Social inclusion and educational initiatives at the Palace of Versailles

Every year, we pursue broad range of projects, enabling all audiences, whatever their circumstances or background,, to discover the Palace of Versailles. Many of these would not be possible without the suport of our patrons who, like us, care about culture being accessible, shared, and passed on to everyone, without distinction. 

"The Palace of Versailles aims to deepen its commitments to civil society and the wider public by continuing to innovate, welcoming or reaching out to audiences that are less likely to engage with us. We do this through our partnerships with schools, art therapy projects, workshop for people with disabilities and other initiatves."

Accessibility for all at the Palace of Versailles

Making the Palace of Versailles accessible is a key priority fo us. This involves not only adapting visitor routes, but also developing cultural interpretation tailored to each audience. People with all types of disability are welcomed, wether sensory, cognitive, psychosocial, physical, or intellectual – and wether temporary or permanent.

A commitment to everyone : the palace of versailles comes to you

The Palace of Versailles inspires dreams, but it can also fell out of reach. To address this, we make it easier for culturally underserved groups, by reaching out to them and offering dedicated activities both at the Palace and beyond – affirming our commitment to everyone. 

You can join us too

By becoming a patron for one of our social inclusion or educational initiatives, you can help make Versailles a unique sapce open to all, where everyone can make the Palace their own. Whether you are an individual, a company, or a foundation, you can support a social inclusion or educational project, helping place people at the heart of heritage. 

A broad range of projects are waiting for you to breathe life into them 

major upcoming projects

The Palace of Versailles supports numerous cultural, educational, and social initiatives. The projects set out below are actively seeking patrons. This list is not exhaustive : please contact us to learn mire about all our initiatives.

mecenat@chateauversailles.fr

+33 (0)1 30 83 77 40

Lights of Versailles (Lumière de Versailles) 2026-2027 : architecture, photography and mythology

This programme of artistic and educational excellence, designed for primary and secondary school classes, explores the theme of light in all its forms. Each project unfolds over a full school year, in partnership with local cultural organisations : the French Museum of Photography (Musée français de la photographie) in Bièvres, Synchrotron Soleil, and departmental archives. There is a particular focus on medical and social care facilities.

Project seeking patronage –submission on Adage in May 2026, with the project launching at the start of the 2026-2027 school year.

Culture and care at the Palace and in hospital settings, in partnership with AP-HP and GHT 78 Sud

In partnership with AP-HP and GHT 78 Sud, the Palace of Versailles aims to offer about 65 cultural activities, both at the palace and within hospital facilities, to reach more than 1.000 patients in a year. Following the 2023 project, which brought together 1.200 healthcare professionals, the programme also includes an evening at the Trianon Estate to recognise the contribution of healthcare workers.

Project seeking patronage – launching  in 2027

Regional heritage with the Nice and Bordeaux education authorities

Since 2023, this partnership with the Nice and Bordeaux education authorities has enabled 27 classes to explore the concept of the château, alongside their local and national heritage. The project has been further developed for 2026-2027 : each school will host an exhibition of models of the Palace aligned with its class project, extending the experience to families and the wider school community. A similar programme is being conducted with the Bordeaux education authority. 

Project seeking patronage – 2026-2027 school year.

Versailles, a witness too history, through the "Correspondence" Project

Co-developed with the Ministry for National Education, this national letter-writing project is aimed at Key Stage 1 and 2 (Cycle 2 and Cycle 3) classes in metropolitan France, its overseas territories, and in French schools abroad. Every month from October 2026 to May 2027, the Palace of Versailles will send a fictional letter, written as a testimony from the past – from the Grand Siècle to the 1960s – inviting students to respond by offerunf their own perspective on today's world. Each answer then becomes a bridge between history and the present. The initiative will conclude with a project showcase in each school of a virtual gallery af the letters, together with the award of a "Witness to History" certificate to the participating classes. 

Project seeking patronage – launching in October 2026

International Women's Rights Week

An ambitious annual programme centred on women in French history : a roundtable discussion, photographic exhibition at the North Ministers' Wing, themed guided tours, and theatre-based interpretive sessions. In partnership with the departments of the Yvelines Prefecture. 

