On a bend in the River Marne, Meaux is a cultured city that rose to prominence in the 17th century.
This was when Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet, the “Eagle of Meaux” was bishop. Bossuet was an influential theologian in the reign of Louis XVIII and one of history’s great orators. His episcopal palace has been preserved, along with its beautiful garden and defensive walls, and holds Meaux’s art and history museum. You can also visit Bossuet’s tomb at the resplendent Gothic cathedral, which fronts a fine square with cafe and restaurant terraces. And if you’re partial to Brie cheese, Meaux has been making this variety for more than 200 years, with dairies around the city and even a Brie museum. Let's explore the best things to do in Meaux.
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1. Musée de la Grande Guerre
Inaugurated on Armistice Day in 2011, this museum is one of the world’s premier attractions dealing with the conflict from 1914-18. Meaux was chosen as it was as close as the German Army came to Paris during the war.
The museum recreates scenes from the war, going as far as building a replica battlefield that has both French and German trenches and No Man’s Land in-between.
This is made all the more real by modern and multisensory museum design, with objects you can pick up, soundscapes and lots of multimedia presentations to go with the usual artifacts.
2. Meaux Cathedral
Any scholar of gothic art will admire the city church. That’s because work was completed slowly, over the 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th centuries, so every phase of French Gothic design, from Early Gothic to Flamboyant is on show.
Despite all this diversity, the architecture still feels harmonious, and it makes the interior really shine. Here the vaults in the nave and choir rise to more than 30 meters, flooding the interior with sunlight.
If you’re on the Bossuet trail, you can visit his tomb carved from black marble and fenced off by a wrought-iron grill.
3. Musée Bossuet
Meaux’s art and history museum are in Bossuet’s former home, the episcopal palace next to the cathedral. This is from the 1100s and was then expanded in stages up to the time Bossuet resided here in the late 1600s.
The oldest rooms are on the ground floor, which hasn’t been altered much since the 12th century.
Room 7 of the museum deals with Bossuet’s time as bishop between 1682 and 1704, but there’s also medieval religious sculpture and a strong assortment of art donated to the city down the years and running from 16th-century mannerism to romanticism in the 1800s.
4. Le Jardin Bossuet
Local tradition has it that the 17th-century flower garden behind the Episcopal Palace was designed by a young André Le Nôtre, the man who worked wonders at Versailles.
Whether or not this is true, the parterre is a terrific example of landscaping from that period: There are four paths, hemmed by flowerbeds of roses, converging on a central fountain with a large mossy rock that was placed here in the 1800s.
The whole garden is edged by a double row of lime trees, and at the bottom is a stairway that will take you up to the Gallo-Roman walls, which we’ll come to later.
5. Vieux Chapitre
At the back of the courtyard at the Episcopal Palace, and joined to the cathedral by a timber-framed gallery, is a symbol of ecclesiastical power from the middle ages. The chapter of clerics would meet in this turreted hall to discuss religious missions and advise the Bishop of Meaux.
You can walk up to their meeting room via a wonderful covered external staircase up the side of the building. There was a dual purpose to the Vieux Chapitre as the ground floor was a tithing barn, used to store wine, wood, and grain in a large vaulted room.
6. Remparts de Meaux
On weekends you have free access to the ancient walls that used to surround the entire episcopal quarter.
Now around 250 meters in length the ramparts follow a route plotted during the Gallo-Roman period and were later renovated and modified with works in the 14th and 15th centuries when the circular defensive towers went up.
The highlight of the walk is the view over the delightful garden at the Bossuet museum, as well as the episcopal palace and the cathedral. Word has it that Bossuet would come to the small hermitage in the Jardin des Remparts in the 17th century for some seclusion to reflect and write.
7. Old Centre
Meaux’s elevated status in the 17th and 18th centuries left it with many refined mansions from this period, which are all private properties but still deserve a look. So it pays to set off and seeing what you can find.
On Place, Saint-Maur gets a photo of the Hôtels de Regnaudière and Longuejoue. And as a religious center, Meaux was home to many religious congregations whose properties are still visible, like the convents of the Visitation and Ursulines, and the House of the Augustines at Faubourg Saint-Nicolas.
8. Parc du Pâtis
On a loop in the Marne to the south of Meaux, the Parc du Pâtis is a large and varied natural space rather than a landscaped garden. You can walk a footpath next to the Marne or cut inside to flowery meadows, woods, and at least ten large ponds, some crossed by cute little bridges.
The abundance of water attracts dozens of bird species, like the brightly plumed Eurasian golden oriole and the kingfisher. And when the sun’s out in summer there’s even a public beach for swimming in the Marne, and a nautical center to hire a rowboat.
9. American Monument
As mentioned earlier, the German Army was stopped just outside Meaux during the First Battle of Marne in 1914. This event is now regarded as a turning point in the early stages of the war and in 1932 the USA put up a monument here in memory of the French troops that lost their lives halting the advance.
The statue is just next to the First World War Museum on the battlefield.
10. Brasserie de Meaux
About halfway to Trilport, a couple of minutes from the center of Meaux is a young brewery that is part of the craft beer revolution and started operating in 2015. The Brasserie de Meaux sources its ingredients from the cereal farms in the local countryside and makes blonde, white and amber beers.
You can show up for casual tours on Fridays and Saturdays, or pre-arranged group visits any day of the week. The tour is €3 ahead and, as you’d expect, concludes with a tasting session of your choice of the brewery’s three beers.
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