Heritage Days in Loches: free admission all weekend on 19 and 20 September

A free weekend in the Royal City

European Heritage Days return to the Royal City of Loches on 19 and 20 September 2026. Over both days, visitors can enjoy free access to the royal residence, the keep and the ramparts. Opening is scheduled from 9:30 am to 6:00 pm, with no booking required. This exceptional free admission covers the main heritage trail usually offered to visitors at this site overlooking the town and the Indre Valley.

The event page still bears the title “jep 2025”, but its practical information and programme do indeed concern the 2026 edition. The official website also lists European Heritage Days among its upcoming events, from 19 to 20 September. For visitors, the key information is therefore the announced calendar: two days of free access to several monuments in the Royal City of Loches.

The 2026 theme puts architecture in the spotlight

The 2026 edition is themed “Heritage at Risk: Revive, Resist, Reimagine”. In Loches, the focus is on discovering architectural heritage. The programme invites visitors to explore the monuments and take a closer look at the changes they have undergone, using explanatory panels and videos devoted to the site’s architectural evolution.

This focus has particular resonance in a complex that brings together a medieval keep, a royal residence and ramparts opening onto the landscape. The Royal City of Loches describes the keep as a masterpiece of 11th-century military architecture, 37 metres high and among the best preserved in Europe. The royal residence, meanwhile, is described as a jewel of late medieval architecture.

Explore the keep, royal residence and ramparts at your own pace

Self-guided visits are at the heart of these two days. They allow visitors to explore the keep, the royal residence and the ramparts at their own pace. The keep is presented as a monument whose architecture spans from the 11th to the 15th century, with imposing walls and a history tied to fortifications. Its many painted and engraved inscriptions also immerse visitors in the prison world of the period.

The royal residence adds another architectural period to this reading of the site. Visitors will be able to observe carved details, elegant vaults and refined decoration, presented as evidence of several centuries of history. The site welcomed Joan of Arc and Anne of Brittany, and housed Agnès Sorel, the favourite of King Charles VII. This layering of stories and built forms is part of the trail planned for the weekend.

The ramparts add a landscape dimension to the visit. The proposed route presents them as a walk through the centuries, with views over the town and the Indre Valley. From this fortified complex, the event encourages visitors both to observe the buildings and to understand their place in the Loches panorama. This part of the site is included in the announced self-guided visits for European Heritage Days.

Mediators at set times

Beyond independent wandering, mediators will offer presentations of the sites at set times. The programme does not specify these times, but announces sessions that will complement self-guided visits with a guided approach. Their presence is part of the focus on architecture and the monument’s evolution, alongside the panels and videos planned for the weekend.

The format therefore brings together several ways to discover the site: moving freely through the open spaces, stopping at explanatory displays or joining a presentation at a set time. The site highlights an accessible and friendly outing to share with family or friends. The event is presented as an opportunity to rediscover a historic place in a new light, with no advance booking requirement.

An exceptional free offer, with a paid HistoPad option

Access to the monuments is free throughout the weekend, from 9:30 am to 6:00 pm. This measure is expressly announced as exceptional free admission. It does not, however, include the HistoPad visit of the keep, offered at a price of €5.00. The programme therefore distinguishes between free entry for Heritage Days and this specific visitor experience in the keep.

Outside this free event, the site lists prices of €12.50 and €10.50 and states that it is normally open from 9:30 am to 6:00 pm, seven days a week, except on 25 December and 1 January. European Heritage Days are therefore a specific opportunity to enter the site freely for two days, while allowing visitors to decide whether or not to add the HistoPad tool for the keep.

An event within the 2026 programme

European Heritage Days feature in a 2026 calendar in which the Royal City also announces the centenary of the closure of Loches prison, scheduled for 11 October at the keep, as well as the event “Cinema Goes Medieval”, running from 14 May to 11 October at the keep and royal residence. The weekend of 19 and 20 September is therefore part of a season already marked by several events connected with these places and their history.

For this edition of Heritage Days, the message is simple: save the dates rather than book a place. Visitors will be able to arrive freely during the stated opening hours and choose their own route between the keep, royal residence and ramparts. The site also invites people to follow news of these days on social media using the hashtag #JEP2026.