From prehistory to antiquity
There's no shortage of evidence of early human settlement in Seine-et-Marne, particularly in the south. The Montereau region and the Nemours area are home to a number of monumental features: menhirs, dolmens, polissoirs such as those at Laveaux... not forgetting the rock engravings in the Fontainebleau forest. Natural or megalithic in origin, most of these large rocks have been the subject of numerous beliefs and never fail to intrigue walkers. The Pincevent site has revealed the remains of a Magdalenian settlement (between 17,000 and 14,000 BC). Notable archaeological remains include those of Châteaubleau, a Gallo-Roman settlement located on the edge of a Roman road (via Agrippa). Other ancient ruins can still be seen at the ZI de Meaux Nord Poincy, as can portions of the ramparts that once surrounded the ancient town, once the capital of the Meldes.
Medieval towns
Medieval architecture is particularly well represented in the département. Provins, a fortified city listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site and a major centre of the Champagne fairs and wool industry in the 12th and 13th centuries, is unique in the Paris region. Visitors are particularly attracted by its ramparts, medieval houses and Tour César. Other highlights include the timber-framed houses of Bray-sur-Seine. Château-Landon, built on a rocky spur, is also home to architectural treasures (part of the ramparts, watchtowers...), as is Tournan-en-Brie, but even more so Moret-sur-Loing, with its fortified gates and 12th-century keep... The visit can continue some 15 km away, to Dormelles, where the fortified house of Challeau was built in the 16th century. Last but not least, Crécy, with its canals and old buildings, deserves its name of "Venise briarde".
From crypts to cathedrals and priories to abbeys
Religious monuments are another highlight. Meaux Cathedral, dating from the 12th and 16th centuries, is one of three Gothic cathedrals in the Île-de-France region, alongside Saint-Denis Basilica and Notre-Dame de Paris. In addition to the collegiate church of Saint-Quiriace, the Provinois region also boasts numerous churches, including Saint-Loup-de-Naud (11th-12th centuries), Paroy (10th-13th centuries) and, further afield, Donnemarie-Dontilly with its 16th-century cloister. Fifteen kilometers northeast of Melun, the collegiate church of Saint-Martin de Champeaux (12th-13th centuries): Gothic in style, with a nave inspired by the cathedrals of Sens and Paris, it boasts remarkable stained-glass windows from the 15th and 16thcenturies . North of Provins, built on a hillock: the13th-century church of Saint-Martin de Doue, nicknamed the "Lighthouse of Brie". Coulommiers also boasts a number of must-sees, including the Capucins convent, Saint-Denys church, the Hôtel-Dieu and the Templars' commandery, Notre-Dame-de-Jouarre abbey and its Merovingian crypts, and Cercanceaux abbey in Souppes-sur-Loing, founded in the 12th century and now a reception venue. Another remarkable monument is the Gothic church of Notre-Dame des Ardents in Lagny-sur-Marne, which rivals in beauty the church of Saint-Aspais in Melun, home to the 11th-century collegiate church of Notre-Dame and the 10th-century priory of Saint-Sauveur with its crypt.
From strongholds to prestigious homes
Seine-et-Marne is characterized by a network of estates that once shared the wealth of its territory with the Church. Some were simple fortified farmhouses or high-rise dwellings, entrenched behind walls, while others, more recent, are prestigious residences with no defensive vocation. The diversity of these monuments bears witness to the transformation of the land and lifestyles over the centuries. While some châteaux are open to visitors, others can only be admired from the outside. Among the more than 200 castles listed, some are particularly remarkable. These include the13th-century fortified castle of Blandy-les-Tours, the castles of Brie-Comte-Robert (12th century), Nemours (12th century), Diant (13th century) and the manor house of Esmans (14th-16th centuries). More recent châteaux include Lorrez-le-Bocage-Préaux (15th century), Le Houssoy (14th-16th centuries) and Nantouillet, one of the earliest Renaissance buildings in the Paris region. But the best-known châteaux are Vaux-le-Vicomte and Fontainebleau, home to numerous sovereigns from François I to Napoleon III, and listed as World Heritage Sites. Closer to home, the Rothschild château in Ferrières-en-Brie was built by Joseph Paxton (architect of the Crystal Palace at London), and the Anglo-Norman-style Armanvilliers. Last but not least, the Affolantes and 18th- and 19th-century holiday homes in Seine-Port, Samois-sur-Seine and Bois-le-Roi.
From rural architecture to river and industrial heritage
Rural architecture rarely predates the 16th century, but today's landscape reflects an extremely strong sense of place: vast farms, isolated farmhouses, villages organized around a church, mills... A heritage visible in Chessy, with its 17th-century farms, but also around "villages of character" such as Saint-Augustin near Coulommiers. Among the highlights is a "modernist" reinforced concrete grain silo built in 1937 in Courpalay, listed as a historic monument. The department is also marked by the architecture of its waterways: the Ourcq canal, created to transport foodstuffs and drinking water to Paris, and Saint-Mammès, a former inland waterway village, with its bargemen's houses, marina and lock. In Thomery, the port, hillsides and vineyard walls are reminders of the days when grapes were grown before being transported by river. The region's industrial heritage also includes the Schneider factory in Champagne-sur-Seine, the paper mills of the Grand Morin valley, the Boissy-le-Châtel paper mill, now an art gallery (Galleria continua), quarries, the Meunier chocolate factory and the Pereire farm in Ozoir-la-Ferrière, a Second Empire complex now reserved for seminars. The region is also home to contemporary architecture linked to the leisure industry and the new town of Marne-la-Vallée (Cité Descartes, Disneyland Park).
