Every year in September, the Heritage Days are almost a ritual, a tradition for the French: and with good reason, as it's the opportunity to discover for the very first time places that are only open on this one weekend of the year. Churches, cathedrals, monuments, museums, historic sites, ministries...
Numerous cultural (and non-cultural) sites open their doors for the occasion, offering guided tours, events and self-guided visits to the specially-attended public. While Paris is best known for its Journées du Patrimoine, the rest of the Île-de-France region is not to be outdone, with some very fine offerings and a lesser-known but just as exceptional heritage.
In the Seine-Saint-Denis département,Aubervilliers might not be the first town you'd think of to visit during the Journées Européennes du Patrimoine ( European Heritage Days), but it's certainly worth a visit, as the town boasts many treasures and ancient monuments to (re)discover during these 2025 European Heritage Days. Here's the detailed program for the 42nd European Heritage Days, on the weekend of September 20 and 21, 2025!
Former match factory, headquarters of the French documentation service
The seven restoration workshops are open to the public: sculpture, furniture, painting, textile arts, fire arts, graphic arts and books, photography.
Free access to the research laboratory and library.
Exhibition of the best papers from the "heritage restorer" competition.
Carbon 17
On the occasion of the European Heritage Days, come and enjoy a guided tour and an exhibition of residents' work.
An incubator for artistic and social projects, Carbone 17 is housed in a building built in 1936 and classified as a remarkable architectural heritage site. Within its walls cohabit artistic spaces of multiple disciplines and aesthetics, where encounters are the key to inspiration. Photo studio, music studio, sewing workshop, painting studio... Come and discover the premises and meet the artists!
For the European Heritage Days, come and enjoy artistic workshops organized by the residents of Le Carbone 17, for young and old alike!
An incubator for artistic and social projects, Le Carbone 17 is housed in a building built in 1936 and classified as a remarkable architectural heritage site. Within its walls coexist artistic spaces of multiple disciplines and aesthetics, where encounters are the key to inspiration. Photo studio, music studio, sewing workshop, painting studio... Come and discover the premises, take part in workshops and meet the artists!
Espace Renaudie
Considered an urban utopia, the Maladrerie district in Aubervilliers embodies Renée Gailhoustet's (1929 - 2023) singular vision of humane, green and artistic social housing. Built in 1975, it combines housing, workshops, shops and public spaces in an inventive architectural style that respects its environment: a unique architectural heritage to protect and explore with the MéMO association and Typhaine D, during a guided tour.
Fort d'Aubervilliers
For the European Heritage Days 2025, AMuLoP is showcasing its Museum of Popular Housing project!
On Sunday September 21, two urban walks will take you into the history of popular housing.
- This walk will take you to the Fort d'Aubervilliers district, to discover two housing complexes that are emblematic of the urban and social history of Aubervilliers in the second half of the 20th century.
Built twenty years apart, the Cité Émile-Dubois, known as the "800" since its construction in 1959, and the Cité de La Maladrerie, comprising 900 homes built between 1977 and 1989, are emblematic of the history of social housing in the second half of the 20th century. They bear witness to the public authorities' ambitions for popular housing. By comparing archives (private and public), interviews with residents and observations of the buildings, we will be able to compare housing policies and the experiences of those who lived in these two housing estates.
National Heritage Institute
Aucun événement annoncé à ce jour, le programme est mis à jour en fonction des annonces officielles.
Jardins ouvriers des vertus
Take a guided tour of the Vertus allotments in Aubervilliers.
These guided tours by volunteers and gardeners will provide an opportunity to learn about the history of this site, from its creation to the most recent struggles to defend it.
The tours will also provide an opportunity to pick aromatic herbs and listen to the songs of the birds present.
La plaine Saint-Denis
For the Journées du patrimoine 2025, AMuLoP is showcasing its popular housing museum project!
On Sunday September 21, two urban strolls will take you into the history of popular housing.
- The first will plunge you into the daily life of an Italian working-class family at the beginning of the 20th century, in the La Plaine-Saint-Denis district;
In this walk inspired by historian Fabrice Langrognet's book Voisins de passage (2023), AMuLoP takes you on a journey through time, following in the footsteps of a family of Italian immigrants who arrived in Saint-Denis at the very beginning of the 20th century: the Pirolli family. Thanks to family and municipal archives, discover the turbulent daily life of Plaine Saint-Denis, a neighborhood where the sirens of the factories echoed, and where many destinies were intertwined.
