Every year, the Heritage Days offer a fresh way to discover Parisian heritage. For a weekend, monuments, institutions, and lesser-known venues open their doors, revealing their backstage stories and history through tours and activities specially organized for the occasion.
Among these addresses is the Jacques Doucet Library, housed in the 5ᵉ arrondissement of Paris. Its history is closely linked to Jacques Doucet, the great couturier of the Belle Époque. While his name lives on in haute couture, he was also a passionate devotee of art, literature and rare books. Over the years, he built an impressive library that he decided to bequeath to the University of Paris so that his collections could continue to be consulted and enriched.
Today, the Jacques Doucet Library stands as a renowned research institution, specializing in art history, literature, and archaeology. It houses precious manuscripts, writers’ archives, photographs, drawings, and a wealth of documents that chronicle the artistic and intellectual life of the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries.
Usually busy with researchers and students, this library remains relatively little-known to the general public. The European Heritage Days, therefore, offer a wonderful opportunity to discover this discreet yet essential guardian of Paris’s written and artistic heritage.
Guided tour of the Jacques-Doucet Literary Library
The Jacques-Doucet Literary Library bears the name of its founder and patron: Paris fashion designer Jacques Doucet. It preserves collections that reveal the working world of writers of the literary modernity—from Baudelaire onward—including manuscripts, archives, personal libraries, desks, familiar objects, and art holdings.
On the occasion of European Heritage Days, the library offers guided tours that recreate writers’ offices on Friday the 18th, Saturday the 19th, and Sunday the 20th of September at 2:00 PM, 3:30 PM, and 5:00 PM (registration required).
Participation conditions: Free of charge | Booking required - doucet@bljd.sorbonne.fr
Schedule: Friday, September 18, 2026 — 14:00–15:30, 15:30–17:00, 17:00–18:30 | Saturday, September 19, 2026 — 14:00–15:30, 15:30–17:00, 17:00–18:30 | Sunday, September 20, 2026 — 14:00–15:30, 15:30–17:00, 17:00–18:30
This page may contain AI-assisted elements, more information here.
Dates and Opening Time
From September 19, 2026 to September 20, 2026
