Every year, the Journées du Patrimoine (Heritage Days ) brighten up the month of September in Paris and the Île-de-France region. This not-to-be-missed event is synonymous with cultural highlights and new discoveries. Once a year, this event, which takes place all over Europe, invites residents and visitors alike to discover the finest treasures of their heritage through an original program.
During this exceptional weekend, museums and major institutions, historic monuments and private venues, chateaux and beautiful gardens, and many more, will be taking part in the game, offering tours, often free of charge, as well as workshops and events.
For the curious, those who don't like to take the beaten track, the Journées du Patrimoine are also an opportunity to enjoy unprecedented visits to places that are usually off-limits to the public, and to discover the capital's little secrets, those little-known hidden places that we all love to brag about having been able to visit.
During the 42nd edition of the Journées du Patrimoine, you'll have the opportunity, in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, to conquer the Regard de la Lanterne, located in the park of the same name. Regard" was the name given to the dome-shaped structures that gave access to the pipes. The Regard de la Lanterne, built in the 17th century, is the main manhole to the old Belleville aqueduct. An exceptional program is scheduled for the weekend of September 20 and 21, 205.
The Lanterne manhole was completed in 1613, just over 400 years ago; it forms the head of the great Belleville aqueduct.
This aqueduct is the most important vestige of the water conveyance system that supplied the first fountains in Paris, thanks to catchments developed from the Middle Ages onwards in the heights of north-eastern Paris.
The "regard de la Lanterne" is a rotunda-shaped edifice, built of ashlar and topped by a cupola. Inside, a double stone staircase leads down to the basin that receives the water drained from the hilltop. A section of the gallery of the great aqueduct (13th/14th centuries) is accessible from inside the manhole.
The care taken in its construction is remarkable. One of the few listed monuments in eastern Paris, it is set in a public garden in the middle of Belleville's popular Place des Fêtes district.
It's a surprising and little-known vestige of Parisian life in days gone by.
Le regard de la Lanterne bears witness to the efforts made over the centuries to provide Parisians with water, and is a reminder of the importance of this ever-precious resource.
The "regard de la Lanterne" was listed as a historic monument in 1899; it is not usually open to the public.
Dates and Opening Time
On September 20, 2025
Location
Regard de la Lanterne
5 Rue Augustin Thierry
75019 Paris 19
Access
Place des Fêtes metro station (lines 7Bis and 11)
Prices
Free