Project seeking patronage – annual edition

Summer at Versailles

Since 2016, the Palace of Versailles has been organizing two event days for young people from culturally underserved communities, particularly those from after-school and holiday clubs in Ile-de-France, child welfare services and priority neighbourhoods. Every summer, nearly 5.000 children who do not normally have a holiday, discover the Palace museum and its gardens through educational and fun trails, accompanied by interpretive guides. The aim : to broaden cultural accessibility for all.

Project seeking patronage – annual edition.

A sensory kit

This project offers a sensory kit to discover the Palace museum remotely, through smells, fabrics, materials, and tactile objects that evoke life in the Palace. Aimed at audiences lacking in cultural access and at artistic education initiatives in geographically isoled communities, it creates a dialogue between national and local heritage through a partnership with regional educational authorities. The aim: to enrich educational activities and broaden access to heritage. 

Project seeking patronage

The Palace of Versailles is also pursuing other community autreach and cultural projects. Contact us to find out more.

To contact the Patronage Department :

mecenat@chateauversailles.fr

+33 (0)1 30 83 77 40

Thank you to our patrons who support us

FDJ-United Foundation, Michelin Fondation d'entreprise, Maires ruraux Puys de Dômes, Fonds de dotation Francis Kurkdjian, Maison Francis Kurkdjian, MGEN, McArthurGlen, le Conseil départemental des Yvelines et la CAF 78, la Région Ile-de-France, la Préfecture de région Ile-de-France, Direction de l'administration pénitentiaire (DAP), Protection judiciaire de la jeunesse (PJJ), Groupe Transdev, Emerige, Matmut pour les Arts, Entreprendre pour aider, Naked Heart, Fondation Bettencourt Schueller, Discover Network

Thanks to you, Versailles and its grounds are increasingly accessible to everyone.

"Art-therapy"

To help foster cultural access for all, Matmut is supporting the Public Establishment of the Palace, Museum, adn National Estate of Versailles in its "A breath of Art" ("Souffle d'art") project.

In 2026, Matmut pour les arts will support the Palace of Versailles in its efforts to foster a dialogue between culture and health by becoming a patron of the art therapy workshops that the Palace has run since 2021.

Since 2021, the Palace of Versailles has welcomed art therapists and thair patients for therapy sessions in a unique setting. The initiative is driven by the conviction that a combination of art and an inspiring environment, can foster well-being, recovery, and personal development.

The goal is to support these individuals on their healing journey, helping them to externalise their emotional hurts through a variety of artistic activities, such as visual arts, singing, and dance. Each project is co-constructed with healthcare partners and certified art therapists to offer support that is truly tailored to each individual, in an inspiring and safe environment. 

Find out more about art therapy

"Mental health in hospitals : the Versailles in Harmony programme"

With the support of MGEN

In 2026, MGEN is supporting the Palace of Versailles in its cultural activities to support mental health. These are carried out in partnership with the AP-HP (the Paris hospital network), in particular the Corentin-Celton and Pitié-Salpêtrière hospitals. 

Two groups will take part in workshops whose aim is to use singing as a means of expression and emotional release –promoting emotional, mental, and physical well-being. Each group will enjoy a music-themed visit and four workshops led by an opera singer, culminating in a closing concert on Wednesday, 24 June 2026 in the Palace's Royal Chapel.

Thanks to MGEN's support, the Palace of Versailles can continue its cultural initiatives for people with mental-health challenges and halthcare workers, fostering "a state of well-being that enables each person to realise their potential".

"Bringing culturally underserved communities, and those with disabilities, closer to Versailles"

With the support of FDJ United Foundation

Since 2012, the FDJ United Foundation has supported several events for culturally underserved communities and individuals with disabilities.

For the past 14 years, the programme has offered two days a year dedicated to culturally underserved communities, as well as a week focused on disability. These initiatives enable participants to discover the Palace of Versailles in a new light and through an exclusive experience, with evening events offering moments of escape and wonder for all.

FDJ United Foundation Day : 30 June 2025

"Discovering Versailles's gardens"

With the support of the Francis Kurkdjian Endowment Fund and of Maison Francis Kurkdjian

In 2020, patronage from the Francis Kurkdjian Endowment Fund enabled the creation of a planted area, freely inspired by Africa's lush nature, at the Grand Trianon. Also commited to the fight against cultural discrimination, the fund wanted to invite 300 young people, supported by the association le Refuge and Aurore, and the Youth Judicial Protection Service, to discover the Trianon Estate's gardens and espacially the Africa-inspired planted area. 

