On September 15, at 5 p.m., the conference room of Martinique’s Cultural Affairs Department is already packed. Journalists, cultural leaders, organizations, artists, and heritage professionals have gathered to find out what the 43rd edition has in store. With just four days to go before the 2026 European Heritage Days , scheduled for September 19 and 20, this press conference already feels like a journey across Martinique—from its Creole huts to its lighthouses, from Saint-Pierre to the monuments we sometimes pass by without really noticing them.
European Heritage Days 2026: A Lively Conference
Johan-Hilel Hamel, Martinique’s director of cultural affairs, opened the meeting without putting on airs. He even warned that the evening would not be a long monologue. The conversation quickly began to flow. A representative from Les Trois-Îlets speaks, followed by Xavier Nicolas from the Directorate of the Sea, Philippe Villard from the Heritage Foundation, Florence Le Gal from the Maison de l’Architecture de la Martinique, photographer Adeline Rapon, and Sabrina Ajax from Richès Karayib. Other partners present in the room will then share their own initiatives.
The tone is set. Here, cultural heritage does not speak with a single voice. Some presentations focus on deteriorating buildings, while others address photography, memory, scuba diving, architecture, or the passing down of traditions. At one point, hats made from woven straw even catch the audience’s attention as participants take the floor to present their projects. The room reacts, the speakers engage in dialogue, and the conference gradually takes on the character of a living inventory of what Martinique seeks to preserve.
As we look at the program for the 2026 European Heritage Days, one question arises almost naturally. What do we choose to pass on when certain places have become so familiar that we no longer really look at them?
Take a look at Creole houses before they disappear
The issue of heritage at risk is addressed in several contributions. Johan-Hilel Hamel focuses in particular on the Creole house. Its presence in the Martinican landscape may seem obvious, almost ordinary. That is precisely what sometimes makes it vulnerable to being overlooked. We grow accustomed to a house, a facade, a style of architecture—until the day it is no longer there.
In Trois-Îlets, a project focused on Creole huts aims to offer a new perspective on them. The buildings have been cataloged and sketched, and the stories of local residents have been recorded. Behind the walls, memories, families, and ways of living in this region come to light.
Philippe Villard, the departmental representative for the Heritage Foundation, also frames this issue in very human terms. When a house disappears, he essentially points out, a part of our collective memory disappears with it. For him, the growing interest in heritage is also a necessary awakening of awareness, both for the sake of Martinique’s collective memory and for the activities related to its restoration.
From the Caravelle Lighthouse to the Maison du Bagnard
A few minutes later, the view shifts from the houses to the sea. Xavier Nicolas, director of maritime affairs, takes the floor to talk about the Caravelle Lighthouse. Built in 1861, the monument will be open to the public on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and on Sunday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Visitors will be able to explore the building with staff from the Maritime Directorate and learn about its equipment and how it operates.
The lighthouse is then no longer just a silhouette visible in the landscape. During the 2026 European Heritage Days, it becomes a place you can enter, observe up close, and discover its technical aspects.
Other sites are mentioned as the evening progresses. The Maison du Bagnard, the Gros-Morne Church, Fort Saint-Louis, and the Balata Church are discussed in conversations about preservation and restoration efforts. Behind each of these projects are funding, partners, specialists, and time. Heritage preservation, therefore, does not begin on Saturday morning only to end on Sunday evening. It is a year-round effort.
In Saint-Pierre, Looking Beyond the Ruins
Photography then went on to change the way we talk about heritage once again. The lecture is followed by the opening of “Saint-Pierre Is Not a Ruin”, an exhibition by Adeline Rapon presented at the Martinique Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the Maison de l’Architecture de la Martinique. The exhibition explores memory, traces, and the ways in which places continue to live on after the upheavals they have endured.
When Adeline Rapon talks about her work, Saint-Pierre ceases to be merely a collection of ruins. The photographer explains that she wanted to go beyond the usual images of the city. As a portrait photographer, she is interested in people, their daily lives, their memories, and their relationship with places. One encounter holds a special place in this story: that with a man nicknamed Café. Adeline Rapon recounts that he guided her through Saint-Pierre, despite the challenges he faced following a stroke. He introduced her to local residents and gave her a glimpse behind certain walls.
Saint-Pierre then appears in a different light. Traces of the past are still present, but they coexist with the people who live today within these walls, these streets, and these landscapes. The photographs ask the visitor not to rush past. They invite you to linger a few seconds longer—just long enough to wonder what lies behind the image.
European Heritage Days 2026: 122 Landmarks at Your Fingertips
A screen finally makes an appearance during this evening dedicated to the transmission of cultural heritage. Sabrina Ajax presents the map developed by Richès Karayib in collaboration with the Department of Cultural Affairs. The tool brings together 122 historic monuments spread across 29 municipalities in Martinique. It allows users to search for these sites, view information about their history and status, and locate them so they can go explore them. These 122 correspond to the historic monuments listed in the Richès Karayib map. They should not be confused with the 127 initiatives and proposals announced as part of the 2026 European Heritage Days.
The anecdote shared during the presentation perhaps sums up the value of this map better than any speech could. While using it, Sabrina Ajax realized that she had lived not far from the Maison Charlery without knowing that it was a protected historic site.
So cultural heritage isn’t always the destination of an excursion planned weeks in advance. It can be found just around the corner. On a road you take every morning. Behind a facade you’ve been passing by for years without wondering what story it tells. During the 2026 European Heritage Days, this mapping exercise can serve as a simple invitation to start with your own surroundings.
A Weekend to See Martinique in a New Light
After nearly an hour of presentations, the final exchanges gradually give way to the opening reception. Participants are invited to view Adeline Rapon’s photographs and enjoy the social gathering planned in the gardens of the Cultural Affairs Department. The conference comes to a close, but the conversations continue.
Above all, one impression remains: Martinique’s cultural heritage cannot be confined to a single definition. It can be monumental, like a lighthouse; fragile, like a Creole hut; intimate, like a photograph; submerged beneath the sea; or nearly invisible simply because it is part of everyday life.
The 2026 European Heritage Days feature 127 events and activities announced for the weekend. But behind that number, the purpose of the 2026 European Heritage Days ultimately seems much simpler. Take a second look. And perhaps ask yourself what, just a few minutes from home, is worth discovering today before it becomes nothing more than a memory.
The 2026 European Heritage Days will take place on September 19 and 20 in Martinique. This 43rd edition features tours, exhibitions, and events celebrating Martinique’s heritage.
Visitors will be able to explore various aspects of Martinique’s heritage, including Creole huts, maritime heritage, photography, architecture, and several of the territory’s landmarks. The program features 127 events and activities.
The map developed by Richès Karayib in collaboration with the Department of Cultural Affairs lists 122 historic monuments spread across 29 municipalities in Martinique. It allows users to explore the monuments and better identify nearby heritage sites.
