It goes without saying that France is a hotspot for tourism. Between the wonderful Alps, the beaches of the French Riviera, and the culture/cuisine of Paris there is no shortage of things to see and do during your stay and experience what small-town France is really like Whether it is sampling cheese and wine in France's vast agricultural regions or hiking in one of its many national parks there is a laid-back town around every corner of the country for you to stop off at either before or after your day begins Tucked along the Mediterranean coast near the Spanish border, Collioure is a quiet seaside town that exemplifies life in southern France. Its blend of French and Catalan influences can be seen in the local cuisine and architecture a blend that is sure to keep both your eyes and your palate happy The town's historic center is dotted with pastel-colored houses and cafes that are sure to spice up your walk through town Pay a visit to the 13th-century Château Royal or take a stroll to the 17th-century Church of Notre-Dame-des-Anges Collioure’s location between the Pyrenees and the sea means that both beaches and mountains are nearby providing a relaxing setting for a quiet day by the water while the surrounding vineyards in the foothills offer scenic hikes and opportunities for wine-tastings once a favorite spot for painters like Henri Matisse and André Derain adds a definite artistic flair and compliments the laid-back vibe of the town as well Just 40 kilometers from Paris, Senlis makes for a great escape from the big city with its medieval history and small-town French charm. Its cobblestone streets lead visitors to a mix of Roman ruins, Gothic architecture dates back to the 12th century and stands as a stunning example of early Gothic design that just screams for a photo shoot at all angles most notably the "Ramparts on Senlis." For those more interested in art history on top of ancient Rome will teach you more about the town’s layered history Visitors can enjoy a relaxed afternoon exploring the town’s quiet squares or venturing into the nearby Chantilly Forest Senlis provides a calm atmosphere for those looking to escape the hustle of Paris Nestled in the heart of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Lourmarin is a quintessential southern French village known for its vineyards and olive groves along with its many well-preserved historic buildings The village’s centerpiece is the Renaissance-style Château de Lourmarin which gives a look back in time to the region's longstanding history along with having a collection of beautiful gardens on its grounds Lourmarin also serves as a gateway to exploring the Luberon Regional Park which is notable for its scenic trails in the verdant countryside A collection of historic buildings within the park is also open for exploration as well as some interesting natural rock formations created over eons of wind and water movement throughout the area Saint-Rémy-de-Provence is another idealistic small town in the mountainous Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur including the impressive remains of the Glanum archaeological site Saint-Rémy mizes France's ancient past with present-day conveniences make a fascinating backdrop to the town’s storied past Art enthusiasts, on the other hand, will appreciate Saint-Rémy’s connection to Vincent van Gogh This famous artist spent time here and was inspired by the surrounding beauty One look at the area for yourself and you will quickly understand why The town’s many parks and gardens are serene spots for relaxation and inspiration while the nearby Alpilles Mountains are the perfect place to embark on a scenic hike Perched high on a cliff above the Mediterranean Èze is a medieval village where many come to relax by the water With its commanding position over the French Riviera Èze is often called an "eagle’s nest," and its many panoramic viewpoints make it a standout destination for those traveling through southern France The village’s Jardin Exotique is one of its highlights a wonderfully maintained botanical garden filled with exotic plants right on the coastline such as the 12th-century Chapelle de la Sainte-Croix an ornate chapel on top of a large cliff overlooking the water Though close to the bustling cities of Nice and Monaco The nearby Nietzsche Path provides a scenic hike from the beach to the village offering you a connection with nature as well as history Located along the Seine estuary Honfleur is a coastal town in Normandy known for its beautiful harbor slate-fronted houses and eateries where you can watch the boats come and go as you enjoy a meal Timber-framed buildings and other nearby landmarks like the 15th-century Saint Catherine’s Church complement the downtown area near the ocean famously captured by painters like Claude Monet and Eugène Boudin still resonates in the town’s small galleries and art museums nature lovers can explore the Normandy countryside or take a walk along the beach at Butin Other idyllic spots for a walk along the waterfront include Honfeluer's iconic public gardens Once a popular seaside resort for the British aristocracy, Dinard retains its elegant charm with grand 19th-century villas overlooking the Atlantic Ocean are perfect for a relaxing day by the water while the town's mild climate and ocean views continue to make it a popular vacation spot for travelers from around the world A walk along the Promenade du Clair de Lune provides a great way to get acquainted with the area and its various public parks on/near the waterfront. Dinard’s location near other beautiful places like Saint-Malo and Mont Saint-Michel makes it an ideal base for exploring the region in more depth The town also hosts an annual British Film Festival bringing filmmakers and filmgoers alike to Dinard in early October As well as being a functioning town, Provins is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site near Paris Best known for its extensive collection of still-standing medieval architecture Provins is perhaps most notable for its fortified walls and ancient watchtowers The town played a crucial role as a major trading center during the Middle Ages and its historic significance is still evident today A walk through Provins reveals iconic landmarks such as the Tour César a 12th-century keep that offers its visitors some of the best views of the town including historical reenactments and falconry displays also provide a fun glimpse into what life was like many centuries ago Visitors should also make a point of exploring Provins’ underground tunnels which were once used for storage and potential escape routes in case of an attack This mysterious attraction also contains a gallery where tours are regularly held All maps, graphics, flags, photos and original descriptions © 2025 worldatlas.com As a lieutenant colonel he was in Military Intelligence with the Seventh and later with the Third Armies in World War II spends his holidays in the forest town of Senlis was easily the most depressing period of my life Night after night we sat at the radio listening with sinking hearts to the news of the advance of the German armies from the east I can still hear the lugubrious little refrain from the Marseillaise which preceded every devastating announcement of the names of fresh cities captured by those Panzer divisions we received instructions from the Bank of France to move the office of the banking firm of Morgan & Cie. to the small town of Niort in southwest France this move to include all our securities — a nightmare in those troubled times I can still see the faces of my New York partners when I later told them of driving across war-stricken France with all our short-term French government notes in the back of my car These represented the countervalue of nearly all our franc deposits My wife had left for New York in 1939 to spend the summer at home and had not been allowed to return to Paris when the war broke out in September so that it was left to me to decide what to do about our country house in Senlis My house at Senlis dates back to the reign of Henri IV and was It lies on the very edge of the town and has four acres of garden which give us room for a tennis court and the usual French potager Advanced old age has brought great beauty to our house but also Around the whole place stands a twenty-foot wall part of which has a rather unusual decorated top It has been classified as a monument historique and repair work can be done only after negotiation with the Institut des BeauxArts we have always considered our place as a country