Treasure hunt and music at Victor Hugo's literary house for Heritage Days

Are you familiar with the Château des Roches, perched in Bièvres, in the Essonne region? Perhaps this venue is better known to you under the name of the "Victor Hugo's Literary House"? This neoclassical monument is renowned for hosting a highly sought-after literary salon between 1815 and 1840. Journalist Louis-François Bertin, director of the Journal des Débats and owner of the château, welcomed leading artists, politicians and thinkers of the era. The Château des Roches thus hosted Chateaubriand, Ingres, Berlioz, Liszt... and Victor Hugo.

The famous writer and his family were regulars here. In 1991, the château underwent a restoration and was turned into a museum dedicated to Victor Hugo. Visitors can explore photographs, manuscripts, first editions, letters, engravings... and, at the same time, enjoy the collections about the French author while admiring the 'architecture of this château that has stood for centuries.

Want to discover this fascinating place? Take advantage of the Journées du Patrimoine to visit the maison littéraire! The monument opens its doors free to the public on September 19 and 20, 2026, to mark the new edition of this major cultural event. Here is the weekend programme.

The lineup for these Heritage Days at Victor Hugo’s Literary House:

Treasure Hunt: In the Footsteps of the Miserables
The Victor Hugo Literary House sits at Château des Roches, the former estate of Bertin the elder.

Director of the Journal des Débats in the 19th century, he hosted a literary salon there, where the most illustrious guest was Victor Hugo. There he created an English-style park of 10 hectares along the Bièvre, planting many species now two centuries old: oaks, pines, plane trees, cedars, sequoias, bald cypress. A lake and its island lend it a romantic charm.

The Victor Hugo Literary House will welcome, on the occasion of Rendez-vous au jardin, a free tour of the park, literary activities but also a treasure hunt.

The treasure hunt will allow you to head out with your family "In the Footsteps of the Misérables."

Solve riddles, find the clues that will let you identify, one by one, the characters of Les Misérables and the portraits that Victor Hugo paints of them, which have made them timeless and therefore still timely.

As the quest unfolds, you’ll discover small illustrated booklets enriched with quotations from Victor Hugo for each character, and you’ll assemble a lovely keepsake album of this afternoon "Sur les traces des Misérables".
Participation requirements: Free | No reservation required
Schedule: Saturday, September 19, 2026 — 10:30 AM to 6:30 PM | Sunday, September 20, 2026 — 10:30 AM to 6:30 PM
Guided tour of the exhibition and a free stroll through the park
Les Misérables, Victor Hugo’s cornerstone work, opens a broad panorama of material and moral hardship through characters familiar to all. The author bears witness to the struggles of his society, touching him deeply.

His humanist ideal sheds light on a sometimes harsh reality, while carrying the hope of a better world. Through this novel, Hugo champions human rights—the rights of children, women, and men facing poverty, injustice and prejudice.

Victor Hugo would also translate his “ideal” into his political and civic commitment.

The exhibition “Victor Hugo and Les Misérables, from Reality to Ideal” presents, on the one hand, the well-known literary work in a fresh light, and on the other, the writer’s humanist engagement through precious pieces from the Victor Hugo Literary House collection, enriched by loans from the Maison Victor Hugo in Paris.

Before or after the exhibition, you can stroll through the garden of the Château des Roches park, maintained in the English style already popular in Hugo’s time.

In these verses, the place is continually highlighted, even when Hugo writes from the banks of the Rhine: “Not all the pines of the Black Forest are worth the acacia in the Roches courtyard.”

Free parking. Tea room with a terrace under the plane trees.
Participation requirements: Group visits in blocks of 18 people – Free | No reservation required
Hours: Saturday, September 19, 2026 — 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. | Sunday, September 20, 2026 — 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Literary and musical events in the park
Victor Hugo’s Literary House sits at Château des Roches, the former estate of Bertin senior.

As director of the Journal des Débats in the 19th century, he hosted a literary salon there, and its most illustrious guest was Victor Hugo. It was there that he created an English-style 10-hectare park along the Bièvre, planting numerous species now two centuries old: oaks, pines, plane trees, cedars, sequoias, and bald cypress. A lake and its island lend it a romantic charm.

On the occasion of the European Heritage Days, Victor Hugo’s Literary House will host within the park literary and musical events.

Talented actors scattered through the park will bring Victor Hugo’s texts to life.

You can discover, or rediscover, his poems, writings, political treatises, and even the love letters exchanged over 50 years with his muse Juliette Drouet.

A wonderful opportunity to wander through the places that inspired Victor Hugo, where he wrote, among others, the poems Bièvre, La Tristesse d'Olympio, Les Contemplations, and many more.
Participation conditions: Free | No reservation required
Hours: Saturday, September 19, 2026 — 10:30 AM to 6:30 PM | Sunday, September 20, 2026 — 10:30 AM to 6:30 PM

Hidden pépites méconnues like this can be found all across Île-de-France! Make the most of Heritage Days to explore these offbeat spots.

Paris Heritage Days 2026: secret, little-known, and hidden places you simply must discover
Heritage Days return this year with an exceptional edition to be held on Saturday, September 19 and Sunday, September 20, 2026. This unmissable cultural event offers the chance to visit more than 1,500 sites across Paris and the Île-de-France region. While the major museums and iconic monuments are on the itinerary, the weekend is also a prime opportunity to uncover hidden, little-known, or normally off-limits places. [Read more]