Discovering essonne

Seven of the 21 prestigious sites of the road of "gardens and castles around paris" are located in essonne and however represent only a part of a particularly rich inheritance in this region.

Milly-la-forêt  The town of Milly is considered to be the birthplace and leading centre of the cultivation of medicinal plants in France and owes its fame to the peppermint it has adopted as its emblem. Visit of :  the church of Notre-Dame containing the relics of Saint Wulfan (from the time of king Dagobert)  Saint-Blaise Chapel - restored in 1958 and the interior décor was entrusted to Jean Cocteau  the 'Cyclop' - unusual and grandiose representation of a head, 22½ metres high and glistening with mirrors

Etampes, " city of art and history' "  A tour of the town will take you to the surviving remnants of the old eastern enclave of Etampes, Les Portereaux, with its fortress adorned with battlements and arrow-slits, a fine example of XVIth century military architecture, the Tourelle de Jean le Bâtard and the Tour du Loup. Among the other buildings worth seeing are the late XVth century Town Hall (built in Renaissance style and home to the Museum), the mansion known as the Hôtel Diane de Poitiers (built in 1554 and a gift from king Henri II to Diane de Poitiers), and the Hôtel d'Anne de Pisseleu from 1538, which owes its name to the duchess of Etampes who was the favourite of François I. We should also mention the late XVth century Hôtel Saint-Yon and its two flanking towers.

Dourdan, a town drawn from nature  The town of Dourdan , capital of the Hurepoiz region and cradle of the Capetian dynasty, grew up around its XIIIth century castle. Built by Philippe Auguste on the vestiges of the former Merovingian castle, it has a keep set apart, a remarkable testimony to the military architecture of the Middle Ages

A day in "port aux cerises" leisure park  The 'Port aux Cerises' leisure park, the is a 'real nature' complex where the blue of the water and the green of the surroundings merge together in 150 hectares in the heart of an urban area, a great place for having a good time in the fresh air with the family and in total safety. Its 3 hectares of swimming facilities including a pool with wave machine are open during the summer season

Evry's cathedral of the xxist century  The Cathedral of the Resurrection, on which work started in July 1991, was designed by the architect Mario BOTTA and is situated in the town close to the Town Hall. Its contemporary architecture fits in perfectly with the surrounding buildings. No towers or ribbed vaults, but a truncated cylinder dressed in brick and topped off with a triangular copper and glass roof edged by a crown of 24 silvery lime trees at an angle of 31.4 degrees to the vertical. The building's three-dimensional roof is made up of a triangular-shaped double skin resting on three reinforced concrete beams. The light in the cathedral is controlled by electrically-operated blinds with aluminium slats on the underside of the glass.

essonne's 'flying' museum  The Amicale J,B. Salis at Cerny was awarded the Paris-Ile-de-France Grand Prix for Tourism in the business, scientific and techno tourism sector, a true hallmark of quality.

Golfing  Take up golf, a sport which is now accessible to all. Essonne is one of France's top departments for golfing facilities, with fourteen 9 and/or 18 hole courses, most of them open to the general public.