On the occasion of European Heritage Days 2026, Les Cayennes, Maisons et Musées de L'Union compagnonnique United Duties open their doors to the publicSaturday 19 and Sunday 20 September. See, meet, understand, transmit: these meetings are thought of as real Open Days of the Union. Come to meet the Companions, discover the trades, see the gestures, admire the masterpieces, understand the Tour de France and exchange on the transmission of know-how.
In our Cayennes, the public will be able to discover the Companions in their environment, exchange with them, observe techniques and understand the routes of training and homelessness. This opening to the public is thus conceived as a genuine national operation of Open Days.
Appointments at a glance
| City | Dates | High time |
|---|---|---|
| La Roche-sur-Foron | 19–20 Sept. | Youth House / Museum – demonstrations and workshops |
| Smoke | 20 Sept. | Open Day – Trade Shows |
| Castle | 19–20 Sept. | Museum – free and free visit |
| Nîmes / Saint-Gilles | 18-19 Sept. | School workshops then public meeting |
| Pézenas | 18–20 Sept. | Cayenne + Meetings of the Arts of Heritage |
| Versailles – Campus | 19 Sept. | Grande Écurie – Heritage trades, demonstrations |
| Versailles – UC headquarters | 19–20 Sept. | Maison des Musiciens Italiens – opening to the public |
| Toulon | 19–20 Sept. | Renovated museum – welcome by the Companions |
| Nantes | 19–20 Sept. | Manoir de la Hautière – museum and demonstrations |
| Brive-la-Gaillarde | 19–20 Sept. | Museum – visit and live workshops |
| Bordeaux | 19–20 Sept. | Heritage Trades Forum |
| Montauban | 19 Sept. | Musée-Cayenne – visit and demonstrations |
La Roche-sur-Foron — La Cayenne de Genève opens the doors of La Forge
Address: 220 rue du Faron, La Roche-sur-Foron (Haute-Savoie)
Hours: Saturday 19 September, 9am-12am and 1.30pm-18pm; Sunday, September 20, 9am-12am and 2pm-17:30pm
On the occasion of the JEPs, the Cayenne de Genève opens the doors of its youth house and museum. The public will be able to meet the Companions and discover, through demonstrations and workshops, occupations where hand, matter and precision are at the heart of the gesture.
Programme
- Seamstress, stone tailor, cook, stained glass, carpenter, carpenter and jeweller
- Living workshops, technical demonstrations and presentations of masterpieces, indoors and outdoors under shelter
- Sale of documentation and books on companionship
A weekend to see, touch, understand... and maybe discover a vocation!
Contacts: Country Juglaret says Savoyard – 06 85 05 53 44 ; Lady Hostess Karel Rodriguez known as Normande – 06 64 20 21 04.
Information and JEP programme of La Forge (new window)
Smoke — La Cayenne in open doors
Address: Companion Museum, 12 Waldeck-Rousseau Street, 47500 Fumel
Hours: Sunday 20 September, 8am-12am and 2pm-18pm
La Cayenne de Fumel organises an open day as part of the JEP. Visitors are invited to discover companionship and know-how through demonstrations.
Trades presented
- Jewellery
- Cuisine
- Woodworking and cabinetmaking
- Bakery
- Dinanderie
JEP sheet of the Cayenne de Fumel : reservation and information (new window)
Castle — Museum opens its doors
Address: 114 rue de Belle-Rive, 36000 Châteauroux
Hours: Saturday 19 September, 10am-12am and 2pm-6pm; Sunday 20 September, 10am-12am and 2pm-17pm
Free tour without reservation. The opening of the museum allows you to discover the collections and companion achievements in a context dedicated to memory and know-how.
Information: Joël Beaudoin – 06 08 58 36 29
Nîmes / Saint-Gilles — Companions at the foot of the abbey
Place: Saint-Gilles du Gard, in front of the abbey
Hours: Friday 18 September, workshops with SEGPA classes (of the 6e to 3e) ; Saturday 19 September, 10am–5.30pm for the public
The Cayenne de Nîmes will be present at Saint-Gilles. The first day is devoted to transmission to young students; On Saturday, the Companions will meet the public.
The jobs announced include masonry, carpentry, roofing and carpentry, with also a presentation of the traditional cover in sagne.
Information: 04 66 87 40 42
JEP 2026 programme of the City of Nîmes (new window)
Pézenas — La Cayenne at the heart of the Rencontres des Métiers d'Art du Patrimoine
Places: historic center of Pézenas – Cayenne de L'Union compagnonnique ; Meetings of the Crafts of Art of Heritage on the Butte du Château
Hours: Friday 18, Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 September for the Encounters. Opening of the Cayenne and museum during the weekend, according to local programming
La Cayenne de Pézenas de L'Union compagnonnique des Devoirs Unis is fully associated with the first edition of the Rencontres des Métiers d'Art du Patrimoine, initiated by Ateliers d'Art de France.
For three days, artisans, training schools, heritage associations, architects, decorators, communities and actors in the public order are gathered around the professions related to the restoration, transmission and preservation of heritage.
This participation makes it possible to present the Cayenne as a living place of transmission: the public can discover companionship, trades and routes, beyond the conservation of the collections alone.