house and it is accordingly furnished with comfortable chintz chairs and French rustique furniture charming old eighteenth-century pieces we have picked up over the past thirty years on our motor trips Naturally I had done nothing about moving any of our possessions from Senlis to Paris but also to my fear that such an action would be construed by my neighbors as an admission that I thought France was on the verge of defeat — an inconceivable idea to most of us at that time It was only when the radio announced the fall of the city of Laon that I finally pulled myself together and induced an old golfing friend of mine to drive me out to Senlis in his diminutive Citroen car When we reached the bridge across the small Nonnette river the gendarme on duty warned us: “You’d better make it fast gentlemen; in twenty minutes we’re going to blow up the bridge.” This left me with the problem of deciding in twenty minutes just what small part of our possessions my wife would want me to crowd into the back of that tiny car The silver and our precious photograph albums were an obvious choice It was with a heavy heart that I rode back to Paris through the Senlis forest that evening The sound of the explosion at the Nonnette bridge made me wonder when I would ever see my house again my friend and bank associate Julian Allen and I bicycled out to Senlis and those three hours along the almost deserted road nearly killed me I have motored along that course hundreds of times and had always believed the road a flat one but I learned better that day — we always seemed to be toiling uphill Finally we reached the linden-lined driveway leading to my high monumental gate which looked shockingly unfamiliar with a great Swastika flag flying over it and flanked by two rigid German sentries I walked up to one of them and announced in very halting German: “Dieses Haus ist mein.” He looked startled and rather unbelieving disappeared through the grilled gate into the courtyard and returned with the corporal of the guard We were beckoned through the gate and put in the charge of a rather weedy lieutenant who addressed us proudly in cockney English I said I wanted to see the commanding officer I was relieved to notice that my old Henri IV house looked almost intact and that two shell holes in the high tile roof had been neatly repaired paved old court where we had so often sat under sun umbrellas drinking cocktails was now a hive of Teutonic activity Heavybooted soldiers were tramping busily across my lawn glaring at us civilian intruders I was able to get a glimpse into our oak-wainscoted salon and was horrified to see that bunks for sixteen soldiers had been built along the walls I must confess that that boiserie has survived practically intact — no carved initials We were finally ushered into the library and were greeted by a rather fine-looking oldish lieutenant colonel The colonel told me that my house was now the Kommandantur for this part of the Oise Department and that the German Army had no right to requisition it He replied that it was a question of “military necessity.” I asked “What necessity?” He explained that my house was the only one in Senlis with sufficient bathrooms to accommodate the forty-seven members of his staff He offered to allow me to occupy my bedroom and to eat at the officers’ mess And as the United States Embassy had by then moved from Paris to Vichy When we asked the colonel how he happened to speak such good English a prisoner of war in England during World War I The colonel expressed great admiration for my house and assured me that I need have no fear about its contents he asked us whether we thought the United States would enter this war too and when we told him we considered it most likely that would mean the end of Western civilization.” who had been with us for over twenty years — François and Louise Maury — two brothers married to two sisters obviously greatly distressed at seeing Monsieur talking to the hated Boches In fact my old butler François could not help calling out ils vont vous photographier.” The German colonel told me that these servants would not be permitted to live in my house “for security reasons,”but fortunately they had their own houses in Senlis was allowed to remain in his quarters on the property and was employed by the Germans to keep up the garden Julian decided to ride his bicycle back to Paris As I had plenty of time before my train left I bicycled over to call on our old friends who lived two miles away in the Château de la Victoire These poor people had been able to return only that day to their lovely old place and had just learned of the death of their only son The château was a shambles — every room full of filth and broken furniture The vandals seemed to have taken a special pleasure in wrecking young Coulombiers’s bedroom A truly heartbreaking homecoming for the dear old couple I am glad to say that the Victoire is now restored to its former graciousness and that the old count (his wife died last year) still lives there the gallant mainstay of the local stag-hunting equipage Most of the chateaux in the region suffered the same fate as Victoire for in many cases the French have been unable to repair or refurnish these old homes Even the Rothschilds no longer live in their huge Chateau of Laversine overlooking the Oise River which they have unsuccessfully offered to the French government for a school By that time I was on the staff of General Patton and had followed him across the Atlantic to Morocco campaigns described so vividly by my friend Charley Codman in his book In our lightning dash across France we had reached a forest near Sens who knew about my Senlis house and guessed my anxiety very thoughtfully dispatched Codman and me on a “mission” to visit First U.S which were then established at the Château de la Victoire which the Germans had left only two days before and Germain (Francois had died during the war) were there to greet us who had been lovingly tended during those four long years was proudly produced and welcomed me with all the fondness of which he was still capable To my immense relief the old house was structurally intact in view of the German colonel’s promise in July I was glad that my wife was not there to see the desolation The wine cellar gave me one short moment of illusion I saw every rack filled with bottles — but every last one empty I still own a typically neat and German “cellar register,” methodically kept by the mess officer In it is recorded the cellar’s contents as the Germans found it with daily withdrawals duly initialed and each column eventually ending in “0.” I have this register before me now I note that Lieutenant Zappe certifies that on October 7 the ahgang of Blue Label Martell brandy amounted to thirty-seven bottles much of it having been shifted by German officers to other houses in town or in the neighborhood where they were billeted Much of this we were able to recover — a rather unpleasant task in which the local gendarmery were most helpful and also our Senlis upholsterer who was familiar with every stick of our furniture and had no hesitation in reporting to us when he had seen some of our pieces in other houses I remember one painful incident when we visited the house of a wealthy notaire My wife immediately spotted one of our Moroccan rugs and told our gendarme friend that she knew it was ours The nolaire indignantly said that he had bought it many years before at the Bon Marche The gendarme asked my wife where we had bought it She replied “Aux Trois Quartiers.” The gendarme flipped the carpet over and there sure enough was the “Trois Quartiers” label The gendarme rolled up the carpet and tossed it toward us saying We are now back thankfully living in our refurnished house which shows little sign of enemy occupancy except for marks of metal-studded boots on our stone stairs Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page There is a line in Don McLean’s Vincent this world was never meant for one as beautiful as you.” The bittersweet lyrics are a tribute to the great Post-Impressionist Vincent Van Gogh of course but when I became familiar with the story and work of Séraphine Louis for the first time I could only thing of those words: this world was never meant for one as beautiful as you The work she has left behind is extraordinary; visionary and beautiful alone and was buried in a common grave in either 1934 a housekeeper and did various other arduous jobs to make a living but painted in secret by candlelight until her talent was discovered by her employer a