Les Traversées du Marais, the cultural itinerary that spotlights the Marais' most beautiful spots, is back from September 4 to 6, 2026. This year, around twenty iconic sites in the Parisian district are offering a wealth of free artistic events for everyone!
The new season kicks off with a vibrant cultural and festive highlight in the capital! Over the weekend of 4 to 6 September 2026, Le Marais comes alive with the latest edition of the Festival Les Traversées du Marais. This year, walkers are once again invited to (re)discover and enjoy the district’s townhouses, gardens, museums, and other unconventional venues sprinkled throughout the bustling Marais, all through a diverse artistic program filled with a multitude of free events.
Every year in September, the emblematic venues of this cultural and festive heart of the capital organize aspecial weekend. Museums, art foundations, libraries, monuments and other institutions open their doors to the public. The Traversées program includes exhibitions, concerts, performances, meetings and workshops for all.
It's a not-to-be-missed opportunity to get to know this historic district of Paris and its many cultural and tourist attractions. Stroll from museum to cultural center, discovering the curiosities of the Marais, its artists and its history.
For this 12th edition, the Traversées du Marais are back with a renewed lineup, and just as captivating as ever! A great freebie to keep enjoying the sunny days in Paris.
Our pick of the best activities at the Traversées du Marais 2026:
- Archives nationales de France
La bibliothèque, un projet de Fanny de Chaillé
Lecture-performance
Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 Sept. 2026 from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM
What if, instead of reading a book at the library, you borrowed the author to tell you a story aloud?
Free, subject to availability. Open access
- Centre Culturel Suisse
Carte blanche à la Montreux Jazz Artists Foundation
Concert | Screening of archives | Listening session
Friday 4 Sept. 2026 from 6:00 PM to 11:00 PM
Saturday 5 Sept. 2026 from 1:00 PM to 11:00 PM
Sunday 6 Sept. 2026 from 1:00 PM to 9:00 PM
The Centre Culturel Suisse kicks off its autumn season with three days of carte blanche to the Montreux Jazz Artists Foundation, in celebration of the festival’s 60th anniversary.
Program includes a musical brunch with CCS bar, publications at the bookstore, screenings of iconic concert archives, and listening sessions to discover two remixes drawn from the Montreux Jazz Festival’s vast audiovisual heritage. In the evening, the program continues with live concerts, including Erik Truffaz, Murcof & Talvin Singh, Stephan Rusconi & Tobias Preisig, Dino Brandao, Sophie Hunger & Faber, Roman Nowka 5tet, and Words of Azia trio.
Free, subject to availability. Open access
- Centre des monuments nationaux - Hôtel de Sully
Ruşan Filiztek invites Ariana Vafadari
Musical nap
Saturday 5 Sept. 2026 at 3:30 PM and 5:30 PM
Duration: 40 minutes
Free. Open access
- Centre Wallonie - Bruxelles/Paris
Eloise Tabouret & Mange tes mots X Centre Wallonie-Bruxelles/Paris
Poetry day
Saturday 5 Sept. 2026
- 4:00–6:00 PM: Free writing workshop (reservation required)
- 4:00–7:00 PM: Eloïse Tabouret’s performative protocol (free access)
- 7:00–11:00 PM: Poetry night (free access or reservation required)
- Cité internationale des arts
Evening of short film screenings
Friday 4 Sept. 2026 from 7:00 PM to 9:30 PM
Free. Open access
- Centre Pompidou
Creative weekend for families at Maison Pompidou
Two afternoons of art workshops and cultural tours
Saturday 5 Sept. 2026 from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Sunday 6 Sept. 2026 from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM
For Traversées du Marais, the Centre Pompidou invites young audiences and families to spend two creative afternoons at Maison Pompidou.
For the youngest, from zero to two years, artist Emilie Faïf’s interactive, sensorily rich installation invites a moment of playful exploration of a large-scale body.
For children aged three and up, a big workshop will fuse architecture and nature through drawing with water.
