France’s Culture Minister Catherine Pégard has announced the launch of a pass patrimoine (heritage pass), which will allow visitors to visit hundreds of monuments, museums or castles.
This pass will be launched on September 19th - the start of European Heritage Days - and will cost €78 for an annual pass, or €6.50 a month. There are also offers for family passes.
READ ALSO: 11 places to visit on France's 2026 heritage days
Run by the Fondation du patrimoine, the pass will allow visitors “to visit nearly 500 monuments, museums, chateau and gardens” for free.
The list of sites includes some of France's most famous, but also those less well-known to the general public
The intention is that the pass will “bring [France’s] heritage to life by increasing the number of visits” and “provide partner sites with additional revenue.”
Holders of the pass will be able to “visit renowned sites such as the Palace of Versailles, the Château de Chambord, the Château de Fontainebleau, the Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte, the Château de Chantilly, the Château d’Azay-le-Rideau, the Château de Vincennes, the Villa Cavrois, and the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild,” the Fondation du patrimoine said in a press release.
Less well-known venues include La Maison Rozier (Puy-de-Dôme), La Maison de Colette (Yonne), La Devinière-Rabelais Museum (Indre-et-Loire), and Le Four des Casseaux (Haute-Vienne).
The Fondation, which was established in 1996, claims to have helped “save, restore, and preserve more than 46,487 projects across metropolitan France and its overseas territories”.
You can now buy the pass from the Fondation du Patrimoine website here, which also contains the full list of the 500 sites covered.
Comments (1)