The Pantheon, literally opposite two of our hotels, will be celebrating our annual national holiday (Bastille Day – 14th July) with free entrance for everyone from 1-7pm and lots of special events during the day!

Here’s all the info.

For this year’s 14th July festivities, the Pantheon is trying to “bring meaning back to the national holiday”, “go back to the origins of the 14th July” and “rediscover … its symbolic charge”. An ambitious programme no doubt, punctuated by numerous activities throughout the day.

First of all, a forum from 2-7pm will discuss themes including “Liberté, égalité, fraternité: a republican ethic” and “A different story of 14th July: rebellious voices for freedom and equality”. You’ll need pretty good French to understand it all, but it does sounds engaging.

No French required however for the 4pm ‘musical interlude’ with the Marseillaise sung by the French Army Choir and students from the Institut national des jeunes sourds (literally, the young deaf people’s institute).

There are also free guided visits every 30 minutes between 2pm and 5.30pm and an intriguing installation called ‘Decoding the Pantheon’, with twelve large balloons floating in the space, each broadcasting “a unique sound, a directional wave carrying the voices of the Grands Hommes”.

Three other special events are available all day:

– A symbol hunt for kids between the ages of 8 and 12, aided by a special booklet (in French)

– Talk to the Grands Hommes! You are invited to leave a message in the crypt for your favourite famous person: Marie Curie, Victor Hugo, Voltaire, Emile Zola, Aimé Césaire, Geneviève Anthonioz-de Gaulle…

– The Pantheon’s Little Library – 300 books available to read on site, in one of four reading areas.

Make sure you celebrate our national holiday, get into the Pantheon for free and make the most of all the special events!

The Panthéon (here) is celebrating the Republic on 14th July 2017

Open free from 1-7pm

Website: www.paris-pantheon.fr

Facebook: facebook.com/pantheondeparis

Facebook event page: ici

Twitter: twitter.com/leCMN

Instagram: instagram.com/pantheon.paris

?Petit apercu de ce que le Panthéon vous réserve le 14 juillet prochain …? #lepanthéonfêtelarépublique

A post shared by Le Panthéon (@pantheon.paris) on Jun 23, 2017 at 3:56am PDT