The medieval city of Provins is the perfect day journey for households. It’s solely an hour and half from Paris by practice or practice and bus, it’s extremely reasonably priced with most points of interest costing just a few euros and plenty of free, and it’s immersive. If you wish to step again into the French Middle Ages, that is the easiest way to do it.
Provins was the ultimate day of our first journey to Paris with youngsters, and I’m so glad we acquired the prospect to point out them one thing past the massive metropolis. Here’s the easiest way to go to this UNESCO World Heritage Site boasting over 50 historic monuments.
What To See in Provins for Families
Tour César towering over Provins / picture credit score: JF Bénard
Since you’re in a walled metropolis, you naturally wish to discover the town partitions. Even higher, in Provins, you’ll be able to stroll on them! They’re over 80 ft excessive and over a mile lengthy, providing views of the town and an up-close have a look at the ramparts themselves.
The 5 high historic points of interest, apart from the ramparts, are the Tour César, the Tithe Barn, the Provins Museum, the Underground Galleries, and the Saint-Ayoul Priory. Each is situated inside a medieval constructing, so the setting is simply as a lot part of the expertise because the reveals. The Caesar’s Keep was my favourite, but when you are able to do all 5, you completely ought to.
Grange aux Dimes exhibit in Provins / picture credit score: JF Bénard
Here are the monuments on the cross. We have been capable of simply barely squeeze in 4 of the 5 together with two exhibits, however we didn’t spend as lengthy on the Tithe Barn as we wished.
- Tour César: This tower presents all the pieces from a dungeon as much as panoramic views of the city. Climbing throughout this tower (as I reminded everybody to carry on alongside the curving, stone steps) was one of many highlights of our journey.
- Tithe Barn: Called the Grange aux Dîmes in French, this coated market as soon as housed the Trade Fairs of Champagne that made Provins one of many busiest cities in Europe 9 centuries in the past. You can see full-size replicas of sellers and their wares as you comply with alongside along with your audio information in English.
- Underground Galleries: Only a part of “Les souterrains de Provins” are open to the general public, and you should go together with a information. They have one English tour through the day, however even on our 45-minute French tour, we have been delighted to discover these subterranean tunnels as soon as used as a quarry, storerooms, a hideout for refugees, and gathering place for freemasons.
- Saint-Ayoul Priory: The oldest components of this priory date again earlier than the 12 months 1000. The web site options marvelous frescoes, stained glass, a cloister, cultural reveals, and extra with an audio information in English that can assist you uncover all its secrets and techniques.
- Provins Museum: Artifacts and paintings from prehistoric instances to the nineteenth century are on show on a number of flooring inside this previous stone constructing.
Get the Provins Pass, which incorporates all 5 monuments above, plus discounted tickets for different experiences on the town, together with the open-air exhibits I point out beneath. It’s presently €15 per grownup or €10 for teenagers ages 4-12. If you could have two or extra youngsters, get the household cross for €45, overlaying two adults and as much as 5 youngsters.
Underground galleries / picture credit score: JF Bénard
Banquet des Troubadours Dinner Show
By far probably the most distinctive expertise of our go to to Provins was the three-hour Banquet des Troubadours. To dine, we descended right into a vaulted room relationship to the Twelfth-century, the place we have been invited to decorate up in interval robes and hats if we selected.
An genuine Twelfth-century room for the feast / picture credit score: Banquet des Troubadours
The area is intimate, and also you’re near the leisure, a troupe of troubadours who play music, juggle, stroll on stilts, do magic, act out skits, and extra between the 5 programs of the meal. The present is in French, so just a few of the puns will probably be missed when you solely converse English, however you’ll be able to comply with together with a lot of it by means of their intelligent pantomimes and bodily gags.
And most of the methods, corresponding to their feats with the diabolo, want no translation. Most gorgeous of all is the fire-breathing finale. The youngsters have been duly impressed and have been nonetheless speaking about it once we left the tavern.