In addition, in 2021, Maison Francis Kurkdjian's patronage enabled the creation of the Perfumer's Garden, in the surroundings of the Châteauneuf Orangery. The result of an exceptional synergy between the Trianon Estate's gardeners and Francis Kurkdjian, this new garden opened in the spring of 2023. Numerous visits and workshops are offered to the general public, but also to families, school groups, students, and associations.

In 2026, as part of "Gardens of the Enlightment, 1750-1800" exhibition to be held from 5 May to 27 September, the Perfumer's Garden will be open to the public every weekend.

The Perfumer's Garden

"Escale à Versailles programme"

Since 2015, the Palace of Versailles has been offering a biennial initiative aimed at people with special needs. In doing so, it furthers its mission to make heritage and artistic creations accessible to all.

2026 : From Thread to Thread

With the support of Michelin Fondation d'entreprise and the Maires ruraux du Puy-de-Dôme

This year's Escale programme aims to bring the Palace of Versailles to the heart of the Puy-de-Dôme region, making its heritage a vehicle for social inclusion. 

The Palace of Versailles, a major French heritage site, has always been linked to the history of textiles. The project aims to draw on this textile tradition using a contemporary and participatory approach that involves young people rom rural areas. Here, textiles, a genuine thread between generations and geographies, becomes a lever for passing on culture, social connections, and the revitalisation of rural life. 

Young people ages 14 to 30, from the rural areas of Puy-de-Dôme, will work with a professional textile artiste to discover artisan techniques such as embroidery, tapestry, lacemaking, and ornamental trimmings. As part of this project, they will also have the opportunity to discover the artistic crafts of the Palace of Versailles, the exceptional know-how involved, and their role in the preservation of heritage. Together, they will co-create a collective, contemporary textile artwork. This textile creation will be exhibited at the Palace of Versailles, uniquely showcasing these young talents and helping change perceptions of rural life.  

A temporary exhibition of the work will take place at the Palace of Versailles during the summer of 2026, along with a private viewing where the project's participants and partners will be invited to view their creation in the heart of the Palace.

2024 : Dreams in Motion

With the support of McArthurGlen, the Yvelines Departmental Council, and CAF 78 in patnership with the  Association Nouvelle du Vivre Ensemble.

This project has been awarded the Cultural Olympiad label.

The project, "Dream in Motion", aimed to unlock the artistic potential of people with disabilities and those supported by social-care services. Guided by the Association Nouvelle du Vivre Ensemble and several choreogaphers, five groups were introduced to dance. A showcase performance by each group, held in a select location on the Versailles estate, offered an opportunity to capture bodies in motion through photography and video, highlighting inclusion in sport and art. 

The photographs taken, printed in large format, were exhibited at Versailles from 15 June to 22 September 2024 and then, from 18 October to 18 November 2024, were showcased at the Maison des Métiers d'Art in the McArthurGlen Paris-Giverny Centre.

Learn more about Dreams in Motion

Showcase performance of the choreography in the French Pavilion, © Patrick Berger

2019 : Bewigged or Bareheaded

With the support of Groupe Transdev

In 2018 and 2019, young patients from the Margency Children's Hospital discovered the Palace of Versailles through the lens of court fashion. Following visits to the Palace and workshops at the hospital, they made wigs, repurposing gloves, masks, tubes, and pill capsules, which became imaginative raw materials for them. Photographs of the children wearing their wigs were exhibited from 21 October to 3 November 2019 in the Girandole Grove.

"A day's holiday at Versailles"

With the support of Emerige

In 2016, the Emerige Endowment Fund was a patron for the Olafur Eliasson contemporary exhibition at the Palace of Versailles. Following this patronage, they chose to allocate their donor privileges to a public-interest programme in keeping with their philanthropic policy. The "Day's holiday at Versailles", initiative enabled over 5.000 children from disadvantaged neighbourhoods to visit the Palace and grounds of Versailles during the summer. As a result of its success, the initiative was repeated in 2017, 2018 and 2019, in collaboration with the patron. Since the initiative was launched in 2016, almost 30.000 children have enjoyed "A day's holliday at Versailles".

In 2021, 2022, and 2023, the Emerige Endowment Fund wanted to renew its support for the Palace of Versailles by continuing to hold "A day's holliday at Versailles".

 Emerige day 21 August 2023