Meaux, city of art and history

The Meaux region is crossed by the Marne and the Ourcq canal. These two waterways offer beautiful landscapes with an abundance fauna and lush flora. Come enjoy the calm during a stroll or a guided tour.The Marne, which is the principal tributary of the Seine, crosses ten cities from the urban community of Meaux. In Meaux, the river has progressively changed during Middle Ages. It has now formed a loop, giving the city a bucolic feel. Nothing feels more relaxing than having some rest on the riverside… Do you like fishing, hiking, or biking? You will appreciate the calm and serenity of rural and wooded places along the Marne. Discover water hens, tree frogs, zanders, swans, coypus, and wagtails ; hidden treasures of our aquatic fauna. The Marne river offers walks, fishing, nautical leisure, and a beach to entertain and expend yourself.

The Bossuet garden is a typical example of a bishop's garden.The Bossuet garden has been progressively created by a succession of bishops since the end of the 15th century. It final structure was defined between 1637 and 1674 under the bishops Dominique Séguier and Dominique de Ligny. Towards 1643-1644, the formal French garden was designed. A local, but not proved, tradition credits that the creation was due to the famous landscape gardener André Le Notre. At that time the famous man was thirty years old and in the position of official royal gardener in the Tuilleries. Considering the important rang of Domique Séguier at the royal court, the theory of Le Notre's participation is not to be excluded. The garden comprises four flowerbeds limited by box trees and its design in a shape of a mitre was made to be seen from the first floor of the bishop's palace. All around the garden an alley of lime trees created in 1787 gives pleasant shade and underlines the design in form of a mitre. After the Revolution and during the 19th century the garden was almost abandoned. In 1910, the township of Meaux bought the bishop's palace and decided to restore the garden in order to open it to the public.

A discovery tour around the Brie de Meaux AOP is waiting for you.Historical reenactments and tableaux will allow you discover more about the history of this famous cheese. You will discover the different steps in its making, from the milk harvest to the maturing in cellars. You will then learn about the current stakes for the Brie de Meaux AOP which is proudly represented by its Brotherhood. To top off this discovery, a tasting will be offered every Saturday and Sunday at 11:00 am and at 04:00 pm by reservation. * We provide free booklets in English, Dutch, German, Spanish and Italian to accompany you on your visit to the Maison du Brie de Meaux.

The former episcopal palace, located in the centre of the remarkable ensemble of the Episcopal City, has housed the Bossuet Museum since 1927.The city's historical collections were assembled in the 19th century through donations, bequests, archaeological excavations and some state deposits. In the 20th century, two donations from eminent scientists considerably expanded the painting collections. The bequest of Henri Moissan's son, received in 1914, made it possible to present works by Jean-François Millet, Jean-Léon Gérôme, Alexandre-Gabriel Decamps and Charles-François Daubigny. Since 1983, the museum's collections have been regularly enriched by Jean-Pierre and Annie Changeux with 17th and 18th century paintings by Mathieu Le Nain, Claude Vignon, Jacques Blanchard, Sébastien Bourdon and other artists... Temporary exhibitions are held in the lower medieval rooms, while the first floor is devoted to the permanent collections and the bishops' flat, whose study is dedicated to the famous bishop Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet.

Behind the cathedral, behind the bishop’s court, this monument constitutes an imposing parallelogram flanked with turrets with conical roofs at the corners.Gifted with beautiful cross-ribbed vaults in the basement and in the ground floor, a noble hall in the first floor and a vast attic under the framework ; it is the monumental outdoor staircase, built in the 13th century that most notably seduced, among famous figures, Victor Hugo, during his visit in Meaux (V. Hugo, Le voyage du Rhin). According to historians, the Old Chapterhouse was both the headquarters of the cathedral’s canons chapter and a tithe barn, wine and firewood was almost certainly stocked here. The wooden covered bridge is a construction dating back from the 1930’s. It facilitates the movement between the cathedral and the sacristy. Today, the Old Chapterhouse is used as a sacristy. For information: The Old Chapterhouse is a monument to observe from the outside! There is no possibility to visit it.

350 years in the making…Construction of Saint-Étienne Cathedral began in the 12th century and was completed three centuries later with the construction of the north tower (60 metres high). The building thus combines the different phases of Gothic architecture, from the classical style dating back to the end of the 12th century to the flamboyant style of the 15th century. The two first eastern bays of the nave are the oldest parts of the cathedral. The choir, rebuilt and completed a century later by the architect Gautier de Varinfroy, is a splendid masterpiece in terms of its luminosity, the finesse of its architecture and the height of its vaults. Admire the multitude of sculptures adorning the tympanums of the cathedral's five portals. They bear witness to the violence of the Wars of Religion that shook Meaux, particularly in June 1562. Other highlights include the stained glass window depicting the Crucifixion (14th century), the great western Rose Window (15th century) and the magnificent Organ, the work of Valéran de Héman (17th century).

On the riverside, the City Hall is a building that attracts the eye.Its monumental facade, as we see it today, is the result of a work campaign carried out around 1900. Before, the city hall was smaller, though located roughly at the same place. In 1710, it was situated in the shade of the castle of the Counts of Champagne. After successive restorations, the city hall delivered in 1833 was then facing the North of the city, near the place Henri Moissan. Today, this building is the northern wing of the city hall. The destruction of the castle of the Counts of Champagne (between the 20th of August 1888 and the 31st of December 1890), allowed the municipality to extend the city hall: Auguste Boudinaud is in charge of the works in 1892. In 1895, the municipal council adopt the project’s completion: the construction of a central building thus takes place, and the original building of the city hall (left/North wing) is renovated. The city hall’s inauguration took place on the 4th of March 1900. The main facade was moved to the West (as we know it today), and a public garden was created in 1902 to further highlight it. Must see: the monumental façade of the city hall is worth seeing (balcony, staircase, columns, clock, and small bell tower). The city’s coat of arm crowns the clock (sculptor: Devêche). But there is more to discover! Enter the building to see the main staircase, as well as a stained-glass showcased at the exhibition of 1900: it represents the Count of Champagne giving Meaux its first Communal Charter in 1179. The scene takes inspiration from a book published in 1865 by Antoine-Etienne Carro counting the history of Meaux and its surroundings. The artist who worked on the stained-glassed added the portraits of the craftsmen who built the city hall, including the portrait of the architect, Boudinaud.