To be retained
- Presence of Companions and presentation of know-how
- Meetings and exchanges on training and transmission
Read the article on Pézenas Companions
Versailles — L'Union compagnonnique at Campus Versailles
Address: Grand Écurie du Roi – Campus Versailles, 3 avenue Rockefeller, 78000 Versailles
Hours: Saturday, September 19, 10am – 6pm. Free entry
The young people and Companions de la Cayenne de Paris will participate in the day organized by the Campus Versailles around the trades and know-how of built heritage.
The public will be able to meet the Companions, discover their trades, the Tour de France and the transmission of know-how, and attend demonstrations. The Campus devotes this day to built heritage, with demonstrations and testimonies from artisans and professionals, workshops for young and old, guided tour of the Grande Écurie and photographic exhibition on the Saint-Cloud wing site.
Programme
- Demonstrations and exchanges around heritage professions
- Intervention of the collective of engravers on Lapidorium stone, with demonstrations and exchanges around the engraving on stone
A particularly symbolic presence: the Companions meet the public at the Campus, while their own house opens its doors a few minutes away.
JEP 2026 programme of Campus Versailles (new window)
Our training partners
Versailles — House of Italian Musicians, headquarters of L'Union compagnonnique
Address: 15 rue Champ-Lagarde, 78000 Versailles
Hours: Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 September, 10am-17h
For two days, young people and Companions welcomed the public to the national headquarters of L'Union compagnonnique.
Visitors will be able to discover the Maison des Musiciens Italiens, the companionship, the trades represented, the masterpieces, the principle of the Tour de France and the transmission between generations. This openness is the heart of the operation. « Open Days » : the public is invited to cross the door of a companion house and meet those who make it live.
Programme
- Visits and discovery of companion heritage
- Exchanges with Companions and Youth
Contact: 09 52 32 61 49 – contact@lecompagnonnage.com
JEP official card: guided tour of the Italian Musicians' House (new window)
Toulon — The House of Companions opens its renovated museum
Address: 42 rue de Pomet, 83000 Toulon
Hours: Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 September, 9h-12h and 2h-18h
The Maison des Companons du Tour de France de Toulon invites the public to discover its recently renovated museum. Companions will be present to welcome visitors, share their history, present their journeys and introduce their fellow masterpieces.
Contact: 07 86 79 26 19
Discover the Cayenne de Toulon
Nantes — Le Manoir de la Hautière, museum and demonstrations
Address: 14 rue Claude Guillon Verne, 44100 Nantes
Hours: Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 September — JEP programme to be consulted
Le Manoir de la Hautière, seat of L'Union compagnonnique of Nantes, opens its museum and offers visits as well as demonstrations of know-how.
Among other things, the program announces demonstrations around stone carving, framework, bakery, watchmaking, pastry, forgery, decorative painting, electricity, cooking and photo-retouche.
Local contact: 02 40 69 30 55 / 06 31 65 99 42 – nantes@lecompagnonnage.com
JEP official fact sheet: a workshop to demonstrate know-how (new window)
Brive-la-Gaillarde — The Museum of L'Union compagnonnique Opens its doors
Address: 17 bis avenue Firmin-Marbeau, 19100 Brive-la-Gaillarde
Hours: Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 September, 10h-12h and 14h-18h
The Museum of L'Union compagnonnique Open its doors to the public. The program includes live visits and workshops to discover the trades, objects and gestures of companionship.
Programme
- Free visit
- Live workshops and demonstrations
Contact: 06 84 49 76 28
JEP information in Brive-la-Gaillarde (new window)
Bordeaux — Young people and Companions at the Village des Métiers du Patrimoine
Place: Place Pey Berland, Bordeaux
Hours: Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 September, 10am-12h30. Free
The young people and Companions of Bordeaux will be present at the Forum des Métiers du Patrimoine organised with the FFB and the Chantier Médiéval de Guyenne. The public is invited to discover the art professions dedicated to the restoration of heritage and to experiment with stone carving.
To be retained
- More than 20 stands announced
- Meetings with professionals and structures involved in safeguarding heritage
Forum des Métiers du Patrimoine on the site of Bordeaux Métropole (new window)
Montauban — The Musée-Cayenne opens its doors exceptionally
Address: 13 rue de L'Union compagnonnique, 82000 Montauban
Hours: Saturday, September 19, 9am-19am. Free entry
The Musée-Cayenne, the headquarters of the Union des Compagnons du Tour de France, offers an exceptional opening on the occasion of the JEPs. The public can discover freely or accompanied by a guide works made by young apprentices and Companions, as well as historical documents.
Demonstrations of know-how are also announced, including in saddlery, zinc and kitchen. Other trades represented include framework, masonry, jewellery and cabinetmaking.
To be retained
- Museum installed in vaulted halls of XVIe century
- Masterpieces and historical documents of the XIXe century to the present
- Free entry
JEP official fact sheet: visit of the museum of L'Union compagnonnique (new window)
A living heritage: Les Cayennes as Open Days
Through these demonstrations, L'Union compagnonnique carries a message common to the entire network: to open a Cayenne is not only to show a museum. It is to open a place where generations meet, where trades are transmitted and where the Tour de France takes on a concrete dimension.
Visitors are invited to walk through the doors of these houses, meet the Companions, watch the young people work, discover the masterpieces and understand the training courses. The demonstrations show what makes companionship unique: a knowledge that goes through practice, gesture, experience and transmission.
« A weekend to push the door of a Cayenne, meet a Companion, discover a trade and understand that the heritage is alive only when it is transmitted. »
Contacts and national presence
Companion Union of the Companions of the Tour de France des Devoirs Unis
15 rue Champ-Lagarde – 78000 Versailles
