Yesterday one of my art history classes took a trip to the medieval castle of Charles V called Château de Vincennes, its the last stop on the 1 metro line. I totally recommend this place (though I'm a bit of an architecture nerd, so it might not be for everyone). That castle is still in amazing shape for having been built in the 15th century, and the site is small and easy to see in an hour or two. It is also home to the church that inspired the architecture for Saint Chapelle, and was the original church to house Jesus' crown of thorns.
What was really interesting (thats a relative term, I found it interesting haha) is how concerned people in the medieval era were about safety and protection. You can see it built into the Chateau. There was not one but two moats and drawbridges! And they had these holes built into the door frames from which they would dump hot oil on people who were trying to invade the castle. Pretty gruesome stuff!
We climes to the top of the main tower, which was where the King resided. It also served as a prison after the royal family moved to Versailles.
Look at the views from the top!
And the interiors were simple but beautiful! Despite being from the middle age they looked pretty modern with all the white stone, high ceilings, and strong simple lines.
There was some pretty classy looking graffiti from its days as a prison
And beautiful sculpted detailing!
I would really recommend taking a trip to Chateau de Vincennes, we went at around 4 pm which was a beautiful time to see it.
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