Provins: The City of Roses

Medieval town with half-timbered houses

I'm starting to get the feeling that hubby has a thing for Medieval towns with castles. Any town I mention he asks, does it have a castle? I think he just really likes climbing on the castle ruins, and seeing the grand Cathedral or church (as every village seems to have at least one). I gotta' say Provins, a quaint Medieval town, checked all the boxes providing a fortress, accessible ramparts, and even multiple bakeries [for the nom noms!]. Best part? Provins (not to be confused for Provence) is only an hour by train, an easy day-trip for the family from Paris. Did I mention they specialize in roses?

Yes, of course it has a Castle

Funny enough it's not actually a castle, it's a tower. The entire complex served multiple roles, but the tower was used as a prison and for military patrol. The site was occupied as early as the 9th century, but the tower wasn't built until the 12th century, and it was named Caesar Tower.

Caeser Tower on top of the hill in Provins

Named for the legend that the city was built in Roman times, and the tower built by Julies Caesar, but there's absolutely no proof that Caeser ever came to Provins...or had anything to do with the tower. All in all, the city was mainly known for trading and hosting trade fairs twice a year (a big deal for a medieval town), lasting until the 1300s. Nowadays, Provins is known as a merchant town as well as having well-preserved fortifications, even if they are mainly for show... from what I overheard the fortification and tower ranks pretty low in terms of military practicality, and was mainly built as a symbol of wealth and power by the lords in the area... although I'm not sure of the credibility of this statement.

All in all, it was a great structure to visit and interact with. The family had fun exploring the structure and climbing the steps up the tower. The view was great from up top, and Baby G loved it (and course she had many admirers along the way). Added bonus, in the square below (next to the tower and rose souvenir shop) there's a big basilica church you can visit at leisure. It has a Joan of Arc plaque, and lovely outdoor space.

The plaque translates, "Jean D'Arc: on her return from the coronation of Reims, staying in Provins, heard mass in this basilica... with King Charles VII [on August 3, 1429]"

Stop and Smell the Roses!

Aside from marketing fancy looking tower to visitors, the town's economy actually specializes in rose cultivation. As a result? Rose products everywhere! What else? Rose-flavored baked goods everywhere! I'm serious, rose liquors, rose soaps, rose honey, rose jams, rose spiced breads, rose-flavored ice cream [which is delicious!!]... you get the picture?

Rose-flavored ice cream, topped with whipped cream

The town even had its own rose garden, showing off its collections of rose bushes (and meant to be smelled by the public). This I enjoyed perhaps too much. The horticulturist in me was definitely geeking out a bit, and so of course we has to see the garden. It was lovely, but sadly the blooms were spent by this time of the year. We were fortunate enough to enjoy some straggler rose bushes, but alas the bushes were 90% spent and shutting down for winter. Still worth it!

The Ramparts We Watched

This was pretty cool too, actually seeing the city walls and being able to walk beside them. As with many old city walls, there were parts where houses were built into the structure showing the multiple sections built throughout time.

This was a great walk to take with the baby, the flowers and grasses made it a peaceful stroll and there were sheep everywhere! The perfect opportunity for Baby G to perfect her "baaaas".