Stepping into Provins, France, is like travelling on a time machine and being transported back into the medieval times. Almost the entire Le Châtel area is surrounded by fortified walls built in the 13th century and it almost feel as though you were entering another country, another world. Only that it isn't, and that Provins, a town listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001, is only about 1.5 hours train ride away from Paris.




We reached Provins shortly before noon and started our journey from the main tourist office along Chemin De Villecran. There are plenty of parking spaces there and we grabbed the handy Provins map to go. The map offers suggestions for sightseeing walks and provides a comprehensive list of all the attractions so you can follow the routes easily without any prior planning.

To beat the lunch crowd, we had our lunch early at 11:30 at La Table Saint Jean. It looked rather empty on the outside and we wondered if it is really as good as the online reviews say. Surprisingly, most of the seats are hidden in the petite two-storey building and the entire restaurant quickly filled up with guests during our meal.

Cosy interior

For the weekend, they have the Gourmand and the Traditional Menu sets priced at 32.90 EUR and 20.90 EUR respectively. Choices are available for starters, mains and desserts. English menu is available. We took one of the sets each, and I honestly feel that the lower priced Traditional Menu was good enough.

My Traditional Menu set:

Three flavored homemade Terrine

Duck leg confit with local potatoes.

Homemade Apricot Pie

The three flavored terrine was great, and the accompanying toasted bread was perfect too. The bread was much better than the sliced baguettes served at the beginning of the meal and we regretted eating so much of those just because we were starving. My duck confit was perfect, the fatty parts almost melt in your mouth and really, you can't get sick eating the fats. There was so much meat packed into that small duck leg that I couldn't finish it all. The potatoes were rather dry and not exactly crunchy, but it was a good side to the juicy and flavorful duck. The only regret I had was the apricot pie, which you would probably have noticed from the photo, is charred on the crust. Inside, the part of the pie near the crust is actually under cooked and felt doughy and moist. I'm sure they could have done a better job for the other fruit pies looked "okay". To be sure, maybe it's better to order a non-pie dessert instead.

There were also pies such as apple, strawberries etc.

There are several shows in the Provins to showcase the various aspects of life during the medieval times. The two most popular shows begin in late March and ends in October. We read online that The Eagles of the Ramparts is the best of three, so we purchased our tickets from the booth right in front of the Saint-Jean's gate. It was 12 EUR per adult, which is really not too expensive for an hour long performance.

Promotional Poster

This one's probably angry that he has to perform in the rain

Even so, the performers were really kind and keen to share their experiences with the audience. They actually brought their birds and let each and every single person get the chance to have the bird trot on their arms! They even specifically came to engage us (the bunch of people without any rain gear and hiding at the far end). It was really memorable and I would definitely recommend the show to anyone coming to Provins. I'll pray for you though, that it doesn't rain during the show!

The professional crew carried on with the entire show in spite of the rain.

Annoyingly, the rain ceased after the show ended and making us all drenched. We continued walking along the ramparts and got to enjoy some really good view of the city from above the fortifications!

I can almost imagine the army defending the town from invaders.

Caesar's Tower and the Saint-Quiriace Church in the distance

The Provins Rose Garden is also one of the main attractions of this town. Count Thibaud IV of Champagne brought back the signature rose: "Rosa Gallica Officialis" and that is how the people of Provins fell in love with the rose. It is a rather far walk from the show venue, down the slope of Rue Saint Thibault and then further down Rue Des Jacobins.

Along the way, we passed by the Libraire Medivale, and it was lovely to just take a look inside!

A small hidden shop

I've read that the majority of the old houses in have underground basement built in since the days when Provins was a famous and successful market town. This must have been one of those underground chambers!

By the time we reached the Provins Rose Garden, it started to rain again. Urgh!!!

You have to enter the shop front first before going to the garden

On the day when we were there, they happened to have The Easel Competition, a painting competition for the amateur and young talents. We were pleasantly surprised to see all the paintings (and painters) congregating at the Rose Garden! No wonder we saw so many painters around the town earlier!

I can only imagine the beauty...

Alley up to the tower and church

Even the dome is unadorned

It does look amazing considering that it's built in the 1100s

View of the tower from the South and the old road from Paris

Miniature model of the tower

One of the best views of Provins must be from the tower

Video on the history of Provins in animated cartoon

Provins is a really lovely and unique town for a day trip out of Paris and there's definitely more to explore than those I've mentioned, For example, there is the Tithe Barn, which was used as a covered market and where goods were stored in the lower room. You could also explore the Underground galleries with a guided tour or visit the Museum of Provins which houses collections related to the history of Provins. Regrettably, it is common that most of the information and description in these sites in the smaller towns of France are only in French. Some of it is fine, such as the Eagles' show we caught which was only in French, but others just doesn't make much sense visiting if you don't understand the language. Of course, you could always read up beforehand but I've always preferred looking at the place or artifact and reading up on it there and then. Nevertheless, I would still highly recommend everyone to take a trip here if only to experience the unique medieval atmosphere.

Our souvenir from Provins!
(By the way, the jam is really good, with a light fragrance of rose in it!)

Rose petal jam, hand-crafted bowl and magnet :)

Our itinerary of the the last full day in Copenhagen, Denmark, involved exploring the city center. We grabbed a quick affordable breakfast at Espresso House (which turned out to be a coffee chain with branches in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland) to fill our tummies.

Good and affordable breakfast at Espresso House! The breakfast set came with the scone (with cheese, butter, jam), choice of fruit juice and choice of coffee.

Along the way, we also grabbed some fruit juice from Torvehallerne market hall. The juice cost as much as the breakfast set at Espresso House but it just looked so delicious and nutritious we had to try it!

