European Heritage Days 2020 at the Senate – Palais du Luxembourg in Paris

The French Senate takes part in European Heritage Days 2020! Make the most of the weekend to discover the Palais du Luxembourg, the Petit Luxembourg as well as the Luxembourg garden greenhouses.

If there is a place of power you should visit on European Heritage Days 2020, it is the French Senate.

Follow the footsteps of senators for the edition 2020 of European Heritage Days! On Saturday September 19 and Sunday 20, the Senate opens to all and offers you to visit the premises for free, ideally set in the heart of the Jardin du Luxembourg. Meet at Place Paul Claudel to start the tour.

Admission by registration because of the coronavirus epidemic. The Senate warns there is a 400-people per hour limit.

For about 2 hours, you discover the Palais du Luxembourg and the Petit Luxembourg respectively house of the Senate and presidency of the Senate. In the first one, you can visit the hemicycle, the library painted in 1845 by Delacroix and the Conference Room – former Gallery of the Throne. A display of appointment letters from the Peer Review group members of France, today's senators' ancestors is to be discovered in the Salon de Boffrand.

In the second one which is the place of work of the Senate chairman, the Chapelle de la Reine – built by Marie of Medici in 1625 – and the Salons de Boffrand from the 18^th century are worth the trip!

All along the tour, a leaflet will guide you while the Senate local officers will be here to answer your questions. You will learn a lot on this major French institution taking you to the heart of French history.

The story of the building is quite surprising. The Palais du Luxembourg was built according to the Firenze Pitti Palace blueprints for Marie of Medici - Henri IV's widow. She wanted to have the same architecture as from her childhood home. Since then, the place has become a royal house, a revolutionary prison, a seat for power after the French Revolution, before becoming the meeting place of the Senate in 1879.

Note that this year, you can visit the Luxembourg garden greenhouses. These greenhouses are still used to grow plants to decorate the Palais du Luxembourg and are filled with an unexpected green heritage from the mid-19th century. Visits leave from 4 rue Auguste Comte.

Careful though, every year, over 25,000 visitors come and discover the role and function of the Senate! And this year, you better come early to visit this exceptional place.

European Heritage Days 2020 Program in Paris and the Ile-de-France Region: