Familistère de Guise

About the museum

The Familistère de Guise is a housing and services complex designed by the industrialist Jean-Baptiste André Godin for the workers of his cast-iron stove and range factory. The central pavilion of the Palais social was built in forty months and completed in 1865; the whole formed by the left wing, the central pavilion and the right wing took 75 months of construction and was finished in 1879. Around the Palais social were shared facilities: cooperative stores, a laundry with swimming pool, schools, a nursery and a theatre. In 1889 the Familistère had 1,748 residents.

Until 1968 the site remained collective property, managed by a cooperative association of capital and labour. Its dissolution that year split up the property and led to the decline of the Palais social. The theatre and the schools were transferred to the Town of Guise as early as 1969; the town later acquired other annexes, such as the cooperative stores, the laundry with swimming pool and the bandstand.

The listing of the Familistère as a historic monument in 1991 protected the buildings. Their restoration began in 2000 under the Utopia programme, run by a mixed syndicate created by the Aisne department and the Town of Guise. Today the site museum presents about 5,000 m² of permanent and temporary exhibitions, as well as restored spaces such as Godin’s apartment, the laundry with swimming pool and the cooperative stores.

Highlights

• Central pavilion of the Palais social and its exhibitions
• Godin’s apartment
• Laundry with swimming pool
• Cooperative stores
• Italian-style theatre (guided tour)
• Peninsula garden (10 hectares, free access)
• Escape game and virtual reality (from age 12)

Permanent exhibitions

• Du château des ducs au Palais social : le Familistère dans la ville – Permanent exhibition in the cooperative stores on how the Familistère fitted into the town of Guise.
• L'hygiène, une question sociale – Permanent exhibition in the laundry with swimming pool, a building devoted to the hygiene of the Familistère’s residents.
• Expositions du pavillon central du Palais social – Route through the central pavilion with a life-size cross-section, free-access museographic workshops and the sound courtyard.

Operated by

Syndicat mixte du Familistère Godin (Département de l'Aisne et Ville de Guise) ; accueil du public par la Régie du Familistère

Visitors per year

approx. 72,367

Admission & discounts

Free entry for children under 6 and for holders of a press card or ICOM card. The prices shown are those of the September to December 2026 price list. Online payment by bank card only; on site: cash, bank card, check and holiday vouchers.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials
• Audio description

The Familistère has held the Tourisme et Handicap label for the four categories of disability (hearing, intellectual, motor and visual) since December 2019. Lifts, platform lifts and ramps make the site museum fully accessible to people with reduced mobility; reserved parking spaces are in the cooperative stores car park. A hearing loop is installed in the reception areas, and videos are subtitled. Plans, models and tactile workshops, a Braille booklet and a tactile case can be borrowed at reception; an audio-described route is available in the “Compagnon de visite” app. Easy-to-read and easy-to-understand (FALC) booklets are available for people with intellectual disabilities. Dogs are not admitted to the museum spaces, but are accepted in the gardens on a lead.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Hands-on stations
• Stroller-friendly

Storytelling tour for children (ages 5 to 12, with a dedicated ticket) every Saturday at 14:30; two-hour family workshops during school holidays in zone B; the “Little Familistérien” booklet for 6- to 12-year-olds (€3); free workshops in the central pavilion; escape game and virtual reality from age 12. All areas of the museum are accessible with a pushchair, except the cellars. Children’s menu at the restaurant; 10-hectare peninsula garden.

Getting there & parking

Road distances to Guise: Saint-Quentin 25 km, Laon 41 km, Reims 93 km, Amiens 104 km, Lille 110 km, Paris 186 km.

Amenities & dining

• Restaurant
• Museum shop
• Coat check

Restaurant “L’estaminet Godin” in the former cooperative stores (open to visitors and non-visitors; continuous service; booking recommended). Shop and bookshop. Luggage storage in the central pavilion: backpacks, sports bags and large bags are not admitted to the museum. Picnic tables in the peninsula garden.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Corporate events

Meeting rooms, the central pavilion auditorium (74 seats), the Italian-style theatre with 346 seats and the courtyard of the central pavilion; catering and team-building offers for seminars and corporate events. Contact: reservation@familistere.com or +33 3 23 61 35 36.

Plan your visit