France. For its 75th anniversary, the RATP has put together a rich program during the European Heritage Days (JEP). A double opportunity for the Paris metro authority, since its field of activity is at the heart of the annual theme of the Days which take place on September 21 and 22: “Heritage of routes, networks and connections”. The backstage of the metro will be wide open, with a visit to the Flandre and Malakoff bus centers, or the control room of line 5. Exceptionally, the Sprague-Thomson train, a century-old classified historic monument, will be presented in a station in the 16th arrondissement.
The SNCF has also planned a packed programme, with unmissable visits to stations and roundabouts throughout France, as well as some highlights around high speed: the presentation of the first TGV train to hold the world speed record, which will show its tapered orange nose at the Rennes technical centre, or the historic signal box of the Paris-Lyon high-speed line, at the Gare de Lyon, which is closing its doors this year.
One of the Sprague-Thomson metro trains at Porte Auteuil.
© Xavier Chibout / RATP
Around thirty labeled cultural routes
But the theme of roaming for this 2024 edition is not limited to transport. For the Council of Europe, it is an opportunity to promote one of its still little-known programmes, that of European cultural routes. No fewer than 31 of the 47 routes labelled by the Council of Europe pass through France: among others, the Cluniac sites route, the Via Charlemagne, the Saint-Martin de Tours route, to which are added those following in the footsteps of Jewish heritage or the writer Robert Louis Stevenson. This approach, which promotes cooperation between sites and between countries, as well as tourism off the beaten track, is highlighted throughout the places that form these routes. The most famous of them, the one leading to Santiago de Compostela, is at the heart of visits to the Daoulas Abbey (Finistère) and the Saint-Jacques Tower (Paris). In Bordeaux, the Maison du pèlerin promotes the intangible heritage of this pilgrimage.
Aviation, telecommunications, trade and tourism will illustrate the theme of networks and connections throughout France. The second annual theme, that of maritime heritage, animates the programming of French ports. In the North, the Walde lighthouse, listed as a historic monument in 2022, links the two themes: the JEP weekend offers the rare opportunity to discover this building set on wrought iron piles, and perhaps the colony of seals that has taken up residence not far from there.
On the island of La Réunion, the heritage of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands is unveiled during conferences and an exhibition organized at the headquarters of the community, in Saint-Pierre. In mainland France, exceptional openings reveal a part of French maritime history, such as those of the Archives des Canals du Midi in Toulouse or the École nationale supérieure maritime on its new site in Saint-Malo (Ille-et-Villaine). The ships can also be visited during this weekend: the Belem bridge (see ill.), in Saint-Malo, and those of the ships of Canet-en-Roussillon (Pyrénées-Orientales) will be accessible to visitors. In Brest, a shell sloop will even set sail for twenty-minute visits. In Marseille, you will have to go to the Frioul Islands to discover The Flâneusea working boat of heritage interest and still in fishing activity.
Outside of these themes, the JEP remain an opportunity to enter places of power that are usually inaccessible: the Élysée, the Hôtel de Matignon and the National Assembly are open to visits in this year of busy political events. Other doors are opening all over France, such as those of the Hauts-de-France regional hotel, for a visit focused on the functioning of the community; of the Hennequin prison in Troyes (Aube); of the Banque de France in Saint-Étienne (Loire); or of the picturesque Ariège prefecture in Foix.