Fiery acrobatics for the finale / picture credit score: Banquet des Troubadours
The meal itself is pleasantly spaced out. You’re consuming meals that would have been served through the Middle Ages, so no tomatoes, because the troubadours will inform you, since these haven’t been found but. It begins with vegetable soup. Then you’re served a scrumptious pork puff pastry, our favourite, earlier than the heartiest entree: a stew full of hen, beef, vegies, and lentils. To wrap it up, there’s brie after which a dessert plate that permits you to pattern a number of candy treats, together with pear with rose and a slice of gingerbread.
Even choosy eaters will discover one thing they like among the many many choices. If you don’t eat pork, you’ll be able to request a honeyed vegetable puff pastry prematurely. The youngsters appeared to love the dessert greatest, however the hen legs in the principle dish have been additionally a success. And they ate the brie!
In true dinner theater fashion, the troubadours name for viewers participation. All the visitors stood up and did a easy dance in a circle the troubadours taught us. At one level, the jester referenced “les Américains” — that was us — since America hadn’t been found but. (If you don’t converse French and don’t wish to take part, you’ll be able to all the time say that. They know sufficient English that they’ll perceive you.)
I like to recommend going for lunch since dinner on Saturday would get you again to Paris fairly late. Book forward on-line to save lots of your seat.
Book Your Stay in Provins
More Family-Friendly Entertainment
The princess and knight at La Legende des Chevaliers present in Provins / picture credit score: Equestrio
Whether you see the dinner present with the troubadours or not, you must see one of many open-air medieval performances that sometimes run from late March to early November. These embody:
- The Legends of the Knights, that includes jousting, dressage, and a narrative with a cheerful ending
- The Eagles of the Ramparts, a show of horseback falconry with eagles, hawks, vultures, and extra
- Fire Horses, a nighttime present a part of the Provins by Candlelight pageant the primary Saturday of July and August
We noticed the primary of those talked about above: La Légende des Chevaliers. The story was in French, however that didn’t matter because it was principally concerning the acrobatics, horsemanship, the catapult, and jousting. It’s straightforward to know that there’s a monster attacking the town, and that the “good guys” win the day. Afterward, we purchased some souvenirs on the store for the children.
When To Visit Provins
The Rose Garden of Provins in bloom / picture credit score: Roseraie de Provins
Summer is the busiest time to go to, however it’s additionally when probably the most is occurring. The Provins Rose Garden erupts into bloom with the nice and cozy climate. This is the place the well-known Rose of Provins comes from.
Check the agenda on-line to see what’s scheduled earlier than you go. The Medieval Festival of Provin takes place each June and attracts large crowds as your entire city is immersed even deeper within the Middle Ages with avenue performers, particular occasions, and festivities. The Harvest Festival in August is one other historic occasion that focuses on bygone days with a lot for households to take pleasure in.
You can go on the shoulder seasons in spring or fall, and most of the seasonal exhibits are nonetheless occurring, however crowds are a lot lighter. We went on the primary day of their vacationer season, the ultimate Saturday in March, and it was a bit chilly however not crowded in any respect, so we have been capable of benefit from the quiet cobblestone streets virtually to ourselves at instances.
Christmas is one other glorious time to go to for his or her annual yuletide market.
Getting to Provins
Saint-Ayoul Church lit up at night time / picture credit score: JF Bénard
Provins is straightforward to achieve from Paris. Take the direct practice from Gare de l’Est, leaving each hour, or, if it’s not working, you’ll have to take a practice after which a bus. This is what we did, and it didn’t add on a lot time and was fairly straightforward to navigate with Google Maps.
Train and bus fare are low cost, however we’d bought a Navigo cross for every of the 4 of us, so transportation was coated with the cross. Here are some extra instructions on attending to Provins.
You’ll be dropped off proper by the tourism workplace. They have restrooms, maps, individuals who converse English, and even a present store. We picked up a memento right here as effectively to recollect our go to. I solely hope we are able to return sometime as a result of we weren’t fairly capable of match all of it in inside 9 hours.
We totally loved our adventure-filled household day journey from Paris.
About the Author
