There is no denying the French passion for ancient stones. Television programmes dedicated to heritage are in full swing. Petitions and mobilisations in their favour are lighting up social networks. This appetite is also evident in the attendance at heritage sites. In 2023, national museums and monuments welcomed 46.8 million visitors, according to the new edition of Patrimostat, the benchmark survey published on Thursday 19 September by the Ministry of Culture, on the eve of the 41st anniversary of the French Revolution.are European Heritage Days.
This figure is just the tip of a category that includes more than 1,200 museums in France, nearly 46,000 historical monuments spread across France and overseas territories, some 258 “Houses of the Illustrious”, 1,646 “remarkable” contemporary architectural works, national, regional and departmental archives, gardens, “remarkable”, of course. Not to mention the 6,000 endangered sites reported by the Heritage Lotto.
The Rue de Valois does not yet have consolidated data on all these sites, which in 2022 attracted 81 million visitors. But the information collected already shows a real upturn. Highlighted by commemorative news, the Pantheon reached one million admissions for the first time. The Musée d’Orsay saw its admissions increase by 18% compared to 2022. The improvement is confirmed outside the capital. The audience at the Château de Fougères-sur-Bièvre (Loir-et-Cher) increased by 92% and Mont-Saint-Michel (Manche) by 23%. Even more satisfying, Patrimostat notes a rejuvenation of the public, in particular 6% more in national museums.
The price as a sheet.
However, the research is not without its drawbacks. Only a small third of French people visited a museum or an exhibition in 2023, almost as many as the previous year, but much less than in 2019, when it was 41%. On the other hand, more people (59%) have bought a ticket for a monument. Is heritage more popular than museums? “There is room for everyone”puts the Rue de Valois into perspective.
Faced with soaring inflation, the French are making choices. And when asked which outings they want to keep, 53% are in favour of going to the cinema, compared to 36% of heritage visits. The price is a counterbalance: 36% of those who go on cultural outings have given up on a heritage visit because they consider it too expensive.
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