Today was the start of the Jour de Patrimonie, a weekend that has many buildings open to the public. Or course in true French fashion, even though it is free you probably need a reservation, which is difficult to get, and then you will probably have to wait in line forever. Friends said the Senat building did not need a reservation so I headed over there. On the way, the Hotel de Ville had a massive line and the Senate line went from the Odeon side of the Luxembourg gardens all the way to the station on the far side. Since it was also raining definitely a non starter. I did get into the Luxembourg museum, weird black and white streaks on paper, the Greenhouses were open, and I did manage a brief look into the Mairie of the 6th and a nearby court building called the Hotel Beauvais. All in all convinced that the day of Patrimony is a day of standing in line for hours for most people.