For some, the month of September marks the resumption of the famous "metro, work, sleep" routine. But fortunately, there are some events that break the routine by offering us new experiences. For enthusiasts and the curious, September also marks the return of one of Europe's must-see cultural events: the Journées du Patrimoine (Heritage Days). This initiative invites us to discover our treasures from a new angle through a program of visits, events and workshops at the heart of the most beautiful monuments.
In Paris and the Île-de-France region, a wide range of establishments are getting in on the act: museums, churches, châteaux, libraries and even places closed to the public. The program is often free, inviting us to enjoy a unique experience enriched by exceptional tours and activities for young and old alike. It's the perfect opportunity to conquer the places to visit around Paris, in the Ile-de-France region.
If you're in the Val-de-Marne or would like to get to know the 94 département better, we recommend a stopover in the town of Nogent-sur-Marne, which is accessible by public transport. Labelled a"Commune Touristique", it boasts a rich heritage, with several sites classified as Historic Monuments. During this exceptional weekend of September 20 and 21, 2025, you can enjoy a wide-ranging program that will keep you busy for at least a day!
Journées du Patrimoine 2025: the program at Pavillon Baltard, Nogent-sur-Marne (94)
The Pavillon Baltard is taking part in the 42nd Journées du Patrimoine (Heritage Days) with a varied program to be discovered free of charge on September 20, 2025. An exceptional opportunity to discover the former Halle de Paris in Nogent-sur-Marne! [Read more]
Municipal Archives
Aucun événement annoncé à ce jour, le programme est mis à jour en fonction des annonces officielles.
Smith-Lesouef Library
Despite its seemingly innocuous name, the Jardin d'Agronomie Tropicale - René Dumont is an accumulation and condensation of layers of political (and by extension military) and economic violence associated with French colonialism. Through the density of their presence in the garden, the material traces of these layers of violence engage in a strange double relationship, merging into an exotic spectacle of garden factories, and at the same time, mutually dissolving their raison d'être, their meaning and the ethical posture required by looking at them individually. The garden becomes a black hole in the world, an absence of the political, the societal and the historical, a void of anything that might make sense.
On the basis of these assumptions, the round-table discussion led by artists and art historians will consider whether it is, in fact, possible to look at the garden or from it, and whether such a look can be right; whether a place like the Garden can be inscribed in a narrative about its wider environment, and whether it is possible to look at it as one clue among others in a wider history, and whether the active dissolution of meaning, operated in the Garden, can be paralleled with other spaces and historical contexts, and finally whether meaning can potentially be found in the space opened up by these parallels.
Eléonore Dérisson, head of collections at the Fondation des Artistes, will talk about the building's construction and evolution, before presenting its rich collections of books and art objects.
A self-guided tour of the building, which opened its doors to the public in 1919 as the "Bibliothèque Smith-Lesouëf", was occupied by the Bibliothèque nationale de France until the 1980s, when the collections were moved to the central storerooms.
Today, the building houses the books of former residents of the Maison nationale des artistes, as well as a collection of furniture and objets d'art (miniatures, furniture, santons, drawings and sculptures) by Auguste Lesouëf, which will be deposited with the Fondation des Artistes by the Bibliothèque nationale de France in 2019.
Saint-Saturnin Church
The church, listed as a historic monument, stands on the site of an ancient 7th-century edifice. It was built in the 13th century, then extensively modified in the 15th and 16th centuries, to become the building we know today. Saint Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus, is said to have prayed in this church in the 16th century.
Worth seeing: portal, stained glass windows with coats of arms, pillars of the south aisle.
Volunteers are on hand to provide information and/or commentary on the church, its history, décor, etc.
Artists' Foundation
On the occasion of the European Heritage Days, the Fondation des Artistes invites you to discover a unique, listed site dedicated to artistic creation and artists. This exceptional complex comprises a 10-hectare park with two surviving factories, including a recently renovated dovecote, 17th-century pleasure residences (respectively the MABA, an art center, and the Maison nationale des artistes, a retirement home dedicated to artists), a library, the Bibliothèque Smith-Lesouëf, and artists' studios. The tour will retrace the major evolution of the homes and grounds of the Fondation des Artistes.
This complex was recently awarded the Label of Heritage of Regional Interest.
Maba - Maison d'art Bernard Anthonioz
A family afternoon exploring the Fondation des Artistes park with a treasure hunt. Search for clues and follow the map to discover the stories of the park and its hosts.
The Fondation des Artistes park will be exceptionally open during the European Heritage Days. Around its 10-hectare park, the Fondation des Artistes brings together an atypical ensemble comprising the Maison nationale des artistes (retirement home for elderly artists), the MABA (art center), some thirty artists' studios and a heritage library, the Smith-Lesouëf library. Today's park is the result of a long history, from the cultivation of vines, through a French-style garden laid out in terraces and adorned with ponds, to the English-style garden of the 19th century, transformed at the beginning of the following century.
During this Petit Parcours, families are invited to explore the century-old park and its various trees. Using the senses and focusing on the trees, this visit will be an opportunity to connect with nature and with each other. This walk, supervised by a mediator, will be punctuated by collective and individual actions.
To mark the European Heritage Days, MABA is offering a "petit parcours", a family visit dedicated to discovering the exhibition "La quinte du loup et le beau tox" by graphic designer Christophe Gaudard. Borrowing directly from hard discounters or from the vitiated aesthetics of clipart and memes, tinkering, graffiti, dripping, erasures and pixels, everything goes, against the grain of good cultural communication practice. Logos popped, phone numbers flashed and stretched. Posters that can be scratched to the point of staining the eyes!
On the occasion of the European Heritage Days, take a guided tour of the exhibition "La quinte du loup et le beau tox" by graphic designer Christophe Gaudard. The tour will provide an insight into the practice of this graphic designer who, while keeping a safe distance from any form of respectability, is frequently selected and awarded prizes at international poster and graphic design biennials. Direct borrowings from hard discounters or the vitiated aesthetics of clipart and memes, tinkering, graffiti, drips, erasures and pixels - everything goes, against the grain of good cultural communication practice. Logos popped, phone numbers flashed and stretched. Posters that are scratched to the point of staining the eyes.
National House of Artists
A self-taught artist, François Bouillon attended his grandfather's painter's studio as a child, then developed a passion for ethnology, archaeology and Oceanic and African arts. Fascinated by the primitive arts, which he collects with the aim of questioning a "memory before memory", he uses a variety of techniques and different "primitive" elements, graphic forms and ritual objects to create a unique work. Each of François Bouillon's works is added to the previous one like a puzzle, to create a narrative that is often humorous.
Antoine Watteau Theatre
Between stage and backstage
Push open the doors of the Théâtre and let yourself be guided, between stage and backstage. Discover the secrets of the stage management, the dressing rooms, the main auditorium... An opportunity to plunge into the world of live performance, where the imaginary comes to life.
Dates and Opening Time
From September 20, 2025 to September 21, 2025
Location
Nogent-sur-Marne Town Hall
Place Roland Nungesser
94130 Nogent sur Marne
Official website
ville-nogentsurmarne.com