German art collector and critic living in Senlis War was looming with Germany and despite being a pacifist He was one of the first collectors of the Cubist paintings and purchased his first Picasso in 1905 only to have his most significant possessions later confiscated by the French government Séraphine was his cleaning his apartment in Senlis for some time before he saw one of her paintings on the wall of his neighbour’s house at a dinner party When he discovered that his own housekeeper was the artist He was immediately struck by the intensity and originality of her paintings vibrant colors and her impressionistic approach to painting Her paintings were largely representational often depicting nature and everyday scenes Séraphine began to refine her technique and some say that Uhde was the only person she ever allowed to see her paintings in progress and that he was the only person she ever trusted with her work He began to purchase and promote her work and would become one of her most important patrons playing a pivotal role in bringing Séraphine’s paintings to the attention of the art world Séraphine’s paintings are characterized by a strong use of blues and she often used a limited palette of complementary colors to create a sense of harmony and movement in her compositions which is a technique of building up the paint on the canvas to create a sense of depth and texture in her paintings Her thick impasto gave her paintings a distinctive sculptural quality and added to the sense of movement in her compositions Her technique was also unusual in that she would use both oil and watercolors in her paintings This combination created a beautiful and lively effects in her paintings and helped to give them a sense of movement and spontaneity she drew inspiration from the nature of the Oise region where she lived and would often paint en plein air (outdoors) which allowed her to capture the changing light and moods of the landscape The effects of the light and natural scenery in her work is very prominent Uhde introduced Séraphine to other important figures in the art world such as André Gide and Guillaume Apollinaire He not only purchased her works but also subsidized her living expenses which were very limited due to her living on a very modest salary and suffering poverty Despite Wilhelm’s friendship and support she returned to Senlis where she continued to paint but her mental and physical health deteriorated It is not clear what her specific diagnosis was but some art historians have speculated that she might have been diagnosed with schizophrenia Wilhelm was forced to flee France in 1914 in the middle of the night during the war between France and Germany and they lost contact he had returned to France and saw her work at an exhibition although just barely surviving after the devastation of WWI he resumed his patronage of her work and in 1928 “Painters of the Sacred Heart,” that featured Louis’s art This drew the attention of critics and other artists and paintings were now being exhibited alongside those of well-known Impressionists such as Matisse and Derain her work flourished; her paintings became larger and more colourful Praised for her unique style and intense use of color she entered a brief period of financial success she was overwhelmed by it all and retreated into isolation once more When the Great Depression loomed over Europe Uhde had no choice but to stop buying her paintings and their relationship came to an end Louis was admitted to an asylum for chronic psychosis Uhde reported that she had died in 1934 but other accounts say that she lived until 1947 she was arrested by the Gestapo on suspicion of being a spy when she was subsequently institutionalized again at a hospital annex at Villers-sous-Erquery where she died friendless and alone and was buried in a common grave we know she died in obscurity in a mental asylum her work largely forgotten by the art world Her paintings were scattered among various private collections; some were sold by family members for a very low price collectors and art historians who continued to be interested in her work interest in Séraphine’s work slowly began to grow and her paintings started to be featured in exhibitions Her work was rediscovered by art historian and curator Michel Hoog who held the first retrospective of her work in 1970 at the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris which helped bring her work to the attention of a wider audience Her paintings are now considered to be some of the most important works of French Impressionism and her paintings can be found in major museums around the world including the Musée d’Orsay in Paris and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York There is also a Musée Séraphine Louis in Senlis which holds a significant number of her works and her archives which provide a deeper insight into her life and work exploring the relationship between Louis and Wilhelm Uhde from their first encounter in 1912 until her days in the Clermont Asylum this world was never meant for someone as beautiful as you Last Updated on January 11, 2023 by MessyNessy Jamie Creel—purveyor behind the beloved Manhattan curiosity shop Creel and Gow—possesses such a unicorn dwelling The 10,000-square-foot house has the rare distinction of being landmarked on both the exterior and much of the interior it still possessed many of its 17th- and 18th-century floors Yet it had also undergone patchy renovations over time “We wanted to bring it right back to the way it had been,” notes Burch A 17th-century gated wall surrounds the garden, which was designed by Tania Compton Scarani had spent three years tending to the interiors of Nihi and beyond that has conjured up his own sublime homes “I never would have bought the house unless I knew he was there,” Burch admits who doesn’t consider himself an interior designer describes his role as that of “creative director—I source and put the concept together.” To that end he immediately reached out to French architect and decorator Michel Pinet something of a national treasure for his masterly work restoring several of the country’s most prized monuments historiques He is also a specialist in the field of antique wallpapers and fabrics many of which he and Scarani used to outfit Burch’s Senlis abode The most historically significant papier peint had been secured before Pinet came onto the scene: a complete set of Joseph Dufour’s 1805 scenic panoramic depicting the voyages of Captain Cook which Scarani spotted in a Christie’s catalogue “bought them for nothing.” Stunned by the acquisition Pinet redesigned the original moldings and columns in the formal dining room to perfectly frame the panels 1 / 16ChevronChevronIn the original orangerie the breakfast room boasts huge windows.Maintaining the feeling of a historic home while instilling it with all the functionality of a new one was the duo’s modus operandi Four exquisite hand-carved doors dating back to the 1600s that had been randomly dispersed throughout the house have been reunited in a guest bedroom which had undergone “horrible” renovations in the 1950s and ’70s were reimagined as they might have existed 300 years ago Scarani and Pinet reproduced antique tiles and sourced ancient stone The fabric cushioning the rustic chairs is an antique Braquenié check dating to the 1700s; Pinet had just enough in his archive to cover the eight seats To say that everything has been executed with scrupulous accuracy would be an understatement “It’s definitely not precious,” Burch says “That’s one thing I don’t like at all.” Scarani was of the same mind-set “Usually French is formal and uncomfortable,” he observes ‘You want a home that looks like it’s been there forever like you’ve lived in it.’ ” Burch leans toward the cozy English country look which is expressed in furnishings you can sink into “There are no flowers,” Scarani emphasizes That’s why in his bedroom we used the Tree of Life Reading"Margaux Senlis photographs..." More fromWork Contact Advertising Opportunities Newsletters Insights + Opinion Creatives + Projects Advice + Resources Culture + Lifestyle Nicer Tuesdays The View From... POV Forward Thinking Review of the Year Jenny Brewer Olivia Hingley Ellis Tree Elizabeth Goodspeed Liz Gorny Extra Search I got my first camera at ten years old and haven’t stopped making images since.” Following these early years of inspiration Margaux made photography her full-time pursuit a school of arts and visual communication in Paris and then moving to the The National School of Photography (ENSP) in Arles where she is currently studying a master’s degree This commitment to her practice proved worthwhile After a trip to Cambodia in 2015 where she visited many minefields she began researching the presence of this wartime phenomena Realising that these deadly weapons were still injuring and killing locals today – 40 years after the Vietnam War –Margaux began planning a project to document and expose this issue Cambodia and Vietnam to bear witness to the dangers that persist with UXO Guided by the host of the house where she was staying in Phonsavan Margaux began making contact with various NGOs land mine museums and mine removing organisations who advised on the best areas to shoot the project These locations also included the rooftop of her host’s house where she shot old munitions with a white sheet he had provided “We created a photo studio on his rooftop in Phonsavan and was the most heavily bombed area in Laos during the second Indochina war,” she tells It’s Nice That Margaux encountered problems with transport and the weather: “I decided to travel during the rainy season in order to capture the vivid green nature; but to get off the tourist trail and get to different villages I would have to ride scooters/motorbikes on small muddy roads making it quite difficult with my equipment,” she says “The water also rises in this area during the rainy season causing a lot of land mines and bombs to be unearthed and displaced This is why I have often photographed water Other photos in the series display prosthetic limbs and munition juxtaposed with plants and fruit which Margaux says is typical of her compositional style: “I didn’t want to photograph the victims of UXOs so I instead used still life to represent farmers who are the most common victims of mines,” she explains I could represent amputees without showing their faces or scars and explore the issue as a commonplace truth and not something that just affects some individuals.” Speaking on the experience and her interactions with the locals Margaux says “what struck me the most with the people I met was their kindness and tenderness.” These reactions inspired her to think about humanity’s ability to adapt and encouraged an evocative portrayal of the people she encountered away from the shock-factor images that may have been a more obvious choice “I didn’t want to explicitly show the dangers that are hidden beneath the ground but rather hint at them through symbols and atmosphere.” Further Infowww.margauxsenlis.com Daniel Milroy Maher Daniel joined It’s Nice That as an editorial assistant in February 2019 and continues to work with us on a freelance basis He graduated from Kingston University with a degree in Journalism in 2015 Fancy a bit of It's Nice That in your inbox Sign up to our newsletters and we'll keep you in the loop with everything good going on in the creative world Instagram TikTok LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Pinterest About Careers at It’s Nice That Privacy Policy Insights Residence Creative Lives in Progress If You Could Jobs © It’s Nice That 2024 · Nice Face Logo © It’s Nice That www.margauxsenlis.com “I used to love looking at old family pictures trying to imagine all the stories behind them,” says Paris-born photographer Margaux Senlis sweat and solidarity of musical subculture Owen Harvey’s portraits offer a charming antidote to the negative press garnered by young men Resistance is an exhibition conceived by acclaimed artist and filmmaker Steve McQueen and curated in collaboration with the Turner’s director Clarrie Wallis We spoke to Clarrie about how photography has shaped protest The photographer Ana Flores joined us at April’s Nicer Tuesdays to talk the crowd through her career to date from going with her gut and leaving a background in law to study fashion photography rediscovering her Peruvian roots along the way Ana took us through the process behind some of the projects that have led her to document the indigenous women of her birthplace with a focus on adornment About Contact Advertising Opportunities Newsletters Insights + Opinion Creatives + Projects Advice + Resources Culture + Lifestyle Nicer Tuesdays The View From... POV Forward Thinking Review of the Year Jenny Brewer Olivia Hingley Ellis Tree Elizabeth Goodspeed Liz Gorny Instagram TikTok LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Pinterest Careers at It’s Nice That Privacy Policy Insights Residence Creative Lives in Progress If You Could Jobs Senlis Criminal Court convicted the author of a misleading video claiming that the Institut Pasteur invented COVID-19 of public defamation towards the Institut Pasteur which were untrue and unfounded and were based on a misinterpretation of a patent submitted in 2004 led to a wave of strong reactions against the Institut Pasteur Some members of staff and even some of their families were the victims of hateful messages the Institut Pasteur had no other choice but to lodge a complaint for defamation without prejudice to the right to freedom of expression which the Institut Pasteur recognizes and defends We look back at the story of a case of fake news the Institut Pasteur became aware that a video which included defamatory passages about the Institut Pasteur and its staff had been posted online the previous day Based on a misinterpretation of a patent filed in 2004 the video claimed that the Institut Pasteur had invented COVID-19 for commercial gain groundless claims unfortunately provoked a widespread reaction its staff and even some of their families were the victims of hateful messages The video was widely circulated on social media and several conventional media outlets also took an interest forcing the Institut Pasteur to refute the claims See Coronavirus: Institut Pasteur warns against false information circulating on social media Given the viral nature of the initial erroneous information a large-scale fact-checking campaign was launched and extensively shared via a wide variety of platforms (threads etc.) and by several institutions and official outlets Given the impact of the video and the threats and violence it caused the Institut Pasteur had no other choice but to lodge a complaint for defamation (for the first time since its inception in 1887) The Institut Pasteur immediately lodged a complaint given the serious breach of public order caused by the video the Senlis Public Prosecutor decided to initiate legal proceedings for defamation against the author of the video an unusual step given the policy of this Prosecutor A hearing was subsequently held on October 7 2020 at Senlis Criminal Court so that the author of the video could answer to the charge of defamation after explaining the consequences of the video especially the fact that several Institut Pasteur employees had been victims of harassment the representative of the Institut Pasteur asked: The Institut Pasteur was represented by criminal defamation lawyer Antoine Comte Senlis Criminal Court found the author of the video to be guilty of defamation against the Institut Pasteur and also liable for all the damages sought by the civil party the court partly upheld the Institut Pasteur's requests and those of the Prosecutor Learn more conspiracy theories and hateful claims spread in misleading videos of this nature which unfortunately are still being shared and disseminated the Institut Pasteur reserves the right to lodge an official complaint whenever it deems it to be necessary In addition to strongly refuting false allegations and clarifying the facts of the situation and the scientific basis taking action in this way is a means of denouncing insults and threats to the Institut Pasteur's employees and scientists and preventing such incidents from happening again Séraphine focuses on the artist’s relationship with avant-garde art dealer Wilhelm Uhde (played by Ulrich Tukur) who one day discovered that his cleaning lady in the town of Senlis was a masterful painter Séraphine has been met with raves on this side of the Atlantic as well The LA Weekly’s Scott Foundas called it “the best movie made about a painter since Maurice Pialat’s exquisite Van Gogh in 1991 — and one of the only ones that truly grasps how close artistic genius dwells to the realm of madness,” while in New York Magazine David Edelstein enthused that Séraphine is “sublime … one of the most evocative films about an artist I’ve ever seen.” Séraphine is playing at the Lincoln Plaza Cinema and the Angelika Film Center Why did you choose to make a movie about the life of Séraphine de Senlis What intrigued me the most