Compiègne (pop. 41,228), north of Paris on the left bank of the Oise, was a favorite residence of the rulers of France from Merovingian times onwards, and with its great château and extensive forest is still a popular holiday destination. Here Joan of Arc was captured by the Burgundians in 1430 and handed over to the English.
In the Hôtel de Ville (Town Hall, 1505-1511) is the Musée de la Figurine Historique. To the west of the Place de l'Hôtel-de-Ville is the 18th C. Hôtel de Songeons, now housing the Musée Vivenel (sculpture, pictures and drawings, ceramics, enamels, etc.). Also worth seeing are the church of St- Antoine (13th and 16th C.) and the Early Gothic church of St-Jacques (altered in 15th C.), with a 49m/160ft high tower.
Address: Hôtel de Ville de Compiègne, Place l'Hôtel de Ville, F-60200 Compiègne, France
The armistice which ended World War I was signed on November 11, 1918 in a railroad carriage in the Forest of Compiègne, and a reproduction of the original carriage can still be seen there. The château, a plain classical-style building erected by Jacques-Ange Gabriel in 1751-1788 for Louis XV, now houses the National Museum of Antiquities and a Carriage Museum.
Address: National Museum of Antiquities / Carriage Museum, Clairère de l'Armistice, F-60200 Compiègne, France
Hours:
April 1 to October 14: 9am-12:15pm, 2pm-6:15pm; Closed: Tue
October 15 to March 31: 9am-11:45am, 2pm-5:15pm; Closed: Tue, Tue
Always closed on: New Year's Day (January 1), Christmas - Christian (December 25)
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