Page 251 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Paris

FUR THER AFIELD  249

residence. It was here that
Henry V of England died of
dysentery, after suffering
agonizing pain, in 1422.
His body was boiled in
the château’s kitchen to
prepare it for shipping back
to England. Abandoned when
the palace of Versailles was
completed, the château was
subsequently converted into
an arsenal by Napoleon.
The 14th-century donjon,
or keep, is the tallest such
structure in Europe and is
Marché aux Puces de St-Ouen, an antiques and bric-a-brac market a fine example of med ieval
military archi tecture. It
6 ha (15 acres). In the 19th Revolution, many tombs were houses the château’s
century, rag merchants and desecrated and scattered, museum. Building work on
tramps would gather outside but the best were stored, the Gothic chapel started
the city limits and offer their and now repre sent a collection in 1380, but was not finished
wares for sale. By the 1920s, of funerary art. Memorials until around 1550. The chapel
there was a proper market include those of Dagobert features beautiful stone rose
here, where masterpieces (died 638), Henri II (died 1559) windows and a single aisle.
could sometimes be purchased and Catherine de Medici (died Two 17th-century pavilions
cheaply from the often 1589), and Louis XVI and house a fascinating museum
uninformed sellers. Today, Marie-Antoinette (died 1793). of army insignia.
it is divided into specialist Once a royal hunting
markets. Known especially ground, the Bois de Vincennes
for its profusion of furniture c Château et Bois was given to the City of Paris
and ornaments from the de Vincennes by Napoleon III in 1860. Baron
Second Empire (1852–70), Haussmann’s landscape
few bargains are to be found q Château de Vincennes. architect added a number
these days, yet some 150,000 W Vincennes. Château: Ave de of ornamental lakes and
bargain-hunters, tourists and Paris 94300 Vincennes. Tel 01 43 cascades. Among the forest’s
dealers still flock here to 28 15 48. Open Mid-May–mid-Sep: main attractions is the largest
10am–6pm daily; mid-Sep–mid-May:
browse among more than 10am–5pm daily; options available funfair in France (open from
2,000 stalls (see p331). Palm Sunday to end of
for guided visits, last adm 45 min
before closing. Closed public hols. May) and the renovated
x Basilique- & 8 = Bois de Vincennes: Parc Zoologique de Paris.
This zoo makes a special
Cathédrale de Open dawn to dusk daily. effort to preserve, protect
∑ chateau-vincennes.fr
Saint-Denis and promote animal species
The Château de Vincennes, and raise awareness of the
1 Rue de la Légion D’Honneur, enclosed by a defensive wall importance of protecting
93200 St-Denis. Tel 01 48 09 83 54. and a moat, was once a royal our environment.
q St-Denis-Bas ilique. W St-Denis.
Open Apr–Sep: 10am–6:15pm
Mon–Sat, noon–6:15pm Sun; Oct–
Mar: 10am–5:15pm Mon–Sat, noon–
5:15pm Sun (last adm 30 min
before closing). Closed 1 Jan, 1 May,
25 Dec. 5 8:30am, 10am Sun.
& 9 8 =
Constructed between 1137
and 1281, the cathedral is
on the site of the tomb of
St Denis, the first bishop of
Paris, who was beheaded in
AD 250. The building was
the original influence for
Gothic art. From Merovingian
times, it was a burial place for
rulers of France. During the The imposing Château de Vincennes

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