It’s the weekend when we get to open doors that stay closed the rest of the year. The Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 September 2026, the 43rd European Heritage Days is taking place across the city, with free admissions, unusual tours and unique experiences.
The 2026 edition has a dual theme: «Photographic Heritage», to mark the bicentenary of photography, and «Heritage at risk: revitalise, resist, reimagine» for the European section. In a town that has been home to Le Gray and the Barbizon painters, and whose forest is recovering from a summer of fires, these two themes are particularly apt.
The castle is Free and open to all on both days, from 9.30 am to 6 pm, last entry at 5.15 pm. However, guided tours must be booked in advance only in person and on the same day, free of charge, at the castle entrance, subject to availability. See you there from 9.30 am for morning tours, from 1 pm for afternoon tours. In other words, there’s nothing to book online: it all depends on what time you arrive.
Art workshops – if you could only choose one. The château’s upholsterer and cabinetmaker open their workshops on Saturdays and Sundays, every forty-five minutes from 10.30 am to 5 pm, for thirty minutes at a time. Seeing the techniques used to maintain the furniture is often more rewarding than visiting yet another exhibition room.
Ongoing projects that tie in with the theme of heritage at risk. Guillaume Trouvé, Director of Buildings and Gardens, is leading a guided tour focusing on the preservation of the château (the large pavilion, the Primatice Staircase, the carp pond, the Gallery of Diana and the Henri IV wing) on Saturday and Sunday at 3 pm. And Brieuc Clerc takes visitors on a tour of the Diane’s gallery, currently undergoing restoration, on Saturday and Sunday at 2.15 pm.
Photography, this year’s theme, taken seriously. Le Scientific Resource Centre is opening its archives and research facilities to showcase two centuries of photographs of the château, on Sunday at 11.00 am, 2.00 pm and 3.30 pm. And the exhibition «The castle in photos», the result of the Maurice Guérin Photography Workshops held with schoolchildren and people from the social sector, can be viewed without booking on Saturdays and Sundays from 9.30 am to 6 pm in the vestibule of the Trinity Chapel.
A jazz concert in the ballroom. On Saturday at 3 pm, a big band comprising twenty-one young musicians from the Didier Lockwood Music Centre, conducted by saxophonist Stéphane Guillaume, will be playing in the ballroom. Meet at the Cour Ovale.
An exhibition which starts this weekend and runs until January. «The Splendour of the Enlightenment: Henry IV, a role model for Louis XVI» brings together around twenty works from the Château de Pau in the two Saint-Louis rooms, from 19 September 2026 to 25 January 2027. Guided tours take place on Saturdays and Sundays at 11.00 am.
And for those who don’t like booking. Four venues are open without the need for a booking: the Imperial Theatre (departures every twenty minutes, 10.00–12.30 and 13.30–17.30), the Jeu de Paume Hall, the only historic hall still in operation in France, offering an introductory session led by the master paumier (10.00–12.00 and 14.00–18.00, with sessions starting every thirty minutes), the Oval Courtyard and the Golden Gate recently restored (9.30 am–5.30 pm). On Saturday afternoon, the Friends of the Treille du Roy will be giving a talk on vine pruning and organising a wine tasting at Place du Bois d’Hyver, from 2 pm to 5.30 pm. Be prepared for a bit of a walk.
In partnership with the ONF, the guided tour and talk «What will tomorrow’s forests be like?» Hosted by Sophie David, head of the Environment and Public Relations Department at the ONF, this talk explores the history of forest fires and how forests are adapting to climate change. Sunday from 2.30 pm to 4 pm, Galerie des Cerfs and Salle des Colonnes; booking required.
The full programme at the château lists around thirty other events: Madame de Maintenon’s apartment, the ‘Petits Appartements’, a dramatised reading of Marie-Antoinette’s correspondence, and works by Rosa Bonheur in the Napoleon III smoking room.
La Charité Royale Media Library opens its capital reserve, which only happens once a year: guided tours in small groups on Saturday at 10.00, 11.00, 15.00 and 16.00, and on Sunday at 15.00 and 16.00, by booking only, for those aged 12 and over. Do bring a light jumper – it’s a bit chilly in the reserve. This is the starting point for its Heritage Week, which runs until 26 September under the theme «The Twilight of the Bourbons at Fontainebleau». The Companions’ House, on Rue de la Cloche, is also opening its doors. Other venues, organisations and partners are rounding out the programme across the city.
The town’s detailed programme is published in the days leading up to the weekend. The usual advice still applies: arrive early to book your slots for the day, then fill in the gaps with the remaining slots, which are open to everyone. Check the’Fontainebleau Town Calendar and the Fontainebleau Castle programme.
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