2026 European Heritage Days
Join us in celebrating our history and culture during European Heritage Days, from 18 to 20 September. We’ll be hosting more than 160 events across France, showcasing 200 years of French railway history.
Explore 160 sites across France
For the 43rd edition of European Heritage Days, SNCF is embracing two powerful themes: Europe’s “Heritage in Peril: Revive, Resist, Reimagine” and France’s “Photographic Heritage”, marking the bicentennial of photography.
Step inside your train station’s control centre, explore the signal box that keeps your daily journeys running, try your hand at driving the train that takes you home, or travel aboard a vintage train restored by rail enthusiasts. These are just a few of the more than 160 fascinating events SNCF has planned to celebrate two centuries of rail travel, connections and encounters.
To reserve your place for European Heritage Days 2026, visit our booking site from noon on 3 September.
Browse our 2026 European Heritage Days programme (in French)
160
events across France
53,000
places available across all events
16
maintenance centres open to visitors
180 years of history at the Vénissieux maintenance centre in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
This maintenance centre has played a part in French rail history since 1846. It serviced the first steam locomotives, modified the prototype that paved the way for the TGV, and trained generations of rail workers. This year, we are paying tribute to the men and women who worked for us.
They include those who worked at Ouillins in La Mulatière, just outside of Lyon, once one of the city’s largest rail sites. In 2019, part of the facility’s operations were transferred to nearby Vénissieux. Today, a team of nearly 380 people repairs the electric motors and converters that power trains from one end of France to the other.
Come and explore 180 years of history—including archives on public display for the first time—and discover how SNCF workers keep our trains rolling every day.
Spotlight on Dinan station in Brittany
The passenger hall at Dinan station will host a historical exhibit immersing visitors in local rail history, with a special focus on the first lines to serve the former Côtes-du-Nord region, now known as Côtes-d'Armor. A selection of period documents and photographs will take visitors back in time, offering a glimpse of everyday life and showing how the celebrated metre-gauge “petit trains” helped open up the area and support the growth of its coastal communities. The exhibit pays special attention to the historic lines linking Plancoët and Le Guildo, the later extension to Matignon and Saint-Cast, and the branch line linking Le Guildo and Saint-Briac.
In a nod to the early days of seaside tourism on the Emerald Coast, a separate section highlights the iconic Dinard-Saint-Briac tramway. Free and open to all in the station’s passenger hall, this unique retrospective brings to life a period that left a lasting mark on the region’s landscape and identity. It will appeal to passing travellers and railway-history buffs alike.
Visit the Saulon-la-Chapelle Industrial Track Establishment in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
A guided tour will take visitors behind the scenes at this historic industrial site, a vital hub for France’s rail network. The immersive visit will pull back the curtain on the specialist expertise required to produce 432-metre long continuous welded rails and manufacture components crucial to catenary assemblies. Participants will discover how we design and build this strategic equipment, but also how it is installed and used nationwide. The tour offers a rare chance to gain a deeper understanding of our industrial logistics and how we supply vital components to busy maintenance centres and network modernization projects across France.
A scavenger hunt at Tours station in Centre-Val de Loire
Discover the magnificent Tours station, an architectural masterpiece and listed historic monument. To learn more about the history and hidden secrets of this landmark, visitors are invited to join a guided tour led by Bertrand Ahier, an architect with SNCF Gares & Connexions. They can then explore the station from top to bottom in a lively, one-of-a-kind scavenger hunt. Pairing the expertise of an expert architect with the fun of solving clues alongside family and friends, the event offers an original way to appreciate this exceptional example of rail heritage.
An insider’s view of the Hellemmes maintenance centre
The Hellemmes industrial maintenance centre is opening its doors to the public for a rare glimpse inside its vast workshops, where rolling stock has been refurbished and given a new lease of life for over 150 years. At this remarkable site, advanced technology sits alongside a rich industrial heritage, making the visit particularly rewarding for innovation enthusiasts and history buffs alike. Designed to appeal to visitors of all ages, the tour offers a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the rail industry and the expertise passed down from generation to generation.
