Gite in Picardie, France - La Source Tranquille

Giverney is where Monet spent his most productive years and his house and garden have been preserved as when he died. The site is open from March to November and is well worth a visit.    more ...

The astronomical clock in the Cathedral Saint-Pierre de Beauvais, is considered a masterpiece of the genre, built by Auguste-Lucien truth in the 19th century.

The astronomical clock was constructed between 1865 and 1868 at the request of the Bishop of Beauvais Joseph-Armand Gignoux by Auguste-Lucien truth, famous master watchmaker of Beauvais (designer of the astronomical clock of Besançon between 1857 and 1862).

It has approximately 90 000 mechanical parts in steel and brass, 52 dials in enamel and 68 machines.

It was first presented at the palais de l'Industrie in 1869 prior to being placed in the chapel of the sacrament, located in the North arm of the transept of the Cathedral in 1876.    more ...

The departmental Museum of the Oise is installed in the former Palace of bishops-counts of Beauvais, at the foot of the Cathedral. This remarkable architectural set of buildings, classified as a historical monument, has a 14th century gatehouse (with the famous mural of the sirènes musiciennes), connected by a wing to the Renaissance palace for the Bishop Louis-Villiers of l'Isle - Adam (1497-1521) itself built on the foundations of a 12th century building.

The Palace is currently the subject of a global museographic renovation project.

Pending the end of the work, a representative selection of the permanent collections takes the visitor on a journey that includes the Gaulish Warrior of Saint-Maur to the stones and carved wood of the middle ages (with valuable elements from the old Beauvais wooden houses).

See also, the works of the French school of the 16th century, with an astonishing Résurrection du Christ (circa 1594) by Antoine Caron, culminating in the 19th and 20th centuries with Huet tableaux (including the superb Retour du grognard), Corot (with the most complete version of the famous Vasque de l’Académie de France à Rome, a Parisian landscape and a study on the château de Pierrefonds), powerful sketches by Thomas Couture for his monumental canvas l’Enrôlement des volontaires, without forgetting Ingres, Vuillard, Maurice Denis, Vallotton, Le Sidaner…    more ...

From the 17th century, marquetry craftsmen in the region of Méru were making a whole range of luxury articles for Parisian wholesalers (fans, opera glasses, broaches, buttons, toiletries, cutlery, jewellery...) using natural materials from distant parts of the world : pearl oysters, shellfish, animal horn, tortoiseshell, ivory, bone and exotic wood.

The inhabitants of Méru have always kept strong ties with what used to be the major activity of their region, even though there is just a handful of craftsmen working with mother-of-pearl today.

The Musée de la Nacre et de la Tabletterie (the mother-of-pearl and marquetry museum) is the living account of these memories, honoring Méru more than ever before, as the mother-of-pearl capital.    more ...

The Musée National du château de Compiègne encompasses three museums in one as well as the main château and its gardens; les apartements historiques (historical apartments), Le Musée du Second Empire (the Museum of the Second Empire) and Le Musée de la voiture (the Museum of the car).

The château was originally built as a Royal residence in the 14th Century with continued development until Louis XV decided to have it rebuilt in the eighteenth century. It was one of three seats of government, along with Fontainebleau and Versailles. The revolution heralded further changes with Napolean I having it restored until eventually it became a museum in 1870.    more ...

L'abbaye de Chaalis is a domain owned by the Institut de France encompassing of a thirteenth Century Abbey, a thirteenth century chapel with sixteenth century frescoes, a museum, and parkland with lakes and a rose garden.

Throughout the summer the Ateliers des Parfums offers you the chance to create your own perfume, whilst the gardens are famous for their roses - the 'Journées de la Rose' takes place every year in June, with people visiting from all over the world.    more ...

The Musée vivant du cheval is housed in the Grand Ecuries (the great stables) of the Château de Chantilly. According to legend, Louis Henri, Duc de Bourbon, Prince of Condé believed that he would be reincarnated as a horse after his death so in 1719 he asked the architect, Jean Aubert to build stables suitable to his rank. These 186m long stables are considered by some as the most beautiful in the world.

Today they house the 'Living Museum of the Horse', a testemant to the importance of horses to Chantilly and the region. Since its creation, the museum has supported many artists and helped the public to discover the world of horses.    more ...