Soissons

In Soissonnais, all is joined together for a successful stay: plunge in the history and push the doors of the Castle of Blérancourt which shelters today the Franco-American Museum, or those of the Castle of the Lords de Coucy and its impressive medieval vestiges.

Do not miss the Bridge Renaissance by the Castle of Fère in Tardenois or the imposing unfinished masonry of Ferté-Milon. Stroll of site in site and cross its landscapes to the 1000 colors: in Soissonnais, nature is queen!

Secular trees of the forest of Retz to the Valley of the Crisis, an inheritance out of the commun run s' offer to you: the picturesque small village of Longpont and its remarkable abbey, the Keep of Septmonts, old residence of the bishops of Soissons.

Soissons, capital of the first kings mérovingiens, delivers its legends and its treasures to you: vase, omnipresent in the stone and the spirits, episode marking of the French history, the Saint-Gervais-Saint-Protais Cathedral, his Saint-Leger Abbeys and Saint-Jean-Of-Vines.

Soissons is classified town of art and history.

• The abbey of Saint-Jean-of-Vines:

Abbey of Saint-Jean-of-Vines, founded in 1076 per Hugues the White. It is located at the south-west of Soissons, France, on the hill Saint Jean. This abbey made the object; a classification under the historic buildings since 1875.

• The Saint-Gervais-and-Saint-Protais cathedral
• The CEPMR - Center study of the Roman murals (CNRS)
• The Saint-Leger abbey
• The old Saint Martin abbey
• The Saint-Pierre public garden
• The Arsenal: exposures of contemporary art
• The town hall
• The cynodrome

It's a discovering trail of the city (2 hours) thanks to information boards on the pavements. Follow the lys flower! Stone bollards give information about the history and art legacy of the city. A document is available at the Tourism Office.

This itinerary invites to follow step by step the lives of Dumas and Racine, both originating from southern Aisne. In Villers-Cotterets, where stands the castle of François the 1st, you will gaze on Dumas birthplace and visit the museum dedicated to this great writer. Travelling across this beautiful area, you will discover the wealth of its environment and landscapes. The Jean Racine museum is located in his birthplace in La Ferté Milon. The castle of Louis d'Orleans, Notre Dame church and neighbouring paved streets remain such as Racine knew them as a child.

From Malmaison Fort to the west to the Tank Memorial to the east, 8 military landmarks dating from the first Wolrd War have been enhanced with signs and thematic panels illustrated with period maps, documents and photographs