Journées du Patrimoine 2024: visit the Archives Départementales et Communales de Paris

Published by Rizhlaine de Sortiraparis, Laurent de Sortiraparis, Cécile de Sortiraparis · Published on August 21, 2024 at 12:16 p.m.
The Archives de Paris will be taking part in the Journées du Patrimoine (Heritage Days) on Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 September 2024, offering us the chance to go behind the scenes and discover the history of Paris from a whole new angle!

Every year, the Journées du Patrimoine (Heritage Days ) delight the curious and lovers of art and history with a weekend of fascinating, lively and often free visits to some of our finest treasures. Whether public or private, this event is a great opportunity to take advantage of exceptional and even unprecedented bargains. Don't miss the next event on the weekend of September 21 and 22, 2024.

For this year's Journées du Patrimoine, the Archives de Paris, located in the 19th arrondissement, are opening their doors to let you discover the city's history from a new angle, through the archives and other documents produced by the city's departments.

For over 200 years, the Archives de Paris have had one vocation: to collect all the documents issued by the city of Paris, but also"by the various government departments located in the Seine, then Paris". How do these documents become archives? What happens from the moment they are collected to the moment they reach the reading room? What is preserved, how and why? What secrets are hidden behind the scenes at the Archives de Paris? These are just some of the questions you'll be able to answer at the 41st Journées du Patrimoine.

The 2024 Heritage Days program at the Archives de Paris:

  • Visit the Hôtel de Rohan and the decor of the Chancellery of Orleans
    September 21 and 22

    Following an exceptional restoration campaign, four salons from the Hôtel de la Chancellerie d'Orléans, demolished in 1923, have been reassembled on the first floor of the Hôtel de Rohan. A guided tour reveals the extraordinary history of these settings. On the second floor, the famous Cabinet des Singes and Cabinet des Fables are also part of the tour.
    Duration: 1 h 15. Groups of 20. Tours depart every hour. Last tour at 6 p.m.



  • Exposition 1887: the contract to build the Eiffel Tower.
    September 21 and 22

    Conceived as an ephemeral structure, the Eiffel Tower was built to be the highlight of the 1889 World's Fair, but its exceptional longevity can be traced back to the construction agreement signed in 1887 between engineer Gustave Eiffel and the public authorities who commissioned it. Kept in the Archives Nationales, the agreement was a great success with the public at this third event in the "Les Remarquables" cycle, and goes far beyond being an administrative act, becoming a quasi manifesto for the development of knowledge, technology and science. It is on display at the Hôtel de Soubise until January 6, 2025.



  • Descriptive and tactile tour of the National Archives' major repositories
    Saturday, September 21, 10:30 a.m.

    This guided tour for the visually impaired offers a sensory discovery of the National Archives' prestigious conservation galleries, as well as a tactile exploration of original documents. Duration: 1h30 - 6 visually impaired people and their companions.



  • Framing workshop
    September 21 and 22

    The museography workshop mounts and frames documents presented in exhibitions organized by the National Archives. The art technicians offer you the chance to frame the illumination created in the Eiffel Tower workshop.



  • Conference moderated by Myriam Larnaudie-Eiffel
    Saturday, September 21, 11:00 a.m.

    As part of the " Les remarquables"series, Myriam Larnaudie-Eiffel gives a talk in connection with the 1887 Eiffel Tower construction contract exhibition.



  • Tours of the National Archives' Grands Dépôts
    September 21 and 22

    Prestigious buildings housing medieval and Ancien Régime archives, the Louis Philippe and Napoléon III repositories are only open on rare occasions. This is an opportunity to discover the iron cabinet and some of the founding documents: Merovingian and Carolingian charters, the standard meter, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, etc.
    Duration 45 mins. Groups of 25. Departures every half-hour. Last departure at 6.30pm.



  • Calligraphy workshop: Writing the Eiffel Tower
    September 21 and 22

    In connection with the exhibition 1887: the Eiffel Tower construction contract
    With calamus, pen and ink, the Archives nationales invite you to explore the art of calligrams, where words come to life in the form of the Eiffel Tower.



  • Atelier de réalisation de Sceaux
    September 21 and 22

    The National Archives seal workshop invites you to travel from port to port and seal your seaman's passport with a ship's seal. The workshop will introduce you to the seals of great maritime cities, and offer you the chance to make your own wax seals.



  • Tours of the restoration workshop
    September 21 and 22

    The opening of the National Archives' Conservation Department workshops will give visitors an insight into the challenges of conservation-restoration in an archival context. Examination of documents undergoing treatment will present the appropriate methods and techniques for eliminating the causes of alteration, remedying damage and effectively protecting documents in order to guarantee their preservation and authorize consultation, exhibition and/or digitization.
    Groups of 10 people Saturday 21 and Sunday 22, duration 1 hour, departures at 11:00 am, 1:30 pm, 3:00 pm and 4:30 pm.



  • Visit the historic library and the oppenord lounge
    September 21 and 22

    Housed in the Hôtel de Breteuil, the library of the French National Archives holds a rich collection of 150,000 volumes and several hundred periodical titles. While its works are accessible to all in the Caran reading room, its premises are only occasionally open to visitors. A beautiful 18th-century salon, the work of Gilles Marie Oppenord, is waiting to be discovered. Short lectures will present documents relating to maritime heritage (history of navigation and shipbuilding). The vice-presidents of the Société française d'histoire maritime will be our contacts for these lectures.
    Duration: 1 h. Groups of 15. Departures every hour. Last departure at 5 p.m.



  • Travelling wind instrument concerts by the Association Jeunes Talents
    September 21 and 22

    Strolling wind instrument concerts by the Jeunes talents association, focusing on the Gustave Eiffel era, from 3pm to 5pm in the main courtyard. These concerts are linked to the exhibition 1887: the Eiffel Tower construction contract.



  • Family tours (children aged 6 to 15 accompanied by their parents) of the National Archives' major repositories
    Sunday, September 22, 10:30 a.m.

    Discover the prestigious galleries of the Grands Dépôts of the French National Archives, suitable for younger visitors accompanied by their parents.
    1 visit Sunday September 22, 10:30 am. Duration: 45 min. Groups of 25 (children and adults)



Practical information

Dates and Opening Time
From September 21, 2024 to September 22, 2024

× Approximate opening times: to confirm opening times, please contact the establishment.

    Location

    18 Boulevard Sérurier
    75019 Paris 19

    Route planner

    Accessibility info

    Prices
    Free

    Official website
    archives.paris.fr

    Comments