Somebody Help! I Think We're Under Attack!

Learn about Heritage Days

Also Appears In: Greetings From Paris: Culture Class in French Culture File: France Throwback Thursday

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Lesson Transcript

Somebody Help! I Think We're Under Attack!

In this lesson, we’re going to learn about The Heritage Days. I’m Becky, and you're listening to Season 1, Lesson 8 - Somebody Help! I Think We're Under Attack!

The holiday known as Heritage Days is celebrated in the third weekend of September in France. The Heritage Days are two days in the year dedicated to discovering French culture, or in French, culture française. Many French people don’t necessarily have the time to visit museums, or musées, or other places that are important to French culture and history. That’s why this event takes place at the same time as European Heritage Days. On this occasion, museums as well as historical sites that are usually inaccessible are open to the public for free!

In Paris, the most visited sites at this time are the Palais de l'Élysée or Élysée Palace and the Hotel Matignon. The Élysée Palace is the seat of the French Republic and the official presidential residence. The Hotel Matignon, located at 57, rue de Varenne, in the 7th district, or arrondissement, of Paris, is the official residence of the French Prime Minister. The public can only access these places on these two days of the year.

But surely, you have to expect long lines and large crowds at those two sites. If you aren't a fan of crowded places, instead of getting angry and shouting like the typical French person, you might want to go somewhere else instead! For example, the Hotel Hôtel des Invalides, which is always impressive, or the Parisian art museum Musée d'Orsay.

Here we’ve only covered a few examples of places found in Paris, but Heritage Days take place all over France. There are plenty of other interesting places to visit throughout the country. So, if you ever have the chance to participate, don't limit yourself to just Paris!