Le Point - Fort d'Aubervilliers
A photo exhibition exploring the origins of hip-hop in Seine-Saint-Denis.
Just over 40 years ago, the Fort d'Aubervilliers was the scene of the first major intercity smurf and breakdance challenge. The event was conceived by Claude Kiavué (alias Jimmy) as part of the major cultural program of the Banlieue 89 mission, which aimed to occupy the forts of the Paris region during the summer. Due to its scale and innovative character, the event is identified as the first hip-hop festival in France, and has left its mark on a whole generation of artists.
Thanks to the holdings of photographer Willy Vainqueur, who took several snapshots of the festival in 1984, the exhibition reconstructs the event, giving the public a glimpse of the beginnings of this culture in France. Throughout his career, Willy Vainqueur has followed and photographed the emergence and development of the hip-hop movement in the Seine-Saint-Denis region.
The exhibition presents the event in its historical and geographical context, linking the emergence and spread of hip-hop in the area with the major urban transformations of the time.
An initiative of the Département de la Seine-Saint-Denis and Ville des Musiques du Monde.
An exhibition designed by the cultural heritage department of the Département de la Seine-Saint-Denis.
Poush
### Discover the history of a factory, the L.T. Piver perfumery, transformed into an artistic venue, thanks to a guided tour of its heritage and scents. Piver perfume factory, now an artistic venue.
Opened in Aubervilliers in 1869, the former L.T. Piver perfume factory is now home to POUSH. Since 2022, the former L.T . Piver perfume factory has been home to POUSH, an artists' venue for creation and exhibition.
In the heart of monumental buildings, with their red and ochre brick architecture, some 260 artists have reinvested the premises. Visual artists, photographers, performers, video artists, painters, choreographers... the diversity of the disciplines practiced today echoes that of the former perfumery's trades: soap-makers, perfumers, carpenters, delivery men, packaging workers, chemists, powder-makers and so on. The effervescence in the workshops has also been perpetuated, as has the spirit of innovation that has characterized L.T. Piver since its foundation. Piver since its foundation in 1774.
This tour will take place in two parts: first you'll discover the site from its historical and architectural angle, then a workshop will plunge you into the heart of the olfactory heritage of the premises: that of L.T. Piver's fragrances, some of which are still produced today. Piver's fragrances, some of which are still produced by the company, and the smells of the factory, between the transformation of fats and plant extracts.
A project initiated by the cultural heritage department of the Département de la Seine-Saint-Denis, in partnership with POUSH, and with the support of the perfume house L.T. Piver perfume house and Givaudan France aroma and fragrance company.
For more historical information:Atlas of architecture and heritage in Seine-Saint-Denis
Tours led by Sophie Normand, perfume expert, and Magali Malochet, in charge of cultural heritage promotion at the Département de la Seine-Saint-Denis.
Maladrerie district
Architectures in Seine-Saint-Denis, season 2
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### Contemporary heritage (19th-20th centuries) in Seine-Saint-Denis: transformation, reconversion and rehabilitation
From the former match factory in Aubervilliers to the area around the Basilica in Saint-Denis, whether it's a former printing works in Bobigny or a block of apartments in need of renovation, architectural heritage evolves over time in its forms and uses. Season 2, dedicated to the transformation of monuments and the region, shows how these sites, as told by historians and architects, have stood the test of time. A cross-section of views highlights the buildings, some of them very recent, that make Seine-Saint-Denis so special.
All Season 2 videos are also subtitled in English.
Watch all "Architectures en Seine-Saint-Denis" videos on the **YouTube**channel of the Département de la Seine-Saint-Denis.
Villa Mais d'Ici
Departure from the experimental visual, sound and choreographic parade at Villa Mais d'Ici, passing from Rue des Cités to Rue Henri Barbusse to meet local residents and venues, including the Au Bon Coin bar, Galerie Ygrec and Lavomatique... we'll return to our starting point at Villa Mais d'Ici, where from April to August resident artists and Aubervilliers residents worked together to build this festive parade! It will end with a musical banquet!
Food, drink and live music are all on the program!
A festive and spectacular way to discover the site and its cultural, artistic and human heritage!
Long live JEP in the 93!
Dates and Opening Time
From September 20, 2025 to September 21, 2025
Location
Aubervilliers Town Hall
2 Rue de la Commune de Paris
93300 Aubervilliers
