Saturday 21st March 2026 • Promotional Content


Worldwide Travel T e Travel Guide


A journey through time with the Centre des monuments nationaux


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HÔTEL DE LA MARINE © BENJAMIN GAVAUDO/CENTRE DES MONUMENTS NATIONAUX


THE APOCALYPSE TAPESTRY, CHÂTEAU D’ANGERS © PHILIPPE BERTHÉ/CENTRE DES MONUMENTS NATIONAUX


Beyond the well-known routes, the Centre des monuments nationaux opens the door to France’s hidden monuments


Created in 1914, the Centre des mon- uments nationaux brings together more than 100 historic sites across France, over 20 of which are Unes- co World Heritage Sites. Spanning prehistoric landscapes to medieval fortresses, Renaissance chateaux to 20th-century architectural icons, the network off ers a journey through the country’s lesser-known treasures and invites travellers to experience French history in a diff erent way. In Brittany, the Megalithic Site of


Carnac emerges from the landscape with a force that still defi es explana- tion. T ousands of standing stones stretch across the fi elds in long, silent rows, forming the largest megalithic complex in the world and one of Eu- rope’s great prehistoric sanctuaries. T eir recent inscription on the Unes- co World Heritage List has confi rmed what visitors have long felt: this is a place apart. Nearby, Locmariaquer off ers another spectacular testimony to Neolithic ingenuity: the Grand Menhir, once the tallest standing stone in Europe, now lying in four monumental fragments. T e medieval period comes vividly


to life at Angers castle. Behind its for- midable walls unfolds the Apocalypse Tapestry, commissioned in the 14th century by Louis I. It is the largest sur- viving tapestry cycle from the Middle Ages. A veritable woven manuscript, the tapestry also documents a polit- ical-religious reading of the Apoc- alypse during the Hundred Years’ War between France and England. T e Apocalypse of Angers is listed as Memory of the World by Unesco. A short distance away in Touraine,


KERMARIO ALIGNMENTS TO THE EAST, A FEW MENHIRS IN THE MORNING MIST © YANN MONEL / CENTRE DES MONUMENTS NATIONAUX


the Château of Azay-le-Rideau em- bodies the elegance of the French Renaissance. Built during the reign of Francis I on an island in the River Indre, the chateau is renowned for its famous refl ection in the surrounding


water, creating one of the most poetic images in the Loire Valley. In autumn 2026, the chateau will host an exhibi- tion dedicated to Alexander Calder, the inventor of mobile sculptures. Paris provides its own form of time


travel at the Hôtel de la Marine on the Place de la Concorde. Formerly the royal Garde-Meuble and later the French Navy headquarters, the build- ing has been restored to its 18th-cen- tury splendour. Visitors discover the sumptuous apartments of the royal intendants and the grand state rooms overlooking the square, as well as the galleries presenting masterpiec- es from the Al T ani Collection and temporary exhibitions. T e Cordon Bleu ateliers complete the experience with a taste of the French art de vivre, blending gastronomy, wine and re- fi ned hospitality. T e journey ends in the north, near


Lille, with a leap into the 20th cen- tury. T e Villa Cavrois, designed in 1929 by Robert Mallet-Stevens, rises from its park like a manifesto in yel- low brick. Conceived as a modern home for an industrialist’s family, it


combined cutting-edge technology, radical geometry and meticulous attention to detail. Restored to its original 1932 state, it off ers a strik- ing immersion in the elegance of early modernism. Across centuries and regions, the


monuments of the Centre des monu- ments nationaux reveal a France that extends far beyond its most familiar landmarks — a rich, diverse and of- ten unexpected heritage waiting to be explored. With Paris just over two hours and


15 minutes from London, and Lille even closer by Eurostar, rail trav- ellers can take advantage of a two- for-one entry off er at the Hôtel de la Marine and the Villa Cavrois simply by presenting their Eurostar ticket.


monuments-nationaux.fr/en


THE VILLA CAVROIS © LÉANDRE GUENARD/CENTRE DES MONUMENTS NATIONAUX


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