when I became interested in Séraphine Louis was the fact that a mere housekeeper at a time when social classes were kept so far apart dared to disregard everything that was forbidden in order to do what she knew she was made to do: to paint which may seem to many as a mere fateful encounter though to me it seems more like a consequence of her own actions If Séraphine had not upset the social codes of the time I dare to believe that the principles of fate are tied to the determination we have within ourselves to escape from our destiny be it emotionally or socially inauspicious Even if the end of her life was more than difficult she remains a revolutionary – a woman at a time when it wasn’t good to be a woman; one who succeeded as an artist I had the feeling that if I were to make her live again on film need to adapt Séraphine to Yolande Moreau – or vice versa Before beginning the writing process with Marc I had already thought of Yolande for the part both of us live in the country – in the same countryside where we shot the film She comes from a stage background and so do I What was it like working with Yolande Moreau What was needed to make her really get into the skin of a historical character I believe I did my best to guide her toward her own best to something she already had within herself It’s not easy to incarnate someone who was once alive It’s necessary to have decency and respect I believe we shared the same vision for Séraphine to paint; it was all a learning experience the most important thing when directing an actor is to make the actor feel confident The first time I met with him was in Brussels I saw in him the character I was looking for [Ulrich] belongs to the same family as Yolande I “directed” him much more than I did Yolande It was necessary to find the right level and tone for the character How was your collaboration with Marc Abdelnour Did you decide on a specific thematic approach before writing the screenplay or did the cinematic life of Séraphine de Senlis develop throughout the writing process I create cards featuring the sequences I have in mind and then I write it all down doing my best to visualize the actual film He’s very good with everything that is structural There have been other movies about great but troubled artists Did any of these films serve as inspiration for your project The two films that I showed the whole crew were Maurice Pialat’s Van Gogh and also a film that I consider a masterpiece of the genre: [the 1974 Swedish-Norwegian made-for-TV biopic] Edvard Munch I wanted the film to be like the image of Séraphine: simple I tried to avoid the flamboyant and a little too precious historical reconstruction that we see a lot today with a camera that moves in every direction while avoiding to make true choices Do you believe that one needs to suffer – or at least to be some sort of social outcast – in order to create great works of art I don’t believe that we “need” to suffer in order to be a creator; one that gives justice to that title I believe that suffering is part of the way anyhow; it’s part of every human life – just like happiness – and to attempt to avoid it is to deny who we really are I believe in the happiness that comes from painting because it is necessary to be somewhat of an outsider to be able to depict society and for the work of art to be appreciated as such Séraphine presents a mystery: a poor woman in something within us that would be the supreme substance which allows all of us to be attuned to what’s best within ourselves – be it to paint But there are times in the life of a latent talent when a grandfather or some other relative will influence a future choice by giving a taste of this or that artistic endeavor What's not to like about a land famed for whipped cream Lifestyle | Travel The Standard's journalism is supported by our readers When you purchase through links on our site Sign up for the best picks from our travel I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice Given how easy it is to get to from London Picardy is way less well travelled by Londoners than it should be This is the region that’s probably best known for the battlefields of the Great War - so many villages have names with battles attached But it’s extraordinarily rich in other ways: there are umpteen Roman remains extraordinary cathedrals – Amiens is the most spectacular – and hearteningly robust cooking you can’t honestly do better than position yourself to visit the area I went to where Picardy almost meets Greater Paris – the towns of Chantilly and Senlis TV star whose own home has unsafe cladding hopes tragedy will not strike again Crossings continue day after 12 migrants die in Channel tragedy FTSE dips as global markets dragged by Tuesday Wall Street woes Chantilly is best known for the whipped cream of the same name (more of that later) plus the fabulous racecourse; Senlis as a film-set tiny city with the smallest cathedral in France Both are wonderful in different ways – Chantilly for the extraordinary Musee Conde which has the second best collection of paintings after the Louvre; Senlis as an enchanting cobbled town with Gallo Roman and medieval remains they are about a ten minute drive from each other intimate and cobbled: it’s not a choice – you can visit both in one day though it’s even better if you can stretch to two And surrounding both is the Forest of Chantilly once a royal hunting ground and now a national park The Tiara Chateau Hotel Mont Royal in La Chapelle en Serval hosted me; it is at the junction of a road with one branch going to Senlis with fine views on the surrounding forest of Chantilly My daughter who is 11 and fond of Agatha Christie happily identified it as the sort of place which is cut off from the nearest village and where you might find a body in the library it was designed by Guillaume Tronchet for the composer The current design is sensitive to the original character of the place as a hunting chateau – the first thing you see in reception are two huge black horses and there are equestrian prints throughout restaurant; his former smoking room and library – wood lined and warm - is another The great thing about this area is that it combines the refinement of Parisian cuisine (Chantilly is at the end of the RER train line from the capital) with the robust cooking of Picardy The dairy products here are excellent; the veal and beef is very good too For Chantilly cream, known world-wide as sweetened whipped cream: apparently the best, indeed the only authentic place to eat it is in the picturesque hamlet attached to the Domaine de Chantilly where Marie Antoinette got the idea of dressing up as a shepherdess (that didn’t serve her well Apparently the strawberry tart there with Chantilly cream is one of those taste sensations of a lifetime and I can’t corroborate this because it’s only open in the summer from April/May to autumn my guide at the museum rolled his eyes when he talked about it – I’m coming back I feel very bitter I didn’t get to eat there you can get Chantilly cream locally piled on a very good hot chocolate In Senlis, one of the best known restaurants is in the twelfth century cellars of what is irresistibly described as the Barbarian Grill, or Le Gril des Barbares there’s a market in Senlis on Tuesdays and Fridays where you can buy fabulous cheeses and meats but there are excellent shops selling them too Another central, and excellent restaurant is Scaramouche near the cathedral; Michelin starred At the chateau where we stayed the grand restaurant is in the former music room where the cooking is both elegant and pricey – think garlicky snails draped in pasta sheets foie gras in a little jellied sphere of sweet wine and a rum baba flamed in rum; there is a more informal menu in the library is lovely – and indeed so is the subsidiary one at the really excellent horsey museum which is part of the complex But Senlis and Chantilly are full of small Chantilly is a formerly royal town (it feels a bit like Bath); Senlis is more medieval and intimate – take your pick Senlis has a lovely small cathedral – begun in the 12th century embellished in the 16th – with a fabulous tympanum and a lovely panel on the west door showing the Assumption of the Virgin with an angel shoving her from behind to help her up an archaeological museum and charming cobbled streets The MUST MUST SEE in Chantilly is the Domaine de Chantilly with its wonderful extensive grounds – a formal English garden and a Romantic nineteenth century one; take your pick – and the Musee Conde which was established by Henri