While the weather promises to be good for part of the weekend and the French, after several weeks of restrictions, can now move beyond the 10 km limit around their home, what better than a stroll in a charming corner of Île-de-France to fully enjoy this moment of freedom.
We have selected ten remarkable places for you to hang out on this second weekend in May.
With the program in particular, castles, a romantic rose garden, a hike in the forest and a stroll in a garden ...
Dive into the 17th century in Vaux-le-Vicomte (Seine-et-Marne)
Navigating a small wooden boat remains a timeless pleasure on one of the basins of Vaux-le-Vicomte.
LP / Sophie Bordier
It is one of the most beautiful castles in Île-de-France and its history is incredible.
If you cannot visit the interior, which reopens on May 19, take a tour of the magnificent gardens of the home of Nicolas Fouquet, Louis XIV's superintendent of finances.
Thirty-three hectares of French-style parkland, with flowerbeds, water games, optical illusions, groves, designed by Le Nôtre a few years before Versailles.
Every weekend, small sailboats are available in the pool, to entertain children.
A treasure hunt around Jean de la Fontaine, a regular visitor, and giant wooden games are also planned.
Price: 9 euros.
Online reservation required.
From 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Information:
vaux-le-vicomte.com
Smell the flowers in L'Haÿ-les-Roses (Val-de-Marne)
You can discover 3000 varieties of roses and more than 11,000 rose bushes at Ha l'H-les-Roses.
LP / Guillaume Georges
A truly romantic place that invites you to stroll, the Val-de-Marne rose garden reopens its doors for the season.
For more than a century, we have admired an impressive collection of 3000 varieties of roses and more than 11,000 rose bushes.
If the flowering is optimal in June, the plants start from May to bloom in an explosion of colors and to spread their subtle fragrance.
Unique.
From 2 to 4 euros, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Information:
roseraie.valdemarne.fr
Jump into the trees at Sherwood park (Val-d'Oise)
The Sherwood park adventure park is the meeting place for tree-climbing lovers.
LP / CL
Come take height and graze the treetops in this tree climbing park which welcomes the public again from this Saturday.
More than forty courses and 4000 m of zip line await families in the heart of the woods.
You can also test your agility at the archery or crossbow range.
Also on the program: playground, pony rides, labyrinth, or the ejection bungy, inverted bungee jumping, which propels the bravest twenty meters high.
From 5 years old.
From 14 euros.
Chemin des Rouliers in Viarmes.
Booking is recommended.
Information:
sherwoodparc.com
Take yourself for a prince in Dampierre (Yvelines)
The geese of the harvest appreciate the pond of the domain of Dampierre-en-Yvelines.
LP / Marion Pepin
Time seems suspended there.
Immersed in greenery, in the heart of the Chevreuse valley, the wooded park of the former property of the Dukes of Luynes calls for reverie.
Take a walk or take a carriage ride to admire the grounds of this very pretty castle.
Guided tours (max 6 people) and family treasure hunt.
At 2, grande rue in Dampierre.
From 10 a.m. to 5.30 p.m.
From 5 euros.
Carriage ticket 15 euros.
Information:
domaine-dampierre.com
Walk through the cobbled streets of Senlis (Oise)
The streets of Senlis are an ideal getaway for lovers of old stones.
LP / Olivier Boitet
History is at the turn of every street, every door.
The old medieval city and its postcard decor constitute an ideal getaway for lovers of old stones.
No wonder a hundred films have chosen it as a backdrop.
For a fun family visit, the tourist office offers treasure hunts on its site, to be done with paper and pencil.
The cathedral is also worth a visit.
Information:
senlis-tourisme.fr
Pedal along the Ourcq canal (Seine-Saint-Denis and Seine-et-Marne)
On the track that runs along the Canal de l'Ourcq, from Paris to Meaux, there are 52 km of wonderful bike rides.
LP / Pauline Conradsson
Get on your bicycle and walk along the Ourcq canal from La Villette on the cycle path on the old towpath.
Far from traffic, the concrete soon gives way to lush vegetation.
We are rocked by water and the city seems far away.
You can stop at the beautiful Parc de la Poudrerie, in Sevran (13 km from Paris), before turning back.
The more athletic can push to Meaux (45 km, count 4 hours) before returning to the TER.
Hiking in the forest of Fontainebleau (Seine-et-Marne)
Some segments of the paths in the Fontainebleau forest are rugged and for seasoned walkers.
LP / Sylvain Merle
No need to go to the mountains for sport hiking.
In the Seine-et-Marne massif, there is no shortage of itineraries for those who want to warm their calves.
Among them, the mythical circuit of 25 bumps, in the massif of the three Pignons, which mixes landscapes of forest, gigantic rocks and expanses of lunar sand, over 14 km, with uneven you want it (800 m ).
Count around 5:30 a.m.
But for a quieter outing, there are many other shorter and easier routes.
Paddle on the Seine at Vétheuil (Val-d'Oise)
With its church, both Romanesque and Gothic, the bucolic village of Vétheuil charmed impressionist painters, notably Claude Monet.
LP / Olivier Corsan
It's hard to remain insensitive to the charm of Vétheuil, a small village on the banks of the Seine, where Monet decided to put down his suitcases and his easel, before his Giverny period.
Even where the artist tried to capture the reflections of the water, Canoseine offers canoeing and kayaking trips on a backwater of the river.
Sporty and fun.
You can also just cross the river and reach the other side with the free ferry set up by the municipality, to admire the view of the village and the landscapes of Vexin.
From 7 years old and 30 euros for a boat.
Information and reservations on
canoseine.com
In the eye of a painter in Yerres (Essonne)
The park and the Italian casino of Yerres (Essonne) have belonged to the municipality since 1973. LP / NG
Gustave Caillebotte, master of the place, painted no less than 89 canvases.
It is that there is something to charm the eye, in this pretty wooded and flowered garden, where a river flows.
Along the way, we discover the astonishing factories, typical of the 18th century, scattered around the garden: the Chinese kiosk, the icehouse, the Swiss chalet, or the aviary.
Do not miss the rich vegetable garden, meticulously maintained by volunteers.
The painter's house will reopen on May 19.
Free entrance.
proprietecaillebotte.fr
Wandering around on the Coulée verte (Paris)
The Coulée verte and the Reuilly-Paul-Pernin garden will welcome those who prefer to stay within the city walls.
LP / Aurélie Audureau
It used to be a railway line.
But the locomotives have long since deserted the scene.
The Coulée verte, inaugurated in 1993, is a 4.5 km trail in the heart of the 12th arrondissement of the capital, from Bastille to the Château de Vincennes, which can be traveled on foot or by bike.
In the middle of bamboo, wisteria and other honeysuckle which punctuate the course, the scenery is total.
Departure from the Viaduc des Arts (12th century).