Paris Insights - The Blog

The Château at the Top of the Hill
Photo by www.DiscoverParis.net

The Domaine de Villarceaux, where the day-long Terres de Bretagne music festival took place on Sunday, September 4, is a beautiful 175 acre park located in Val-d’Oise. The domain is an hour’s drive from Paris. Two châteaux stand there — one with a view of a labyrinth of neatly-trimmed, low-cut shrubbery next to a man-made pond, and the other, high on a hill with a majestic view of the valley.

In Part 1 of this article, I described how I walked beyond the château at the top of the hill to the gate at the far end of the domain. Turning around at the gate, I had a superb view of the manor.

View of Château from the Gate at the Top of the Hill
Photo by www.DiscoverParis.net

The cobblestone roadway that leads back to the château is bordered by thick woods on either side. There are warning signs advising strollers not to venture into the woods, probably because the trees have not been attended to for the last forty years. I did, however, stop to photograph an intriguing statue that stands there in a tunnel of overgrowth.

Tunnel of Tangled Overgrowth
Photo by www.DiscoverParis.net

Returning to the château, I entered a walkway leading to the basement where the restroom is located. The fleur-de-lys tiles of the floor of the vestibule give an unambiguous sign that aristocrats once occupied this place.

Fleur-de-lys Tile on the Floor of the Vestibule
Photo by www.DiscoverParis.net

Vestibule of Public Restroom
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Later, I returned to the château and found it open to concert goers. I entered and took pictures of the sumptuous furnishings. Note the painting of the nude Françoise d’Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon in the dining room.

Dining Room
Photo by www.DiscoverParis.net

Bedroom
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In the entry hall stands a sculpture of an obviously ecstatic Leda embracing a swan.

Leda and the Swan
Photo by www.DiscoverParis.net

Later in the day, people sat on the lawn of the château to watch the concert given there.

Watching Concert from the Château du Haut
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To be continued…

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The Château at the Top of the Hill
Photo by www.DiscoverParis.net

On Sunday, September 4, the organization called Festival d’Ile-de-France opened its end-of-summer concert series with an outdoor music festival at Domaine de Villarceaux. The domain is located in Val-d’Oise, an administrative départment in the Ile-de-France region.

Hundreds of people (as well as some eighty performers) braved uncertain weather to hear fifteen groups play traditional Breton folk music, as well as jazz, and, in the case of the group N’Diale, Breton-Malian fusion.

For me, the day started with a 45-minute metro ride to Porte de Saint-Cloud to get on a navette (shuttle bus) for the one-hour ride to the festival grounds. At the bus stop, two lovely young women verified my ticket and invited me to get aboard. I got a front-row seat, giving me an unhindered view of the road as the bus wended its way to the concert grounds.

Shuttle Bus Service to Domaine-de-Villarceaux
Photo by www.DiscoverParis.net

Young Women Checking Tickets
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I was prepared for rain, but the only serious precipitation came during the last act around 5:30 p.m. The deluge stopped the Alan Stivell quartet in mid-performance and sent spectators scurrying for cover. It was too bad, because their fusion rock music was a pleasure to listen to!

Being one of the first off the bus, I hoped that I could quickly get to the Ty Lichous food stand to try one of their Breton specialties, but arriving there I saw that about fifty people were already in line (many concert goers had arrived by car). I settled for a falafel sandwich from La Rose d’Orient stand, whose line was very short. Does the popularity of the Breton food stand over the Lebanese one give any indication of the ethnic makeup of the majority of the concert attendees? I believe it does!

People Gathering in front of the Food Stands
Photo by www.DiscoverParis.net

There would be another indication later, when dozens of people formed circles on a large outdoor dance floor and danced what I believe were traditional Breton dances to the folk music performed there.

I decided to explore the grounds first before watching the concerts. The area is a vast park and wood, and a château sits on top of a hill. I climbed all the way up, and walked beyond the château to a great gate that was locked tight and bristling with spikes.

The Gate at the End of the Road
Photo by www.DiscoverParis.net

A Gate You Do Not Mess With
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To be continued…

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