d’Orleans who assembled his remarkable collection of pictures while in exile in – yes – Twickenham in the later nineteenth century It has three captivating Raphaels and a couple of Botticellis and several Poussins plus Ingres and Delacroix; this is the second richest collection in France outside the Louvre The chateau itself is largely nineteenth century but part dates back to the sixteenth The museum includes an entirely different section devoted entirely to horses and riding – fascinating even to the uninitiated The chateau was of course used for hunting and the historic stables are still used for shows by the resident horses in the historic amphitheatre And right next to the chateau are the famous Chantilly races which over the next three years will host the French equivalent of the Grand National (it’s mostly flatracing) with its own This is the horse breeding and horse racing capital of France Prince Louis steals the show at VE Day parade as he keeps dad William looking sharp and mimics brother George Prince Louis steals show with sweet antics at VE parade VE Day 2025 fashion: best looks from the day, Princess of Wales, Princess Charlotte, Lady Victoria Starmer VE Day 2025 fashion: Princess of Wales to Lady Victoria Starmer UK tourists face major travel shake-up as Dubai airport set to close Ukraine 'launches stunning Kursk offensive' in major blow for Putin ahead of Victory Day celebrations Ukraine 'launches stunning Kursk offensive' in blow for Putin David Beckham’s 50th birthday bash in London 'shut down' by council over noise complaints David Beckham’s 50th birthday bash 'shut down' over noise complaints Royals watch historic flypast as huge crowds turns out for VE Day 80th anniversary  Royals watch historic Red Arrows flypast for VE Day 80th anniversary In the December 19, 1914, issue: French refugees return to their village and learn what happened to their homes during the German occupation. Journalists in France begged, bargained, and demanded permission to travel toward the war. Some even obtained passes from high-ranking military officers in Paris. But they could travel only a few miles toward the fighting before they were detained at a military checkpoint. But Post correspondent Corra Harris found a way to bypass the roadblocks. She had heard trains were leaving Paris every day, carrying villagers back to their homes. Early one morning, before sunrise, she joined a large crowd of women at the Gare du Nord train station and climbed aboard a local train for the town of Senlis. No one stopped her, or even asked to see her papers. The train moved slowly out of the city and ambled across the countryside, never reaching a speed faster than a trotting horse. After two and a half hours it had traveled only 30 miles. But it reached its destination, at last. “That silent crowd of 50 women filed through the ruins of the railway station. The walls of it alone remained. The roof and all the partitions lay a mass of molten metal, stones, and powdered mortar within. On the other side of the station, there were three cabs waiting, but these people were too poor to ride. The cabs went away empty, drawn by horses that looked as if they were merely some of the bones of the general desolation. “The principal street of the town … was a street no longer, only a long, narrow pile of ruins between the fallen walls of houses as far as sight could reach. The women looked about them. They were confused. They did not know even where they had lived. You cannot recognize your home by blackened walls in the midst of a hundred other walls like them any more than you can recognize a man by his skeleton. Not all the villagers had left Senlis. One woman who had remained behind told Harris of how she and her family miraculously escaped being burned to death. “In the café where I had lunch the little apple-faced waitress was very communicative: ‘When the Germans came we ran down into the cellar. They soaked the house in oil and then set fire to it. And we were in the cellar.’ “‘So many,’ she exclaimed, counting on her fingers. ‘Twenty-eight of them children. We were very still. We could not get out. Suddenly we saw a Prussian’s head thrust through the airhole. He was listening, but we made not a sound. No, the children did not cry. They were so frightened that they went to sleep.’ “‘With the house burning over your heads?’ I exclaimed. “‘But no; the Blessed Virgin would not let it burn. That oil, it was changed to water.’ “‘From 2 o’clock in the afternoon until 5 the next morning. It was very hot, and we had no water, no food, but the children did not cry. The next day the Germans came back and set fire to the house again; but we had escaped, so it burned,’ she added simply. “This girl’s father was a farmer. They lost everything they had. Yet she was not sad. She was sustained by a miracle. The Blessed Virgin had remembered them, the least of these, in the terrible conflagration. So they were safe. No evil could befall them.” France (Reuters) - A long-lost painting by 13th century Italian master Cimabue that was found in the kitchen of an elderly French woman was sold for 24 million euros ($26.6 million) more than four times the pre-auction estimate auction Acteon house said on Sunday.The "Christ Mocked" painting by early Renaissance artist Cimabue discovered earlier this year had been valued at 4 million to 6 million euros."When a unique work of a painter as rare as Cimabue comes to market This is the only Cimabue that has ever come on the market," said Dominique Le Coent north of Paris.Acteon did not reveal the identity of the bidder but said a foreign museum had been among the bidders.Costs excluded the painting sold for 19.5 million euros.The tiny painting is believed to be part of a diptych consisting of eight small panels.Born in Florence was a pioneering Italian primitive painter of whom only about 10 known works have survived He was one of the first to use perspective and paint in a more natural style that broke with mediaeval and Byzantine traditions.Reporting by Clotaire Achi and Geert De Clercq; editing by David Evans Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab , opens new tab Browse an unrivalled portfolio of real-time and historical market data and insights from worldwide sources and experts. , opens new tabScreen for heightened risk individual and entities globally to help uncover hidden risks in business relationships and human networks. © 2025 Reuters. All rights reserved Students and teachers from Lycee Hugues Capet in Senlis visited Oklahoma City in April as part of an ongoing annual exchange program with Harding Charter Preparatory High School and Casady School The program matches students with their foreign peers and live as they do for two weeks social events and experiencing family life Each year it focuses on a theme that allows students to learn about each other Among areas they've examined include each other's justice system the relationship between France and the U.S The Oklahoman asked two students and two teachers to give their impressions of Oklahoma and tell us five things they learned during their visit We've learned about the history of this country and this state with the Native American tribes' history and “The Trail of Tears,” and how so many tribes still live here We've learned from our visit to the Chisholm Trail Museum in Kingfisher that Ma Dalton and the Dalton Gang really existed She is no longer for us just a comic book character that we read in the comic book “Lucky Luke.” bombing and how through the bombing memorial Oklahomans have never forgotten this tragedy and have built a very moving place of commemoration and resilience We've learned about cultural differences with how the driving distances are calculated: in kilometers for Europeans whereas in minutes or hours for Americans We've learned about the real meaning of many “ships” — that is partnerships between three schools: French Lycee Hugues Capet in Senlis and Americans in Oklahoma City's Casady School and Harding Charter Prep successful and enriching relationships between two cultures Some people were happily surprised to buy souvenirs cheaper here than in France French students bought a lot of clothes at brands like Hollister and Abercrombie But sometimes they forgot that they have to add the tax to the price you don't seem to have a specific time to do things One of the first things that impressed me was the size of everything here But when we went to the top of the Devon Tower we saw that a lot of blocks were still empty During our trip in Oklahoma we visited the