Medieval Provins, a day-trip from Paris

Sometimes there’s no need to travel very far from home to see extraordinary sites. Just a half-hour’s drive east of where I live in France lies a UNESCO World Heritage site: the fortified medieval town of Provins, still partially surrounded by its 25m high ramparts and moat, sits atop the only hill in a far-ranging mosaic of fields.

I have taken elderly parents, friends and children to Provins countless times and a firm favourite has always been the “Eagles of the Ramparts” or Aigles de Provins, a 45-minute show which provides a potted history of falconry and leaves even the smallest child wide-eyed in wonder at both the horses and the majestic, swooping eagles, vultures and other birds of prey that they can go and see close-up after the show at the aviary.

Older children will also love the Legend of the Knights but the thundering horses, shouting and sounds of clashing weapons during 45 minutes frightened my children when they were little.

The town of 12,000 inhabitants has two distinct areas, the “Châtel” on the promontory in the NW corner which is where the ramparts and many of the medieval monuments are in addition to the venues for the two shows mentioned above, and the “Val”, the more modern city, which dribbles down the hill east and south of there.

Saint Quiriace collegiate church in the Châtel seen from the Val dominates the skyline

Provins was in the Xth century the third most important town in the kingdom of France after Paris and Rouen. It was developed by the powerful Counts of Champagne as a major trading post between northern Europe and the Mediterranean. It even had its own weights and measures system and currency, the Provins “denier” or penny.

Although only 92km south-east of Paris, the hill-top city has barely changed since the XVIIth century, the half-timbered houses built by the poorer inhabitants slinking in between the sturdy stone houses built by the wealthy.

Provins rose bushes for sale in the Provins Rose Garden

Provins is also proud to be home to the Rosa gallica (or rose of Provins), parent to most European rose cultivars. Oral tradition recounts that Thibaud IV of Champagne brought the rose back with him from the Crusades in about 1240, and ordered it to be cultivated on the north-facing slope of Provins. The Provins Rose Garden is still there and is a wonderful place to have tea outside.

Today the many-tongued babble of the XIth, XIIth and XIIIth century throngs of merchants from Flanders, Germany, Lombardy, Catalonia and the Orient which filled the cobbled streets as they traded fine wool cloth, spices, leather, cutlery and other luxury goods during the two annual fairs have been replaced by the many-tongued babble of a million tourists a year who come to visit the town.

If crowds don’t worry you then come during the Medieval Festival the second weekend of June and the biggest such event in France. Troubadours, acrobats and crowd entertainers fill the streets lined with 350 or so craftspeople peddling their wares. Last time I went I tried my hand at spinning: it was a disaster!! There’s also dancing, music, games, jousting, street performances and the traditional medieval ball, a concert and a Sunday parade with 700 people in medieval costume. You must book a ticket and if you come in medieval costume it will cost less! In 2024 3,000 visitors came costumed so you wouldn’t be alone.

A lower-key version, known as the “Marché Médiévale du Printemps” or Medieval Spring Fair, is held in March.

The one-day Harvest Festival “Fête de la Moisson”, usually held on the last Sunday of August (in 2025 it was held yesterday, 24th August), is another big draw. Later this year I’ll also make a point of going to the medieval Christmas market on 13th and 14th December as I’ve never yet been. It’s fairly novel as this will only be the 14th edition. Because this Christmas market is also based on things medieval there seems to be a lot less made-in-China tat than in many other European Christmas markets.

Last time I went I discovered an area of town entirely ignored by most tourists: the area along the Voulzie river with picturesque half-timbered houses. And I ate in France’s oldest restaurant, the Croix d’Or, which has been serving meals continuously – except during Covid - since 1270! The building has obviously considerably changed over the centuries and the food was not particularly special but it was fun to know that people have been eating here for more than 750 years!

Provins is 75km SW of Paris. There are 20 trains a day from Paris Gare de l’Est to Provins; the journey takes 1 hour 23 minutes and costs €2.50 one way. Just next to the train station (on your left as you walk out) is an annex to the main tourist office. Here you can pick up a map and make reservations if you want to see the shows or take a cooking class or visit the underground galleries.

There are three suggested sightseeing walks which largely follow the same itinerary. If you follow the orange Count Thibaud or blue Rose Road tour pause at 12 rue de Jouy at the Tabliers Gourmands for a refreshment, to buy biscuits made according to authentic medieval recipes or for a medieval cooking class that you’ll have pre-booked. The blue tour detours to the Rose Garden whilst the purple Rampart Tour takes you around the ramparts instead. The orange itinerary is the shortest (11/2 hours), the purple one the longest (up to 31/2 hours).

The stained-glass window by Udo Zembok in the Saint Ayoul Priory.

But for myself, from the train station I like to detour a bit along the rue des Marais by the Voulzie river to reach the peaceful Saint Ayoul priory, which was sold at the end of the XVIIIth century to the state which utilized it for various police and army functions including as a home for the Cavalry’s horses. The defence ministry in 1938 handed it back to the culture ministry which restored it, uncovering some lovely, dainty frescoes. The modern stained glass windows are by German-French artist Udo Zembok.

The intriguing black bronze sections on the Saint Ayoul church portal were made by sculptor Georges Jeanclos (1933-1997) in 1985.

The church faces the cobbled Place St Ayoul which is where the very first Provins fairs were held.

If I’m with first time visitors I’ll walk them up the rue du Val, which may take a while as they’ll be distracted by patisseries and chocolate shops on the way to the bottom of the steep and cobbled rue Saint Thibault which is where the entrance to the underground galleries (guided tours only: book at the tourist office) are. If you intend to visit them bring a warm jacket as the temperature hovers at about 12°C all year around.

Then we walk up the rue Saint Thibault towards the Place du Châtel lined with some remarkable stone and timber-framed buildings and a number of restaurants. At the western end, the well with its wrought iron cage and large Exchange Cross is where the Counts of Champagne posted their public notices!

From there the first port of call, a mere 75m away, and even if I’ve been many times, is the XIIIth century Grange aux Dîmes or Tithe Barn on the rue Saint Jean. Here one learns in a clear and entertaining fashion how the Provins fairs functioned... as long as you use the lively and very informative audio-guide otherwise you’ll just be looking at pretty scenes dominated by life-sized wax figures!

Then we retrace our steps to the eastern end of the Place du Châtel and take the street furthest right, the rue de l’Ormerie, towards the emblem of Provins: the XIIth century Tour César, the only known octagonal castle keep built on a square base but with no links at all to the Roman emperor! From the top there is a prodigious view over the town and surrounding countryside. And when my children were feeling frisky they loved rolling down the grass banks at the base of the keep!

Just to its west is the unfinished cathedral-like XIIth century collegiate church of Saint Quiriace, the one whose XVIIth century dome dominates the Provins skyline. This dome has been restored three times: in 1773, 1886 and in the 1950s to repair World War II damage. But apart from the fact that Joan of Arc attended mass in this church on 3rd August 1429 with King Charles VII the inside, is not as interesting as the interior of Saint Ayoul.