Vincennes is a city which now touches Paris to the east but was long enough far from the capital for King Charles V to decide to build a castle there in complete safety.
A former prison now a museum, the vast fortified complex contains the highest keep in Europe as well as a superb Sainte Chapelle.
The Château Royal borders on one side the Bois de Vincennes and the lush Parc Floral, on the other the upscale city, with its lively center and interesting heritage.
Vincennes chateau and town
Description
Vincennes Chateau and Town
Practical Information
• Meeting Point: TBD
• Duration: around 3 hours
• Walking tour
• Private group tour at any date (270€/group) + entrance ticket 13€/pers.
The Royal Saint Denis tour starts at the market, one of the country’s largest. Located right in the town center, around a covered area, the market is a great place to take in the diversity of the town, home to over 140 different nationalities. The walk through the stands ends at the long pedestrian street that opens out onto a wide esplanade, where Saint Denis Cathedral stands. The cathedral is all that remains of the powerful Abbey built from the 6th century.
Abbot Suger had the current structure build in the 12th century, with the first gothic ornaments. A very prestigious place, the abbey quickly became the burial place for the kings of France. In the 13th century, King Saint Louis had recumbent statues of many ancestors sculpted, and had their bodies brought from all over France. During the Revolution, all the tombs were emptied and the church was damaged. In 1815, restoration began, and all of the tombs were moved and housed in the current structure. The remains of the kings and queens were assembled in the crypt behind two plaques that list their names.
The tour continues through the town, along the Légion d’honneur school, former convent buildings belonging to the Saint Denis Abbey, today reserved for educating the nation’s elite. The roads that follow remind visitors of the town’s artisan and medieval past, before leading to the beautiful former Carmel monastery, now the excellent Saint Denis art and history museum.
Not far away is the pleasant Légion d’honneur park, which not only boasts a wonderful green space in the heart of the town, but also fantastic views of both the former abbey and the back of the Basilica. The tour ends at the edge of the town center, in an area that is being modernized; the new face of Saint Denis. The vast Stade de France (football stadium), surrounded by a brand new financial district is located at the heart of this renovation, and marks the transition from a royal past and the city of Paris just beyond.