Chisholm Trail Museum We learned many things about the Land Run of the 1890s during which people raced to find a new place to settle It's a weird paradox that Oklahomans ran to get their territories when today nobody walks to get where they need to go We were happy to see that everyone here is proud of the Thunder team There are so many Thunder flags and clothes all around the city We got tickets to go to the game against the Sacramento Kings What an amazing atmosphere inside the arena people are really friendly; they don't have a lot of prejudices I have seen that rich people can be friends with poor ones it's not difficult for me to speak with people who do not know me They are adapted to the size of the country: Huge I've learned that it is usual to have a V-6 or a V-8 engine in your car whereas it is reserved in France for luxury and foreign cars I love American cars because they are cheaper and more cool than in France Oklahoma has an unusual climate: The weather changes are the fastest that I've ever seen I've learned that a lot of people don't have sensibility to the environment: Oklahomans use fossil energy every day in huge quantities and act like they don't know that the actual problem of pollution is a direct consequence of their way of life I've learned an important thing: Oklahomans love France A lot of people have little Eiffel towers in their houses; other people say that we have great wine and everybody says that France is a charming country I think it's pretty cool to be French here because everyone likes talking to me I didn’t pick up the brush much this week so little progress has been made on my actual painting I have thought much about creativity and the consequences of pursuing my goal of becoming a master painter I watched two movies this week about artists. If you recall, I set off on this endeavor after being inspired by the documentary Amargosa it seems quite fitting that two other movies would have me contemplating the possible negative repercussions of my artistic pursuits A beautifully shot film directed by Martin Provost based on the life of naïve style French painter Séraphine de Senlis (1864–1942) Yolande Moreau plays Séraphine a humble housekeeper who performs demanding errands for several households during the day and spends evenings painting by candlelight in isolation The movie highlights Séraphine’s talent not only for being a self-taught painter but also her ability to create her own colors and pigments She never reveals how she created her paints but they have stood the test of time in vividness and richness none of this would really make a fascinating film (especially one in French with English subtitles) without the fatal flaw Séraphine is depicted to slowly loose her grip on reality and in 1932 is admitted to the psychiatric ward of a geriatric hospital at Clermont for “chronic psychosis” She eventually dies in 1942 friendless and alone The second movie is Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus (2006) Séraphine and Fur differ by only 1.3 stars these movies could not be on farther ends of the train track One person called Fur a “furry mess” and I would agree It is Beauty and the Beast and Alice in Wonderland gone wrong Fur is suppose to capture a portrait of the inner mind of Diane Arbus (Nicole Kidman) an American photographer and writer who became well-known for black-and-white photographs of “deviant and marginal people” I felt this film lacked sensitivity and thoughtful reflection of the subject matter Instead Fur is wrought with cliches and simplified emotions that plague Hollywood-type movies the creative artist becomes a victim of their own mental state and fall to tragedy Who knew my endeavor could lead me down such a precarious path So were these two profiles simply the exception or is there a link between creativity and insanity In trying to open the floodgates of my own creativity (okay maybe for me it will only be a mere trickle) am I balancing on a delicate tightrope and coming dangerously close to creativity’s alter ego CULTURE LIFESTYLE FILMMAKING/TECH ATELIER STARK FILMS France's Prince Jean d'Orleans and his Spanish wife Philomena of Tornos and Steinhart walked down the aisle together on Saturday for a second time in a religious ceremony held to celebrate their recent union Attended to by seven little flower girls clad in pastel blue dresses with matching ribbons adorning their hair Philomena walked down the aisle on the arm of her father Alfonso to meet her husband in a beautiful Christian Lacroix white gown tied with a blue belt and accentuated by a heavily embroidered shrug To hold her 200-year-old lace ancestral veil in place the bride wore a delicate gold family tiara embellished with turquoise stones and she carried a trailing bouquet of white flowers for the ceremony which took place at 11 o'clock in the 12th Century cathedral of Notre Dame de Senlis pretender to the throne Jean - who arrived for the union with his mother the Duchess of Montpensier - and his new wife toasted their marriage with champagne with their guests in the gardens of Chateau d'Hugues Capet The wedding party then moved on to a reception in the Chateau de Chantilly – the historic former home of King Luis Felipe of Orleans There the happy newlyweds were greeted with a wedding cake adorned with sparklers Among the distinguished guests helping the couple to celebrate were Prince Philippe and Princess Mathilde of Belgium who opted for a vibrant ensemble to wear for the occasion and former French Justice Minister Rachida Dati She presided over the couple's civil wedding in Paris on March 19 By entering your details, you are agreeing to HELLO! 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Please review updated ';P+='Privacy Policy Here';P+=' Straight Issues Edward McCormick was meeting with an associate in Kandahar when a suicide bomber blew himself up just blocks away The explosion was deafening and sent a strong wave of heat over the surrounding area As the crowded Afghan street was engulfed in panic McCormick said his initial reaction was not fear but grief "I was not concerned and wasn't thinking about myself," he told the Georgia Straight "It was a feeling of sadness and emptiness at that sudden loss of life." McCormick once worked as a paramedic in Vancouver He now spends much of his time abroad as the Afghanistan country director for the Senlis Council an international think tank that focuses on drug policy McCormick's brush with terrorism came in the summer of 2007 According to an August 2007 United Nations report opium cultivation for heroin is funding the insurgency in Afghanistan and has "soared to frightening record levels" this year The report stated that the total opium harvest for Afghanistan has grown by a third since 2006 and that overall cultivation levels are at an all-time high for the second year in a row An August 2007 Senlis Council report argued that a "poppy for medicine" program should be established in Afghanistan on a trial basis The report claimed that a poll conducted across Canada indicated that 80 percent of the country would support such an initiative A poppy-for-medicine program would pay village collectives for morphine tablets made from cultivated opium poppies The Afghan government would license villages where factories could then be built to produce morphine of an international pharmaceutical grade "Eighty-two percent of the world's countries who can't afford morphine could start to buy it," he added State Department's recently revised "Counternarcotics Strategy for Afghanistan" characterized the legal purchase of Afghan opium crops as an "impossibility" It argued that a buyout strategy would encourage more Afghans to grow opium poppies while failing to provide the infrastructure required to manufacture and distribute legal opium products academic director for UBC's Liu Institute for Global Issues argued that the first challenge a poppy-for-medicine program would encounter would be the "hard-line eradication approach" favoured by the U.S. government would be very opposed to any NATO country participating in what would essentially be the legalized production of poppies in Afghanistan," Byers told the Straight president for the Canadian Institute for Strategic Studies questioned the feasibility of a poppy-for-medicine program He argued that security would be the biggest challenge for those who chose to sever ties with Afghan's warlords "Do you know what is going to happen to the farmer the next day?" he asked because the warlords will not accept being frozen out." security