Petits weekends

I've been travelling a bit recently over my weekends, either just little day trips with the car or entire weekends away from Paris.

While my brother was here we went to a small medieval town called Provins which is about an hour from Paris by car in the Seine-et-Marne.  The town was very cute and they have a lot of shows and activities based around the Middle Ages for tourists.  We spent the afternoon there enjoying the nice weather and visiting some of the major sites like the Tour César and the old subterranean passages under the city where wine, champagne and other products were stored for festivals and markets.  We also visited a small church and explored the city while admiring its medieval architecture.

fortified wall at the entrance to Provins

the main square of Provins

La Tour César

view of the town and the church

subterranean chamber

The following weekend we headed out of Paris again with my brother and Jasmin to head to Picardie to visit a small town called Senlis and the Chateau de Chantilly. Senlis is only 40 km north of Paris and it's another cute little medieval town that also has some Roman ruins. We had a nice time visiting and exploring the town and all its picturesque streets, even though the weather wasn't as nice as the previous weekend. After Senlis we drove 10 minutes over to the Chateau de Chantilly to visit the beautiful chateau and its beautiful gardens.

cathedral of Senlis

Roman wall and mansion in Senlis

Roman ruins in Senlis

cathedral and royal palace of senlis

cute street in Senlis

gardens of Chateau de Chantilly

Chateau de Chantilly

Jasmin and I at the chateau

Chateau de Chantilly

Both of these short day trips were wonderful, and I highly recommend them as something different to do in the Paris area.  It's also a great way to escape the city for a day!