Mission: Impossible lands at Paris-Est station in Île-de-France
To mark the 30th anniversary of the first film in the blockbuster Mission: Impossible franchise, SNCF’s Cinéma & Tournages unit will hold two open-air screenings on the forecourt of Paris-Est station. Each will have seating for 180 people. On Friday 18 September, the film will be shown in English with subtitles, followed by an exclusive presentation for film enthusiasts. Then, on Saturday 19 September, the general public will be treated to a French-dubbed version. This Hollywood hit is a striking example of the long-standing relationship between trains and cinema. Featuring dramatic scenes aboard a TGV, the film showcased French rail expertise for 41 million viewers worldwide when it was released in 1996. This year’s screenings are the perfect opportunity to share a thrilling cinematic moment in the heart of one of SNCF’s most historic locations.
A journey through railway workers’ archives in Occitanie
Founded over 20 years ago and based in Béziers, SNCF’s National Personnel Archives covers all of France. The centre holds the personnel files of nearly 3.5 million rail workers employed by SNCF and the companies that preceded it. These records are consulted by researchers, genealogists and anyone interested in preserving the memory of all those who worked on the railways.
For the European Heritage Days, the archives team is releasing a card game using period identity photographs to introduce the public to its rich collection. Originally used to document employees’ careers, the files now offer vivid insights into individual lives and the men and women who kept the railways running. Drawing on this material, the team has devised a surprising and entertaining version of the card game War, rich in historical detail. The workshop will be followed by an exclusive tour of the archives, which are normally closed to the public. Visitors will discover the sheer scale of the collection and the wide variety of materials it contains. To end the day, the centre’s team will demonstrate how to search for information about a family member who worked on the railways, and help visitors begin their own genealogical or family-history search.
An in-depth visit to a maintenance centre in Pays de la Loire
SNCF Réseau’s Infrastructure Equipment Maintenance Centre (C2MI) is opening its doors for an exclusive two-hour guided tour, giving visitors an inside view of track maintenance. Throughout the visit, employees will introduce the machines and tools used across the rail network and share insights into their day-to-day work. Participants will also have the rare opportunity try a train-driving simulator. A range of other activities will bring the world of railways to life, including a virtual-reality experience highlighting potential hazards, an introduction to level crossings, a presentation of jobs available at the centre, and a talk on the site’s history. A dedicated activity area will also be available for children.
See Marseille Saint-Charles station in a new light
Rediscover the celebrated Marseille Saint-Charles station through an architect’s eyes, from its historical buildings and the changes made to accommodate the city’s growth and rising rail traffic to the role it has played in shaping the surrounding neighbourhood.
The tour will be led by Armelle Fabry, an architect with SNCF Gares et Connexions who helped design the station’s latest modernization and expansion project. She’ll share insights into the building’s architecture, tell the story of its construction, and explain how it has evolved over the years. She will also discuss the challenges her team faced in transforming Saint-Charles into a showcase for innovation and a successful example of both architecture and urban planning.
Step behind the scenes of TER regional trains in Grand Est
The Champagne-Ardenne Lines Division invites visitors to step into the world of TER regional trains at Charleville-Mézières station. This special behind-the-scenes tour offers a rare look inside a train driver’s cab and explains how signal boxes route trains onto the correct tracks and monitor their movements across the network. Visitors will gain a better understanding of the work involved in keeping trains running, but also the expertise railway employees bring to the job to ensure that regional trains operate safely and on time.
Go behind the scenes at Limoges station in Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Step inside the Limoges station’s modern control centre for a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at rail operations. Staff will explain how train routes are carefully planned and how daily traffic is managed safely and efficiently. The tour offers a rare glimpse of the precision, coordination and expertise required to keep trains moving through this strategic rail hub.
An interactive map of outstanding heritage sites
Castles and monuments, museums and collections, fine local food and drink, country walks and more. See all the remarkable heritage sites you can reach by TER regional trains across France with our interactive map.
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