would have to come before any incentive for farmers to leave the drug trade "It's not as easy as poppies for medicine," he said "As long as you've got the organized-crime syndicates or loose organizations of warlords controlling the drug trade McCormick was confident that the political will could be mustered and the security challenges could be met "There is another planting season going to happen in October," he said very clear message to the people of Afghanistan: that the international community is here to help." > Potential opium production in Afghanistan in 2001: 185 metric tonnes > Potential opium production in Afghanistan in 2003: 3,600 metric tonnes > Potential opium production in Afghanistan in 2006: 6,100 metric tonnes > Expected potential opium production for 2007: 8,200 metric tonnes > Percentage of Afghan population involved in opium-poppy cultivation: 14.3 > Percentage of world's opium produced in Afghanistan in 2007: 93 > Percentage drop in average price of fresh opium in U.S Source: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Travis Lupick has been associated with the newspaper since he was 15 years old Having joined the Straight's editorial department in 2006 Travis quickly gained a reputation as the office's resident workaholic and hopeless caffeine junkie I really hope this project will come to life it must be terrible to face disastrous situations like bomb assaults I also hope that people will understand the real purpose of opium meds and there won't be confusions about it My brother was addicted to opium and I know how much he suffered because of it I don't want other people to pass through this Your hair was short-cropped and dyed orange Last Updated on 26th June 2024 by Sophie Nadeau otherwise known in French as ‘Jeanne d’Arc’ is a historical French heroine and a woman who changed the face of France Often nicknamed the ‘Maid of Orleans’ d’Arc was a woman who led uprisings in a time when men ruled for the most part and l’Hexagon was at war with the English here’s a quick guide to following in the footsteps on the trail of Joan of Arc in France… Prior to her involvement in the Hundred Year War Jeanne d’Arc was a regular girl from the French countryside whose parents made their living from the land she regularly worshipped in her local church and attended services on a weekly basis Born sometime in 1412 (she was unsure as to her exact birthday but may have been born on the 6th January) she died at aged just 19 years old on May 30th Jeanne d’Arc said that she received visions from God and felt that she was being compelled to lead a French army against the English during the Hundred Year War Two of the Saints Joan of Arc said she communicated with were Catherine of Alexandria and St both of whom were women who refused to obey the orders of men A small patch of countryside just a few kilometres from her hometown of Domremy is where she would go to contemplate an ornate basilica constructed in her honour now sits on site Joan of Arc was incredibly gifted in the art of persuasion and so in March of 1429 Once among the grand châteaux which still populate the countryside of the Loire Valley to this day she somehow managed to swing an audience with King of the time she ended up leading an army to victory against the English in Orleans she would lead army after army to military victory… yet tightly knit community to the South of Paris which has since been renamed Domrémy-la-Pucelle (Dómremy of the Maiden) in honour of d’Arc Located in the Vosges department of the Grand-Est region of France today you can still visit the very house where Jeanne d’Arc was born as well as the church where she regularly attended church services A mass is still held in the Catholic place of worship on a weekly basis there’s a museum chronicling the life of Jeanne d’Arc as well as her many military achievements Other things to see and do in Domremy include countryside walks and taking trips to other quaint towns in the Vosges The pretty former medieval city of Provins is now a large town in the Île de France region and is an easy day trip from Paris As the city was incredibly important during medieval times Joan of Arc travelled through the French settlement at least once she attended mass in the basilica during her travels and a small plaque to the exterior of the entrance commemorates this occasion Read more: An easy day trip to medieval Provins from Paris. and dedications to the now canonised Joan of Arc she crisscrossed l’Hexagon while partaking in various military campaigns and leading the armies she led to countless victories you’ll find a plaque dedicated to the memory of Joan of Arc is the site of a field where Joan of Arc led an army to victory against the Duke of Bedford Read more: A brief guide to the pretty town of Senlis.  In a small town not far from the medieval city of Senlis Joan of Arc was captured by rebellious Burgundian armies who at that time were collaborating with the English while she was helping to defend the town from the aforementioned armies The reward for her capture was 10,000 Livre tournois (a currency used during the Middle Ages) Read more: 10 French Towns near Paris worth visiting.  Just one simple small plaque on the side of Auxerre cathedral announces that ‘yes,’ Joan of Arc once passed through the city As the capital of the Yonne department and one of the largest cities in Burgundy it should come as no surprise that there are plenty of things to do and even more attractions to see when it comes to Auxerre But what you may not know is that Jeanne d’Arc actually passed through the Burgundian city twice The first was en route between Vaucouleurs to go to Chinon when she stopped at the Etienne Cathedral to attend mass while her second visit to the city was markedly more difficult Joan of Arc was walking the route with King Charles VII when the residents of Auxerre refused to let them into the walled city Now the capital of the Normandy region of France Rouen is an ancient city characterised by its countless timber-framed houses The city is worthy of a visit on any trip through Northern France and if you’re looking to follow the trail of Joan of Arc in France where d’Arc’s trial took place she was accused of many things by the English and corroborating Burgundian armies The trial was overseen by the Duke of Bedford and the Earl of Warwick two prominent political figures of the time it’s alleged that Joan of Arc was executed though plenty of later reports suggest (and we can only hope) that she managed to get away to safety many eyewitness accounts say that d’Arc was burned at the stake following a largely unfair trial before her body was burned multiple times (to prevent relics being created) and her ashes thrown in the Seine Just twenty years following her untimely death and execution Joan of Arc was canonised and has since become a symbol of freedom in France tens of thousands of works have been written about her and she is remembered as having had an unwavering faith and a belief in France… Read more: A quick guide to the best things to do in Rouen.  the pretty town of Sens has little by way of attractions and instead is more popular among French tourists Home to a cathedral where Thomas a Becket once sought refuge you can easily see the best of the town over the course of a day or two During Joan of Arc’s travels through France a small plaque remembers this in the heart of the city So important is Reims in the life and story of Joan of Arc that Reims has a large statue dedicated to the French heroine right outside of its grand Gothic cathedral Jeanne d’Arc’s liberation of Reims Cathedral, following the journey of her march to Reims, was the reason which Charles VII was able to be crowned King of France. For more inspiration, be sure to check out our guide to the best things to do in Reims. Sophie Nadeau is a full time travel writer and photographer focused on cultural experiences in Europe and beyond When she's not chasing after the sunset (or cute dogs she sees on her travels) she can be found reading and website in this browser for the next time I comment Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. I started this site back in 2015 with one mission in mind: I wanted to create useful travel guides with a historical and cultural focus Today it has blossomed into my full time job and together with a small team of writers (including my husband and sister) we craft articles to help you travel better throughout Europe © 2015- 2025 Sophie Nadeau. Nadeau Pasquier LTD. 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