Septmonts France
Within the Haut de France region of the country, just a short drive away from the city of Soissons, is the small town of Septmonts. Its a charming little village with a 14th century donjon that is now mostly in ruins. Nonetheless, the site is open to the public and has a tall 45 meter tower that can be climbed for free without charge. The upper balcony gives you an excellent panoramic view of the village and countryside and is totally worth the climb to the top.
Donjon de Septmonts
The castle and keep was originally built in the 14th century as a summer home for the Bishops of Soissons. It is located within the rolling hills and forests of a green countryside making it a nice little retreat away from the big city.
The castle underwent several renovation throughout its history and much of it was actually destroyed in a bombing raid in 1918. A few decades or so later, parts of it were restored by a town association that took charge of the upkeep and maintenance of the area.
Also located on the property is the Bishops residence. The building is still fully intact and newly renovated and can be rented for events and weddings.
When we arrived on site last fall, we spent some time walking the grounds, exploring the forest, orchard and arboretum. We saw the remains of a moat at the back part of the castle and several tall pillars that presumably once held statues.
Naturally my wife climbed up on a few of them to strike a pose. Pretending to be a statue is kind of her thing.
The property also has an old medieval dungeon that you can go inside but I don't remember it being open when we went there. I don't have any pictures of it so here is one of some cool looking plants growing in the cracks of the walls.
The View
Eventually we entered the keep to climb the tower. Seven floors of winding staircases brings you to a couple of stone balconies with lookouts on your way to the top.
One of the coolest parts of the experience was when we stumbled on a pair of singers in one of the stone rooms of the tower. They were harmonizing their voices which created a really beautiful sound that reverberated throughout the stone structure. My wife discreetly took a video of them but I can't figure out how to post it on here, sorry.
At the top of the tower is another stone balcony that looks over the grounds and surrounding village. It was a great view totally worth the dizzinging walk to the top.
For a completely free experience the visit was actually a lot of fun. I would totally go back and do it again.
This is a fairytale castle :)
Yeah, its a nice castle ruin.
Beautiful pics, castle like from a Disney movie :)
The scenery of the surrounding area make it quite a nice spot.
That was a fun picture of your wife pretending to be a statue. I'm not familiar with this region of France but it looks stunning, with its own character. Fascinating how each village has something different to offer. Were the singers part of the castle tour or they were tourists as well who were just enjoying the acoustic of the stone room?
The area is Northern France and the singers were just tourists (probably locals from town or the surrounding area) checking out the acoustics on the building.
Really beautiful photos, and fascinating that a town in ruins is open to the public. Beautiful everything.
Yeah they really brand it as a place to bring family, which is pretty cool.
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