Montargis
At the end of Line R and an hour and ten minutes on the TER from Paris lies Montargis, Venice of the Gâtinais, the second most well known city in France. "The second most well known city in France?", I hear you ask. "Surely not."
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France's second most well know city
In fact, it probably is. At the beginning of the 20th century Montargis had the distinction of being part of a work-study program between China and France and it was during this program that some students were exposed to the ideas of communism. These students became some of the leaders of the Chinese Communist Party including,
Deng Xiaoping: Chairman of the Central Advisory Commission
Zhou Enlai: 1st Premier of the People's Republic of China
Cai Chang: Leader of the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF)
Cai Hesen: Early leader of the Chinese Communist Party
Chen Yi: Vice Premier of China
Li Fuchun: Vice Premier of China
Li Weihan: Vice Chairman of the Central Advisory Commission
Nie Rongzhen: Marshal of the People's Republic of China
Xiang Jingyu: Member of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party
Zhao Shiyan: Member of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party
And it was from Montargis that a letter was sent calling for the creation of a Chinese communist party so probably every Chinese student knows of Montargis.
Château d’Alep
Not an actual chateau but instead a tea house run by a refugee from Syria. It isn't huge and it was packed with regulars charmed by his manner, delighted with his tea and satiated with his food.
At some point my mother must have got into Syrian food because I didn't know the names of things but once I tasted them I recognized them. Great food, nice guy. Well worth it.
Address: 2 Pl. Jules Ferry, 45200 Montargis, France
Factorie Mazet
Montargis is famous for its Praline as well so we stopped at Factorie Mazet to watch them making the Praline and then went next door to buy some.
They were really nice and gave us a coffee and croissant while we watched the Praline being made but unluckily praline isn't my favorite and is also quite expensive. It's worth a visit though even if you just buy something small.
Paucourt
When I was looking at houses a couple of years ago I looked briefly at Montargis, or more particularly at Paucourt which lies at the center of a small forest near the Montargis train station. It catches your eye on the map as it has a spiral walkway in the center of it.
It looked interesting so we walked there. Unfortunately, it wasn't as interesting in real life although if you were going to live out there and commute into Paris (there is a fast train) then Paucourt would be the place to live.
Canals
Montargis is full of canals, thus the name "Venice of the Gâtinais." as it lies at the confluence of the Canal d'Orléans, Canal de Briare, Canal du Loing, the Loing River and many other smaller water features. In water terms it is a bit of a major intersection.
Conclusion
Montargis isn't really a tourist destination, at least not in summer, and while we were glad we went I doubt we will return. However, I have a bit of a soft spot for it. It has a good history, it is an interesting place and it has really nice people. It's also cheap so if you want to get out of Paris and you don't have a car, get on Line R from Gare de Lyon, endpoint Montargis and go visit.
