Every year, the Journées du Patrimoine (Heritage Days) take place on the third weekend in September, offering a rich variety of cultural discoveries. This year, the 42nd edition of this cultural event will take place in Paris and the Île-de-France region on September 20 and 21, 2025. It's an opportunity for enthusiasts and the curious alike to conquer the fabulous heritage of Paris and the Ile-de-France region through a vast program of often free visits and special events at museums, monuments, churches, hospitals, institutions and even in places usually closed to the public!
For this edition, theHôtel de Massa, headquarters of the Société des Gens de Lettres, invites us to discover its history! Built between 1778 and 1784 on the Champs-Elysées by the architect Le Boursier, this private mansion was originally a "folie", or pleasure house, a country resort on the Champs-Elysées promenade, which became fashionable at the end of the 18th century.
When the 1926 president of Galeries Lafayette wanted to buy the land to build a large shopping complex, the building was in danger of being demolished. The solution? Move the building, stone by stone, to the 14th arrondissement and a plot of land in the Observatoire gardens, in order to save the structure. In 47 days, the 2,480 stones were numbered piece by piece and row by row, and then, from January to October 1928, the work kept Paris on its toes!
In 1929, the Société des Gens de Lettres, a society founded in 1838 by famous writers including Balzac, Hugo, Dumas and Sand, moved in. Today, the Hôtel de Massa's treasures include Art Deco furniture (commissioned in 1928 from the Maîtrise des Galeries Lafayette), a listed historic monument unique in France, as well as a collection of writers' busts (19th and 20th centuries) and letters and manuscripts by authors who have marked the history of the Société des Gens de Lettres.
Guided tours of the Hôtel de Massa
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* Guided tours depart every 15 minutes for groups of 25.
* VISITS :
Authors, members of the Société des Gens de Lettres Committee, and the salaried staff invite you to join them for a guided tour of the salons and gardens. You'll discover Art Deco furniture, a rich collection of writers' busts, letters and manuscripts by authors of the 19th and 20th centuries, and the gardens.
Come and discover this "folie" originally built on the Champs-Élysées in 1778-1779 by the architect Le Boursier for Thiroux de Montsauge, then General Administrator of the Post Office: the Hôtel de Massa, listed as a historic monument, was dismantled and rebuilt stone by stone in the shadow of the Paris Observatory between 1927 and 1928.
The Art Deco furniture designed in 1929 by Maurice Dufrène, director of the Maîtrise des Galeries Lafayette, to furnish this private mansion, is also listed.
Since 1929, the Hôtel de Massa has been home to the Société des Gens de Lettres (SGDL), founded in 1838 by Honoré de Balzac, Alexandre Dumas, Théophile Gautier, Victor Hugo and George Sand.
* Registrations: We close pre-registrations as soon as the tour time slots have been filled, and indicate this on the registration form. You will receive a confirmation e-mail during the week of 15/9.
Dates and Opening Time
From September 20, 2025 to September 21, 2025
Location
Hotel de Massa
38 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Jacques
75014 Paris 14
Prices
Free
Official website
www.sgdl.org
