in 1898 that the French company Babcock et Wilcox was founded in Seine-Saint-Denis. In 1900, the Babcock boiler won the grand prize at the Exposition Universelle. In 1930, the company became France's leading manufacturer of industrial boilers. After many successful years, the site finally closed its doors in 2012.

Since then, the site has been taken over by numerous street artists and rehabilitated as a " Fabrique des cultures ", described as a unique living space drawing on the site's memory, and combining a major cultural and leisure facility with housing designed to meet new lifestyles. It is now a perfect example of the challenges of reconverting an industrial site.

• To be read
• Heritage Days in Paris 2025: secret, little-known or hidden places to discover this weekend
• Journées du Patrimoine 2025: unusual outings for an original weekend in Paris
• Journées du Patrimoine 2025 in Paris: must-see openings and exceptional tours

For the Journées du Patrimoine 2025, come and discover the Babcock & Wilcox industrial site and its urban art trail free of charge. Two guides will be on hand to answer your questions.

Heritage Days 2025 at the former Babcock factories

• Visit to the Banque de France administrative site in La Courneuve
  Saturday, September 20, 2025 - 09:00 ⤏ 15:00
  

  Come and discover the missions and professions of the Banque de France de la Seine-Saint-Denis in the heart of the industrial heritage of the Babcock factories.

  
  
  

Heritage Days 2025: this weekend's highlights in Seine-Saint-Denis (93)
The Journées du Patrimoine (Heritage Days) program in Seine-Saint-Denis on September 20 and 21, 2025. The 93 département opens the doors of its factories and century-old buildings. Find out what's on offer this year. [Read more]

Happy Heritage Days in Seine-Saint-Denis!