A Medieval Experience At Blandy Les Tours
Last Updated on 25th September 2024 by Charlotte Nadeau
This post may contain affiliate links. Please check out my privacy policy and disclosure for more information.
Imposing, crumbling and full of character, the ancient château of Blandy les Tours is situated in the Seine-et-Marne department of France, as it has now for centuries. Barely a couple of hours of Paris, Blandy les Tours is often overlooked in favour of its more modern and better-known counterpart, Vaux-le-Vicomte. Here’s your guide on how to visit the Château de Blandy Les Tours, a medieval gem of France!
Contents
Blandy Les Tours: an afternoon trip from Paris
Dating all the way back to the early 13th-Century, this château was heavily restored in the 1990s and provides a perfect example of what a fortified French castle would have been like during the middle ages.
I’m always on the lookout for quirky, historical and downright fascinating places to visit. So, when we were returning from a trip to Vaux-le-Vicomte a while back, I knew I couldn’t turn down a visit to this rare medieval gem.
Blandy les Tours is barely two hours away from Paris, and yet there’s barely any mention of it in guidebooks of the area! Perhaps the ‘well kept secret’ status of this château, as well as its somewhat remote location, accounted for the eerie atmosphere pervading the place.
As a result, it’s also completely devoid of tourists, making it the perfect day to uncover the castle’s mysteries in peace. A visit today entails wandering around the castle’s ramparts, exploring the Gatehouse, and seeing the château’s keep and its various towers.
Psst! read our guide for this travel combination
Château de Vaux le Vicomte & Blandy les Tours Day Trip from Paris
A brief history
As can be expected from any castle of this age, the history of Blandy les Tours is twisted, complicated and occasionally bloody. After all, the château saw the Hundred Years’ War, was financed by Kings and historically, was inhabited by many key players in France’s history.
Blandy les Tours was first mentioned as early as 1216. At this time, it was a simple manor house surrounded by farmland and posed little importance in the grand scheme of French politics and power.
The site had previously been used as a necropolis for the Merovingians. The Merovingians was a dynasty spanning much of what is now modern day France and endured for nearly three centuries.
‘necropolis‘ comes from the Greek meaning ‘city of the dead’ and denotes a cemetery, monuments to the dead or other such memorials.
However, by the 14th-Century, the power balance within France was changing and the first fortifications of the castle were started. This was in the very midst of The Hundred Years’ War against England, and much of Northern France was gaining strategic importance, including the once merchant town of Rouen.
A large moat was added, as well as a gate tower, working drawbridge and a high wall enclosure encircling the entire property. The strategic placement of the castle meant that King Chales V and King Charles VI financed the project themselves.
By the 16th century, the Castle once again underwent major renovations and was turned into its former use, a residential home. Royal weddings took place here and it became a country retreat for those in the know, and with enough money to make it happen.
However, the residential years of the castle barely lasted a century before Blandy les Tours was purchased by the owner of nearby Vaux-le-Vicomte. Much of the castle was dismantled and the château turned into a farm.
Eventually, the castle was bought by the town council in the late 19th Century. Extensive restorations in the late 20th century brought the castle back to its former glory. Today the château sits imposing in the centre of town and overlooking the surrounding landscape.
How to visit
Opening hours: 1st April to 31st October (10 am – 6 pm) & 1st November to 31st March (10 am – 12:30 pm and 1:30 pm – 5 pm)
Closed: Tuesdays, January 1st, May 1st, and December 25th
You can see Blandy les Tours from miles away, and well desginated signs means that it’s easily found. I highly recommend combining a trip to Blandy les Tours with a day trip to the nearby château of Vaux-le-Vicomte.
The full admission price for an adult is €7.
Address: Place des Tours, 77115 Blandy, France
Getting there
There are regular trains running from Paris’ Gare de l’Est to Verneuil l’Etang (the nearest metro station to the château). Take line P in the direction of the medieval town of Provins. During the summer months, there is a bus that will pick you up from the station and take you directly to Vaux le Vicomte (bring cash to pay for the bus). The same bus will also take you to Blandy-les-Tours.
If you choose to visit by car (which is the easiest option if you want to fit in a few French countryside attractions at the same time), then parking at Vaux-le-Vicomte is free. Blandy-Les-Tours is about a fifteen-minute drive from Vaux-le-Vicomte and is perfect if you want to see some beautiful medieval architecture!
Enjoyed reading about how to visit Blandy Les Tours? Pin this article now, and read it again later:
