The National Architecture Days are back! From October 15–18, 2026, museums, monuments, and spaces across Paris and the Île-de-France region invite you to a cultural festival celebrating the diversity of the built environment, whether classic or contemporary. It’s a chance to dip your toe into the world of architecture, whether you’re an enthusiast or a curious passerby, with activities often free, including guided tours, family workshops, and other engaging happenings.
In the Yvelines, the Maison natale Claude-Debussy is often overlooked by art and heritage enthusiasts. A significant portion of the museum's collections is devoted to Claude Debussy, the composer whose groundbreaking work profoundly reshaped classical music and opened the door to 20th-century experimentation.
Debussy's personal objects, sources of his inspiration, as well as numerous family mementos, photographs and scores, are gathered in the 17th-century house where the composer spent the first three years of his life, where his parents ran a pottery shop. Labellisée « Maison des illustres, the house preserves its original two-building layout, linked by a wooden balustraded staircase from 1680, listed as a historic monument.
The museum invites you on 16, 17 and 18 October, with architecture-themed activities. Please note that reservations are required!
National Architecture Days 2026: the lineup for this edition is unveiled
The National Architecture Days return on October 17 and 18, 2026, in Paris and the Île-de-France region. Over the full weekend, you'll have the chance to visit unusual and historic sites, while taking part in workshops and talks with architects. Here's a preview of what awaits... [Read more]
Roundtable "Rehabilitate: Building the Future"
As land-use sobriety and the climate emergency push existing structures to the forefront of architectural practice, three architects bring their perspectives on preserving, rehabilitating, transforming, repurposing, and reusing built heritage.
Drawing on their projects in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, they will show how heritage and contemporary creation can speak to each other, before opening, in a featured segment, a forward-looking debate: how can we (re)build what already exists?
Issues and perspectives. A briefing on how the city is evolving under this new paradigm.
Moderator: Guillaume Le Minez, city architect for Saint-Germain-en-Laye
Saint-Germain-en-Laye
The visit to Maison Debussy will follow the round table.
Duration: 2 hours
Free entry
Reservation recommended
Participation requirements : Booking is recommended at https://billetterie-culture.saintgermainenlaye.fr/ - Free | Booking required - https://billetterie-culture.saintgermainenlaye.fr/
Schedule: Friday, October 16, 2026 — 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM
Family Feature: Welcome to the Debussys!
Discover the layout of a 19th-century rental building as you walk through the Debussy Passage at 38 Rue au Pain. With no surviving furniture from that era, it’s up to you to re-create the period interiors in a tiny origami house.
By Mélanie Juvany, museum educator
Open to families, suitable for ages 8 and up
Duration: 2 hours
Free with reservation
Participation conditions: Free of charge | Booking required - https://billetterie-culture.saintgermainenlaye.fr/detail-activite/jna-2026-atelier-debussy
Schedule: Saturday, October 17, 2026 — 10:00 to 12:00
A Saint-Germain-en-Laye house spanning the Middle Ages to the 20th century
The only historic house in the old town open for visits, Claude Debussy’s Birthplace has weathered the centuries by morphing its architecture to suit domestic life, commerce and rental use. How did people live there in the Renaissance? Under Louis XIV? In the mid-19th century when the Debussy family ran a faience shop?
By Alexandra Zvereva, director of the museum
Duration: 1h30
Free with reservation
CLAUDE-DEBUSSY'S BIRTHPLACE
38, rue au Pain
Participation conditions: Limited to 20 participants – Free | Booking required - https://billetterie-culture.saintgermainenlaye.fr/detail-activite/jna-2026-visite-guidee-debussy
Schedule: Saturday, October 17, 2026 — 3:00 PM to 4:30 PM
Dates and Opening Time
From October 16, 2026 to October 18, 2026
Location
Claude Debussy's birthplace
38 Rue au Pain
78100 Saint Germain en Laye
Route planner
Prices
Free
Official website
culture.saintgermainenlaye.fr
National Architecture Days 2026: the lineup for this edition is unveiled
