Heritage Days 2024 at La Pitié Salpétrière, France's largest hospital, and its chapel

The Journées du Patrimoine are back for their 41st edition! This exceptional event, which always takes place on the third weekend in September, is sure to delight all those who enjoy cultural visits and are eager to discover new things.

This event, which takes place all over Europe, invites us to enjoy a program, often free or inexpensive, of original visits, events and workshops, designed for young and old alike, at the heart of our most beautiful heritage treasures. All kinds of venues are up for the challenge: cultural establishments including museums, castles and historic monuments, addresses usually closed to the public, fashion houses, temples of craftsmanship, and much more!

• To be read
• Tips for the week of November 18 to 24, 2024 in Paris: free or inexpensive outings
• What to do in Paris and the Paris Region in November 2024? Our tips and ideas for outings

Even hospitals are taking part in the Heritage Days ballet. And in Paris, one ofEurope's largest hospitals is revealing its secrets through a special program scheduled for the weekend of September 21 and 22, 2024. The Pitié Salpêtrière Hospital today stands out for its gargantuan proportions, with 90 buildings spread over 33 hectares, and its history is far from recent: its origins date back to the 16th century, and its famous chapel was commissioned by none other than the Sun King, Louis XIV.

The 2024 Heritage Days program at the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital

• Historical guided tour of the Saint-Louis Chapel at the Salpêtrière Hospital
  September 21 and 22
  

  Looking for a trip down memory lane? Immerse yourself for an hour in the captivating history of the Chapelle Saint-Louis.
  Hidden away in the heart of France's largest hospital, which welcomes almost a million patients a year, an immense dome is revealed, towering over the tallest buildings at La Pitié-Salpêtrière. It's the dome of the Saint-Louis de la Salpêtrière chapel, built in the 17th century on the orders of Louis XIV. A silent witness to four centuries of history, the chapel stands proudly at the heart of a hospital community of almost 9,000 souls.
  To discover this little-known jewel of Parisian heritage, visit the main porch of the Saint-Louis chapel.

  
  
  
• Guided tour of the exhibition "Corps mouvementés, the emergence of new therapies in the 19th and 20th centuries".
  September 21 and 22
  

  To coincide with the Olympic and Paralympic Games, AP-HP's Department of Cultural Heritage (DPC), which includes the Museum and Archives departments, is organizing a temporary exhibition dedicated to movement, which has been used since the 19th century as a medical treatment to re-educate impaired bodies and readapt patients to social life.
  The exhibition also focuses on rehabilitation medicine and the evolution of the devices used in hospitals to reintegrate patients into their environment. Similarly, a series of photographic visuals provide vivid testimony to these patient integration initiatives in the twentieth century.