Things to see and do Seine-Et-Marne

The Rotunda is part of the National Scene of Senart with the Dome of Combs-la-Ville. This structure is both a meeting point and a broadcast of the various forms of artistic expressions, but also a tool for helping creation. With its eclectic programming, it targets a broad audience. Here you can watch theatre, dance, listening to a concert or discovering modes of atypical expressions. The programme of events is downloadable on the website of the Nationale National Scene.

This is one of the oldest educational farms in the Ile-de-France region, founded in 1989 in the heart of Dammarie-les-Lys. The pretty ten-hectare park is that of the Château des Soubiran, now dedicated to animals and small crops. Ideally suited to teaching the very young, the farm offers a wide range of activities and workshops to help them discover the animals (over two hundred), their diet, their lifestyle and the upkeep of their enclosures, as well as the plants, fruit and vegetables in the kitchen and farm gardens.

Notably evoked by Colette, Rubelles earthenware is one of those joyful demonstrations of the craft revolution, combining art and industry at the turn of the ^mid-19th century. Propelled by Paul-Charles-Amable de Bourgoing's invention of lithophanie, the Rubelles earthenware factory was founded in 1839, with the help of Baron Alexis Sylvain du Tremblay. The result was a twenty-year production run that was both original and striking. The Maison de la Faïence, just a few steps from the original address, aims to preserve and promote this heritage.

Passing through Melun, to discover the local Brie cheese and pay a visit to the Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte, the art-lover-traveler can also make a detour to the Pont de Maincy. Built in 1822 by Colonel Thomson, this bridge linking the Château de Coudray to the village is famous for having been the subject of a painting by Paul Cézanne in early 1880. The painting is now on display at the Musée d'Orsay, and a visit to Maincy will be an opportunity to see it come to life. Completely renovated in 2004, the bridge has been restored to its original appearance.

This Buddhist centre is one of the largest in Europe with its 8,000 m². It was financed 80% by the Taiwanese monastic order Fo Guang Shan and 20% by the faithful. It is part of a vast ecumenical laboratory project, a large esplanade dedicated to religions in the heart of the Sycamore eco-neighbourhood. This giant temple displays a resolutely Zen, refined and mineral architecture. No golden ostentation or gigantic shimmering pagodas. Wood, stone, glass and raw concrete make the whole modern and sober. It contrasts this with, for example, the typical pagoda visible in the Vincennes woods. In any case, it houses spaces dedicated to meditation, prayer, many rooms for venerable guests during spiritual retreats, etc. Exhibitions are also visible. Don't miss the 5 m high White Jade Buddha in the main area. It should be noted that photos are prohibited in its bosom and that to visit it it is preferable to show white paws and to have the widest smile. At the exit, take the opportunity to continue your journey along the path to discover the other temples recently built or under construction, giving the area a very atypical multi-religious aspect.

Located a dozen kilometres east of Ferté-sous-Jouarre, this "remarkable" garden, elected "Garden of the Year" a few years ago, will delight families looking for a pleasant walk and amazing natural discoveries. Created by Françoise and Christian Bougnoux, true enthusiasts, it combines a park with beautifully landscaped plants (trees, flowers, flower beds), and a nursery, tea room, exhibition room, cathedral, patio, greenhouses, vegetable garden, "antique theatre", orchard, pond, walking path, etc., all in a totally rural atmosphere that must be enjoyed on sunny days. Garden lovers will also not remain insensitive to the shop offering many beautiful things for sale.

In this impasse, at the end of this small briard village, the birthplace of the great inventor reveals the objects relating to his life and work. Born on January 4, 1809 in this small briarde house, Louis Braille invented the alphabet that bears his name, a writing and reading system for the blind. As a victim of tuberculosis, he died in 1852. His remains will be transferred to the Pantheon on 21 June 1952, on the occasion of the 100 th anniversary of his death, the year of the opening of the museum. Blind since the age of three, Louis Braille enters the Blind Institute seven years later. Later, he became a professor and developed a reading system from 1825, composing books to facilitate his teaching. Writing in relief that reads easily to touch, it is used worldwide. On the floor of the house, a library brings together many old books, some of which are in braille. Access disabled.

This atypical and quite exceptional museum has finally been reopened after many adventures and regional establishments! It is the result of the work since 1957 of a few enthusiasts grouped together in the Association for the Museum of Urban, Interurban and Rural Transport (AMTUIR), saddened at the time by the scheduled abolition of tram networks (the current development of the tram in many cities of the country will have proven them right). The work has been long to buy, recover and repair trams, Paris metropolitan railway cars, trolleybuses, buses, coaches and operating equipment, complemented by scale models, models, documents, videos, and images from the past. For several decades AMTUIR also had difficulty finding a site to house the museum and serve as a repository for engines and bulky parts... Malakoff, Saint-Mandé, Colombes followed one another until the decision of the city of Chelles to definitively promote the place. The large hall that houses most of the exhibition is not heated, so this museum is only open on sunny days, only one Saturday per month: watch for the opening dates on the association's website and schedule a full day for the visit accordingly.... You will not be disappointed.

At the end of a vast rehabilitation and development project, the English park offers a superb space of nearly 20 ha of walking with a wide variety of species (giant redwood, Atlas blue cedar) and 300 m of French perspective. The artist Xavier Veilhan, the architects Bona and Lemercier and the scenographer Alexis Bertrand have realized an exceptional and exciting project. The development of clearings now makes it possible to host various events on the art of gardens, as well as the trophy room and the Turkish baths, which become exhibition rooms. The castle museum is the highlight of this work! With its facades covered with ice and metalized panels, it enhances the park and fascinates visitors, especially on sunny days when it contrasts remarkably with the green spaces, bodies of water and the blue sky around it. Inside, the exhibitions on offer are often very original. An access to its panoramic roof allows you to have a nice view of part of the park.

The A.S.P.A.A.R. - Association for the Safeguarding of the Artisanal and Rural Heritage - was born here, in the former farriery of the village, on 23 September 1988. In 1984, Robert Mignot, the last blacksmith, retired. His son Gerard and some friends then decided to safeguard this place and the craft trades. A.S.P.P.A.R. preserves a rich heritage, restores it and enhances it. It has bought land and is currently rebuilding full-scale village houses. Every two years, a large thematic celebration brings together members and outside contributors for a trip into the trades of the past, farriery, cartonnage, inland navigation... Everything gets back on track thanks to these volunteers, the forge is rekindled, the blacksmiths meet, hit and work with metal. During these occasional events, a bread oven operates thanks to a baker from the association.