During the afternoon, several Beaubourg plateau drawing walks will be offered for the whole family. And on Sunday, to wrap up in style, the company Les Chemins de la Danse will host two shared moments of choreography to animate this back-to-school weekend.
Free
No reservations required—subject to availability
- Jeune Théâtre National
Strolling. Readings
Sunday 6 Sept. 2026 from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
On the occasion of Traversées du Marais, the Jeune Théâtre National offers a series of readings across several neighborhood institutions. Directed by Carole Thibaut, JTN’s young artists transform these spaces for a day of readings crafted in dialogue with each venue. Audiences can choose to attend a reading or follow one of the guided routes throughout the day, letting the texts reveal the places hosting them in new light.
- ROUTE 1: 10:00 AM – Musée des Arts et Métiers
10:30 AM – Departure from MuAM with Sylvia the guide to Musée Cognacq-Jay
11:30 AM – Musée Cognacq-Jay
12:00 PM – Departure from Cognacq-Jay with Sylvia to Musée de la Chasse
12:30 PM – Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature
2:30 PM – Maison de Victor Hugo
3:30 PM – Musée Carnavalet - Histoire de Paris
4:30 PM – Memorial of the Deportation Victims
- ROUTE 2: 10:30 AM – Maison de Victor Hugo
11:30 AM – Musée Carnavalet - Histoire de Paris
12:30 PM – MAIF Social Club
2:30 PM – Musée des Arts et Métiers
3:00 PM – Departure from MuAM with Sylvia to Musée Cognacq-Jay
4:00 PM – Musée Cognacq-Jay
4:30 PM – Departure from Cognacq-Jay with Sylvia to Musée de la Chasse
5:00 PM – Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature
- Maison de Victor Hugo
Anankè ; What the mouth of shadow says
Olfactory installations
Saturday 5 Sept. 2026 from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM
Concert at 3:00 PM
Sunday Sept. 2026 from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM
In the garden, by designers Lucas Huillet and Helwani Alexandre, as part of Design Week, a sensory installation where material, scent, and narrative dialogue around the origins of writing and its transformation.
Garden concert: the musicians from the Conservatoire Mozart of the Centre de Paris will join the Maison de Victor Hugo on Saturday 5 September at 3:00 PM for Traversées du Marais! A blossom of period-spanning music will be performed on violin, harp, and cello...
Free. Open access
- MAIF social club
SHELTER, a cabin for the MAIF Social Club’s 10th anniversary
Participatory installation | Drag show | Stories | Readings | Musical performance
Friday 4 Sept. 2026, from 4:30 PM to 8:00 PM
Saturday 5 Sept. 2026 from 10:00 AM to 6:30 PM
Sunday 6 Sept. 2026 from 10:00 AM to 5:30 PM
Join us in celebrating 10 years of the MAIF Social Club! Build a shared, doorless, wall-less, cabinet-free house a la Henry David Thoreau—a shelter open to all, where everything is visible and accessible, and where occupancy shapes its organic dialogue.
At the heart of SHELTER, the installation by Corps public, you’ll hear performed readings by Jeune Théâtre National’s actors, be dazzled (and amused) by the drag-queen collective Les Paillettes, explore your imagination with Florence Desnouveaux and Violaine Robert’s tales for young and old, dream to the sound of Clara Germont’s cello, borrow a library book, taste treats from Sain Boulangerie, or share a slice of our birthday cake.
Free.
Open access. No reservation required
- Museum national Picasso-Paris
The Picasso Museum’s Hybrids: The Battle of Paname
Dance battle
Friday 4 Sept. 2026 from 6:30 PM to 10:30 PM
The museum hosts “Battle of Paname”: the battle where dancers are free to express themselves as they feel. All styles collide to break boundaries, with unpredictable, borderless music: expect fearless, face-to-face showdowns where creativity rules and the moment matters. Come witness explosive clashes, and ride the surge of a battle where anything can happen
In the museum garden
Free. Free admission
Subject to availability
Find the full program on the website.
