Regions of France : Ile de France - Hotels Ile de France

Essonne

• Medicinal herbs in Milly la Forêt – along with Cocteau’s grave and decorated church
• One-eyed Cyclops in the forest
• Historic Etampes is another ‘Little Venice’

Hauts-de-Seine

• The royal palace and grounds just outside the city gates at Saint Cloud are easy to get to and free
• Daring architecture and high technology at La Défense
• World famous Sèvres porcelain on show in the National Ceramic Museum

Seine-et-Marne

• Provins - Built on a hill where once stood a Roman fort, Provins is a charming town registered as a World Heritage site since 2001. Its famous walls, built between 1226 and 1314, are 1.2 kms long and include 22 towers of various shapes. The most famous is the Cesar Tower, the only known octagonal tower with a square base. It was mostly used as a prison and was held by the English during the 100 years War. Mysterious galleries run beneath the walls and have been used as a setting by novelist Umberto Eco in his book Foucault’s Pendulum.
  Hotels Provins
• Nemours - The Nemours castle, probably built as early as the 12th century, was restored by Jacques d’Armagnac, Duke of Nemours in the 15th century. It has been a museum of local history since 1903. It is well worth a visit with paintings by Daumier, Delacroix and Goya as well as drawings made by Victor Hugo when he spent some time in town.
  Hotels Nemours
• Well-to-do Fontainebleau with its royal palace and sprawling forest
• Smaller is more beautiful at Vaux le Vicomte, the alternative to Versailles
• Art lovers head for the artists’ haunt of Barbizon, near Fontainebleau

Seine-Saint-Denis

• Royal burial ground under the motorway interchange at Saint Denis
• Stade de France, the temple to football in Saint Denis
• Flight museum at Le Bourget

Val-d'Oise

• Roissy-en-France with Charles De Gaulle airport (CDG)
• Pontoise has a remarkable cathedral – almost an architectural history lesson
• The Musée Pisarro in Pontoise
• Art students can see Van Gogh’s wheatfield at Auvers sur Oise

Val-de-Marne

• The Bois de Vincennes and its adjoining botanical garden
• The royal town of Vincennes with château, infamous dungeon, and zoo
• Singing and dancing in Nogent’s riverside restaurants

Yvelines

• Versailles is one of France’s “must see monuments”
• St Germain en Laye is the national antiquities centre
• Ile de Chatou on the Seine, was the inspiration for many Impressionists

News Ile-de-France