National Architecture Days 2026: Top visits in Paris and the Île-de-France region on October 17 and 18
NATIONAL ARCHITECTURE DAYS
October 17 and 18, 2026
“Rehabilitating: Building the Future.” For their eleventh edition, the National Architecture Days are setting aside new construction and looking at what can be done with existing buildings. Nearly 1,200 events across France on October 17 and 18, 2026, all free of charge, and in Paris alone, enough to spend an entire weekend with architects.
The weekend headquarters. Saturday and Sunday: free, short tours of major architectural movements, guided tours of the exhibitions, a “Happy Cabin!” construction workshop for families, a storytelling tour and medieval cathedral for children, and the “Tell Me About the Blagis” project, featuring models, photographs, and vlogs by teenagers about a suburban housing project, on display from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. The "Reg'arts sur les Blagis" parade concludes on Sunday at 4:45 pm. The Contemporary Architecture Archives Center also opens its doors, by reservation.
CITY OF ARCHITECTURE AND HERITAGE
1 Place du Trocadéro, 75016 Paris - Saturday, October 17 and Sunday, October 18 - Free admission, some visits by reservation
Twenty-four meters of painted resin on the banks of the Seine, and an interior staircase of irregular steps that visitors ascend with a guide: Jean Dubuffet's Tower of Figures can be visited on Saturday and Sunday at 3 pm and 4:30 pm, for ages 6 and up. On Saturday afternoon, a collaborative creation based on Daniel Bourgais's project will take place without reservation, and a family tour combining a visit and a visual arts workshop will be offered both days at 3:30 pm.
LA TOUR AUX FIGURES
170 quai de Stalingrad, 92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux - RER C Issy-Val de Seine - Free admission, guided tours by reservation
The historic terraces of Orly, where Parisians used to watch planes take off in the 1960s, are being brought back to life with a rehabilitation project featuring wood, green roofs, and photovoltaic canopies. The ADP Group is offering tours on Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM, in groups of twenty, with views of the runways and the Eiffel Tower. Registration by email is required before noon on October 9th; ID is mandatory.
PARIS-ORLY VIEWPOINT, HALL 4
Orly Airport - Saturday, October 17th and Sunday, October 18th, 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM - Free, registration: inscriptions-visites@adp.fr
Le Corbusier's manifesto can be visited with André Malraux as a posthumous guide: a themed tour at 3:00 PM on Saturday and Sunday explores the villa as a work of art, and a documentary recounts how the minister saved it from demolition. On Sunday at 2:30 p.m., an urban walk connects the villa to the Beauregard district. The open-air exhibition "Deciphering the Villa Savoye," created by architecture students, remains on display until November 14.
VILLA SAVOYE
82 rue de Villiers, 78300 Poissy - Saturday, October 17 and Sunday, October 18, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. - Admission €9, guided walk €7, visits by reservation
Under the roof of Les Invalides, models of fortified cities commissioned by Louis XIV serve as a playground: the museum offers workshops for families throughout the weekend focusing on the city, its walls, and what is done with them today.
Museum of Relief Maps
Hôtel national des Invalides, 129 rue de Grenelle, 75007 Paris - Saturday, October 17 and Sunday, October 18 - Free admission
Jean Nouvel's building, with its facade of photosensitive diaphragms inspired by mashrabiya screens, tells its own story during the weekend with themed tours dedicated to its architecture.
ARAB WORLD INSTITUTE
1 rue des Fossés-Saint-Bernard, 75005 Paris - Saturday, October 17 and Sunday, October 18 - Free admission
And also: the Maison de l'architecture Île-de-France in the 10th arrondissement, the open house at the École nationale supérieure d'architecture Paris-Val de Seine, the Louvre and the Tuileries Garden with a family program covering eight centuries of transformations, the MAC VAL in Vitry and its tours focusing on its architecture, and the Tournesol swimming pool in Fosses in the Val-d'Oise. The complete program is available on the Journées website.
To continue: our family outings and the top free exhibitions in Paris.
NATIONAL ARCHITECTURE DAYS
Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 October 2026
Throughout France, free admission