Select the combination of fruits you want...

And they will blend it on the spot for you, with the fruits prepacked in the bottle!

All smooth and yummy!

From the market hall, we walked to Rosenborg Slot to catch the "changing of guards". The changing of guards takes places every day at Amalienborg at 12:00 and the Danish Royal Guards start marching there from Rosenborg Slot at 11:30. Amalienborg is slightly further away from where all the main sites/ attractions are, so we decided to just catch the beginning of the guards' march at Rosenborg Slot instead.

The marching was a rather quiet affair, with no accompanying music and most definitely no announcement of any sort. If you do wish to catch it too at Rosenborg Slot, do note that it is at the opposite end of the Treasury, parrallel to Gothersgade Street. It appears that they will march along that street to Amalienborg.

Nice to just take a look of the soldier's attire in each country!

Back to the castle, Rosenborg Slot does look petite compared to the Kronborg Slot we visited on Day Two, but that is mostly likely due to the different reasons for which they were built. Rosenborg Slot was built by King Christian IV, eldest son and successor of King Frederick II (who did the major construction and fortification of Kronborg Slog). The palace was completed in 1633 and it was meant primarily for his residence. Officially, they call it his "pleasure palace". Hmm...

I find the red brick walls adorning the castle very unique.

When the palace was no longer used for the kings' residence, it became the place where they store their priced objects. For example, there was the Ivory and Amber room, the Porcelain Cabinet, the Mirror Cabinet and the Glass Cabinet. Some of these rooms are filled from top to bottom with the royal family's expansive collection!

The Ivory and Amber Room

The Glass Cabinet, said to be the only one of its kind in the world.

I felt that the rooms here are more vividly decorated, and it is amazing how the different rooms in the very same palace could have entirely different style and fashion.

The Marble Chamber decorated with Italian scagliola feels a little cold

While Christian VI's Hall is warm and inviting

We were also lucky to catch the three silver lions and in the Great Hall, where the king and queen's thrones also sit. The silver lions are moved to Christiansborg Palace Chapel during the lying in state. Till this day, all royal children are baptised in front of these thrones.

The Great Hall

I daresay that the most memorable part of this castle is the Treasury, where actual crowns and regalia of the royal family are displayed. Obviously many others think the same way as I do, and the small basement was terribly crowded.

The Crown of the Absolute Monarchs (from 1671 to 1731)

Christian IV's crown loaded with symbols of his virtues.

After seeing those beautiful crowns, we finally understood why they are one of Denmark's symbolic icon. I can't believe I grew up eating these Danish cookies thinking that the patterns are just decorative!

See those hidden crown shapes?

After Rosenborg Slot, we walked over to The Round Tower (Rundetaarn), where visitors have been able to enjoy views of the city since 1642. It was also built by King Christian IV and was originally used as an astronomical observatory (apparently it still served the same function in winter season). Accordingly, its thick walls also provided fire proof protection for the citizens during the Copenhagen Fire in 1728!

It literally is round and you can't miss it in the city center.

It's interesting in that you ascend the tower via slopes spiraling all the way to the top. The slopes actually take up all the space in that tower, and only on certain levels, it leads to a room or open space. The round tower used to house the first major university's library collection and now The Library Hall midway up is used for various art exhibitions. We were free to entire the Library Hall with our tickets for the round tower.

Some of the famous names who had visited the library include Ludvig Holberg and Hans Christian Anderson.

The spiraling paved slopes

Since the university's library used to be in the round tower, it naturally had to allocate space for washrooms for the studious who barely leave the library. One of the two original privies still exist and had been restored for exhibition. The privies had an arched ceiling where nicotine could seep through the limestone (if the patron smokes a pipe).

You can try sitting down and picture yourself in those days.

Right at the top of the tower is the Bell Loft, where the bells of Trinity Church hang. Over the years, the loft space had been used for various purposes including laundry and storage spaces. If you do climb on to the very top observatory, you will be rewarded with one of the best unobstructed views in Copenhagen.

Views of the City

Views of the adjoining church

From there, went to the main shopping area for lunch and some leisure walkabout on our way to our complimentary canal tour (complimentary because it was included in the Copenhagen Card!) We had lunch at Peder Oxe, a short walk away, which serves really Danish food! One of the lunch menus includes two or three smørrebrød of your choice (from a selection of 14 smørrebrøds!). I wasn't hungry, so i just had one smørrebrød and a dessert, and i'm so glad i left space for dessert for it was sooo good! Yums!

Shrimps tossed in light cream

I can't remember the name of this danish dessert but the yoghurt like drink which you pour over is slightly sweet and sour and blends really well.

Lego's logos over the years.

This is one of the new hip places for the locals to relax in summer!

We totally love the 1-hour ride and it was a great investment of our time. If you too didn't have a lot of time to spend in Copenhagen, you should at least take this tour for an easy view of the famous sites. The commentary provide by the guide on board was also useful in provided us background information of these places. Hint! It could be a little difficult to catch the guide at times cause of the noise from the engine so it would be best to sit in front. Also, if you do want a close up photo of the Little Mermaid (and do not have extra zoom lens), you have to sit on the right side of the boat.

The waters are really clean and beautiful

One of the numerous bridges which we went under

Spot the "little" mermaid! (This is what happens when you sit on the wrong side of the boat.

The canal tour begins and ends at the same place and we weren't allowed to alight anywhere else. Our main itinerary is Tivoli Gardens for the evening night, but since it's along thte way, we decided to pop by H.C. Andersen Fairy-Tale House.

The only photo i took of the place. X:

Some construction going on to enhance park experience

See the one-man empty seat in the middle? There's where the operator sits and manually controls the breaks of the roller coaster.