Château de Vincennes - Off The Beaten Tourist Track in Paris

One of my favorite sites from a recent trip to Paris was the Château de Vincennes. I'd never heard of it before, and only became aware of this amazing place because it was within a few blocks of our lodging in the Paris suburb of Vincennes. But it's a Wow-factor site. It was the home of the French Royalty starting in the 14th century until they later moved to Versaille. The site includes a Fortress and a Church - along with many other buildings. It's also been used as a prison and as military base. The Marquis de Sade was imprisoned here for 7 years - and you can tour his cell. In the photos you'll see the donjon (or fortified central tower). This is the tallest donjon in Europe and was the King's home and administrative center.

We visited one morning in early October and nearly had the place to ourselves - as you can appreciate in the photos. Standing inside that church with all the light streaming through so much stained glass is worth the visit alone. It's very much off the usual tourist track in the Paris suburb of Vincennes (final photo is the town square and city hall). Yet it's very easy to get to. It's only a few blocks from the RER A or the Metro Line 1 station.