Page 180 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - France

EXPERIENCE Île-de-France

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with riches and chose it as a
4 " ' = royal burial site. The abbey
Abbaye de retained its royal links until
Royaumont the Revolution, when much of
it was destroyed. It became a
! D2 ⌂ Fondation
Royaumont, Asnières-sur- textiles mill then orphan age,
Oise, Val-d’Oise # 10am– until its revival as a cultural The vaulted Cistercian
cloisters (inset) at the
6pm daily (to 5:30pm Nov– centre. The original pillars still Abbaye de Royaumont
remain, along with a gravity-
Mar) ∑ royaumont.com
defying corner tower and the
Set in woods 35 km (22 miles) largest Cistercian cloisters
north of Paris, Royau mont is in France, which enclose a doors and staircases salvaged
the finest Cister cian abbey in charm ing Classical garden. The from this and other châteaux.
the Île-de-France. Chosen for monastic quarters border one Ecouen was built in 1538
its remoteness, the abbey has side of the beautiful cloisters. for Anne de Montmorency,
stark stonework and simple adviser to François I and
lines that reflect the austere Commander-in-Chief of his
teachings of St Bernard. Yet, armies. As the second most
unlike his Burgundian abbeys, 5 " ' \ powerful person in the king-
Royaumont was founded in Musée National de dom, he employed École de
1228 by Louis IX and his la Renaissance Fontainebleau artists and
mother, Blanche de Castille. ! D2 ⌂ Rue Jean Bulant, craftsmen to adorn his palace,
“St Louis” showered the abbey most appa rent in the painted
Château d’Ecouen, Val-
d’Oise # 9:30am–12:45pm fireplaces depicting biblical
and Classical themes in mys-
& 2–5:15pm Wed–Mon (to
5:45pm mid-Apr–Sep) terious land scapes. The most
Did You Know? ¢ 1 Jan, 1 May, 25 Dec striking room is the chapel,
∑ musee-renaissance.fr containing a gallery and
Louis XIII held one vaulted ceilings painted with
of his ballets, La The moated Château d’Ecouen, the Montmor ency coat of arms.
Merlaison, at the now a Renaissance museum, Upstairs is one of the finest
Abbaye de Royaumont provides an authen tic setting series of 16th-century tap-
in 1635. for a fine collection of paint- estries in France. Equally
ings, stained glass, jewellery, compelling are the princely
tapestries, coffers, carved apartments, the library of
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