Provins is a pretty medieval town about 70 kilometres from Paris. The town has existed since the early Middle Ages. It was a significant trade market in the 12th & 13th centuries largely due to the Champagne Fairs, safely trading behind it's fortified walls. The Champayne Fairs were an annual cycle of trading fairs held in towns in the Champagne and Brie regions of France in the Middle Ages. From their origins in local agricultural and stock fairs, the Champagne fairs became an important part in the reviving economic history of medieval Europe, serving as a premier market for textiles, leather, fur, and spices.
Provins has over 50 listed monuments with historical value. The major monuments include the Caesar's Tower, the Tithe Barn & the Église Saint-Quiriace church, where Joan of Arc attended a service. The town is now famous for its medieval shows which draw many tourists.
Many of the houses resemble the English Tudor style houses but are not black and white as in England but cream and ochre colour which seems to give them a more natural earthy appearance. There are narrow and very shallow canals which wind their way through the town, under streets and houses and through private properties replacing front and side yards in some cases. The canals are a very pretty sight and sound with their trickling waters meandering by.
Today Provins has important rose cultivation. It produces all sorts of foods from roses, and its main specialties are rose petal jam, Provinois rose honey and rose candy. Cheese is also an important industry. In 1979 Brie de Provins was created. We enjoyed a Brie de Provins salad for lunch.