> Chateau Regniere Ecluse ***

Reserve your Tour of the castle Regnière-Ecluse is a unique estate, occupied for 10 centuries by the same family. Around 1030, he passed from the Abbey of Saint-Riquier to the family Tyrel de Poix, ancestors of the current descendant occupying the premises.

> Azincourt  (Agincourt) ****

Website Battlefield and Museum (walking distance between the two places). At Agincourt we have explored the battlefield where King Henry V defeated the French 69 years later on 25th October 1415, a battlefield where once again the English Longbow proved decisive.

 

> Crecy ***

Reserve your Tour of the Battlefield :; Edward III's victory over Philip VI of France on 26th August 1346, a victory saw the rise to prominence of the English Longbow.

 

> Azincourt  (Agincourt) ****

Website Battlefield and Museum (walking distance between the two places). At Agincourt we have explored the battlefield where King Henry V defeated the French 69 years later on 25th October 1415, a battlefield where once again the English Longbow proved decisive.

 

 

> Town of Rue ****

Website Town with a 15th century belfry and a chapel (backing onto the church) whose facade is very nicely carved like lace.

 

 

> Abbaye de Valloires ****

Website A Cistercian abbey modified several times: Germanic influences, many buildings, a very welcoming place and restaurant.

 

 

> Town of St Valery en Somme ****

Website Saint-Valery-sur-Somme owes its rich and eventful history to its strategic position on a limestone promontory facing the Somme Bay. It has now become a member of the Most Beautiful Detours in France network. William the Conqueror and Joan of Arc both visited the medieval city..

If you are going towards Paris

 

> Ville de Senlis *****

Website Medieval town with a splendid Cathedral. Gallo-Roman walls form a tight circle around picturesque narrow streets, vestiges of the royal chateau, where the Kings of France lived, the Saint-Maurice Priory, constructed close to the royal palace in XIII century on the request of the holy king Louis, Notre-Dame cathedral (XII - XVI centuries) marked by four centuries of transformations presenting all aspects of Gothic art, the Saint-Frambourg Chapel built in about 1170.

Website Four museums with large and original collections: paintings and Gallo-Roman vestiges at the museum of Art and Archaeology, history and architecture at the museum of the Hôtel de Vermandois, military traditions at the Spahi museum and the art of hunting at the Hunting museum.

> Chantilly *****

Museum of the Horse; Amazing ! ******
Website Les Grandes Ecuries (the museum of the Stables) are considered as the most beautiful stables in the world. The architect Jean Aubert was commissioned by Louis-Henri de Bourbon, 7th Prince of Condé, to build the grand stables. Legend has it that the prince thought he would be reincarnated as a horse, so he wanted stables that would reflect the majesty of his rank.

 

Chateau de Chantilly: *****
Website The Château de Chantilly stands at the heart of a vast domain covering 7 800 hectares, located in one of the largest forests near Paris, Le Massif de Trois Forêts (Chantilly, Halatte and Ermonville forests). The park was designed by Le Notre. The Château and estate have been built up by the owners of Chantilly since the Middle Ages.The Château de Chantilly has one of the finest museums of historical paintings in France (after the Louvre in Paris) and a library well stocked with rare and precious books and manuscripts.

> Pierrefonds ****

Website The Château de Pierrefonds is a majestic and beautiful palace wasl built by Philippe d' Orléans in the 15th century and demolished on the order of Louis XIII in the 17th century. 200 years later Napoleon III ordered that Château de Pierrefonds be rebuilt as an imperial residence. This work was undertaken by one of the greatest designers of the day-Viollet-le-Duc, and it is often cited as his greatest work.   

> Abbaye Royale de Chaalis ***

Website Surrounded by lush woodland the Abbaye Royale de Chaalis is a magnificent château. This former abbey was converted into a château in the 18th century when it became the home of the fabulously wealthy art collector Nélie Jacquemart-André.

 

> Basilique de St Denis ****

Website Cathedral originating in 1122, built on the site of a 4th century shrine of St Denis, became the prototype for later French cathedrals. Consecrated as the royalmausoleum by Louis VI, it houses the tombs of the kings of France, from Hugues Capet to Louis XVIII. The only museum of funeral art of its kind in the world.

 

 

> Chateau de Compiègne, Museums ***

Website Compiègne merge with those of the French monarchy, it was in 1751, under the reign of Louis XV, that work was begun according to plans drawn up by Ange-Jacques Gabriel, which would give the château its present shape. “Compiègnes”, visits by the Court to the Imperial residence for a month or a month and a half in the autumn, date from 1856. They became the “series” which Napoleon III and the Empress Eugénie organized there, assembling about 100 guests for a week.

Website The château also houses a Cars and Tourism national museum displaying a significant collection of animal-drawn vehicles and automobiles, from the earliest times up to the First World War.

> Ermenonville: ***

Garden of Jean-Jacques Rousseau
WebsiteThe estate was owned and designed by the Marquis de Girardin, who also wrote a famous book published in English as 'Essay on the means of improving and embellishing the country round our habitations' (London, 1783)

 

> Visit the 1st World War Armistice train ***

Website Early in the morning of the 8th November a train carrying Maréchal Ferdinand Foch, his staff and British officers arrived on the siding to the right, nearest the museum. The train formed a mobile headquarters for Foch, complete with a restaurant car and office

 

 

> Château d'Ecouen ***

Website was built for Anne de Moontmorency (1493-1567). A remarkable collections of tapestries and the park was designed by Jules Hardouin-Mansart.

 

 

> Paris *****

Website An outstanding concentration of 180 museums and monuments await you …

 

 

> Versailles *****

Website With 60,000 artworks, collections of Versailles illustrate 5 centuries of French History. This set reflects the dual vocation of the Palace once inhabited by the sovereigns and then a museum dedicated "to all the glories of France" inaugurated by Louis-Philippe in 1837. Enjoy the Musical Fountains Shows and the Musical Gardens

 

For Children ****
> Parc Astérix

Website Attraction park based around Asterix the Gaul cartoon character created by Uderzo and Goscinny.