Seine et Marne is a department of Ile de France, named after the Seine and Marne rivers. It’s located less than an hour from Paris.
Geography
The department has many natural reserves, notably E.N.S, Forest of Fontainebleau and Gatinais.
Its principal towns are: Chelles, Torcy, Pontault-Combault, Lagny-sur-Marne, Meaux, Melun, Brie-Comte-Robert, Provins, Fontainebleau as well as the new towns of Marne-la-Vallée and Senart.
Seine-et-Marne is at the forefront of the region’s expansion, the 1st in France and the 3rd in Europe.
This area has plenty sites of interest, royal and religious heritage like Fontainebleau- town of kings and emperors, Provins -village listed of Humanity Word Heritage, Blandy-Les- Tours- baronial residence or castle Ferrieres-en-Brie.
Towns
Beaumont en Gatinais is a little village straddling the Seine-et-Marne and the Loiret boasts a distinguished past. The 17th century marketplace attests to the wheat trade’s importance in the area, and with the splendid Saint Bartholomew’s church forms a scenic group of buildings.
Perched atop a rocky outcropping, the fortified town of Château-Landon overlooks the Fusain Valley and La Tabarderie Park, which has a promenade along the Fusain offering views of old wash-houses and mills. Many landmarks recall several centuries of history, such as the relics of Saint Séverin abbey, which pilgrims worshipped at on their way to Santiago de Compostela, Saint Turgal’s Tower, Saint Andrew’s priory and the treasures of quiet little streets. This was the birthplace of Foulques IV Le Rechin, who founded the Plantagenet dynasty.
The old village of Samois clusters around the church on the heights, while charming holiday homes stand on the banks of the Seine below. This place, which is well-known for good walking and fishing, is where the famous Gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt came to write music on Berceau Island. His fans gather here each June to attend the international jazz festival and pay him tribute.
Bray-sur-Seine’s medieval past springs up on a walk through its old streets. Statues of Saint Nicholas and Saint Anthony, a dormer window from the Tuileries Palace in Paris, and Notre-Dame collegiate church, with its complex blend of architectural styles stretching over different periods, form a heritage that must not be missed.
Activities
Seine en Marne offers the activities for every age and interest. For water sport addict, there is canoeing, paddling, jet skiing, or if you prefer something different there is also horse riding, mountain bike riding, or for more extreme sports like paint-balling or go- carting.
There are many theme parks like: Fami Parc, Sealife, Parc de l’Emprunt, Wild cat park or Le bois d’Attily zoological park but the most important is Disneyland resort in Marne la Valee town.
This is also a very festive area. In June, July, August and September there is a festival Les Fleches du Temps in Meaux. From early April to early November, there is a huge variety of medieval events. A formidable ballet of birds of prey, horses and wolves greets the public during The Eagles of the Ramparts festival. For music amateurs, in the last September there is a Musik’Elles festival devoted to female singers in Meaux and mid July 2 days of Montereau Confluences concerts featuring major international Rock and Blues artists.
Gastronomy
Seine-et-Marne is a department very rich on the gastronomic level. The most popular specialities of this region are: mustard from Meaux, huge variety of cheese especially Brie cheese (for example Le Brie de Montereau or de Melun) but also others like Le Fougerus or Le Chevru. For sweets lovers there are Les Macarons de Reau, les melunettes, cailloux monterelais ou les sucres d’orge de Moret sur Loing. The most popular local drink is a cider.
Useful information:
Tourism office in Seine et Marne:
www.francetourism.com
Maps of Seine et Marne:
www.ign.fr
www.viamichelin.com
Travel from the UK
By air: Easyjet flies from Belfast, Liverpool Newcastle and London Luton to Paris.
Ryanair flies from Shannon, Dublin and Glasgow to Paris.
By rail: Eurostar go from London to Paris in just 2h35.
By car: You can travel by car to Paris by taking the ferries which go from Dover to Calais and then you can take the Motorway to Paris.
You can also cross the channel with the Eurostar and stop at Calais. Then you will travel on the motorway directly to Paris.
Our team of sale advisers at Sextant Properties will be happy to help you to find a property in Seine et Marne. We have a large network of partners in Seine et Marne. All of them are registered French real estate agents and speak both French and English. Whatever kind of property you are looking for: farmhouse, longere, barn, gite, B&B, country house, mill, castle or chateau, we will do our best to find a property in Seine et Marne matching your requirements.