Organisation: Annelies Bodifée and Anja Wester
Utrecht, November 2025
Dear members, students and interested parties,
In the spring of 2026, we will once again be organising an interesting five-day trip to France. We have chosen Compiègne et sa Région Royale as our destination.
Please find the programme below.
Wednesday, May 20
Departure at 8:30 a.m. from Overvecht station with our own bus.
Coffee/tea and toilet breaks en route in consultation with the driver.
We will make a stop in Guise (Aisne department) to visit La familistère de Guise – Une utopie réalisée. This is a multifunctional centre that includes a museum in a restored industrial heritage site. Lunch on your own. Or bring a packed lunch from home.
We hope to arrive at the Hôtel de Flandre in the centre of Compiègne around 6 p.m.
We will stay there for 4 nights.
Dinner in a restaurant within walking distance of the hotel.
Thursday, May 21
After breakfast, we will depart by bus for the Château de Chantilly. During the day, we will visit the castle and a horse show. A small train will also take us through the castle grounds. Those who wish to do so can visit the Grandes Écuries.
Lunch will be on your own.
We will return to the hotel in the afternoon.
Dinner will be at a restaurant within walking distance of the hotel.
Friday, May 22
After breakfast, we will depart by bus for Senlis. For several centuries, this town was the residence of the kings of France.
It is also the town where artist Séraphine Louis lived at the beginning of the last century. The film Séraphine was made about her. We will take a guided walking tour of the town, following in the footsteps of Séraphine.
Afterwards, there will be an opportunity to visit the Musée d’Art et d’Archéologie, where some of Séraphine’s paintings are on display.
After lunch on your own, we will continue by bus to the
Abbaye de Royaumont. There we will have a guided tour, followed by a goûter. There will also be an opportunity to take a walk through the gardens.
At the end of the afternoon, we will return to our hotel.
Dinner in a restaurant within walking distance of the hotel.
Saturday, May 23
After breakfast, we will depart by bus to the medieval Château de Pierrefonds, where a guide will show us around. After extensive restoration, Pierrefonds became the residence of Emperor Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie, among others.
After lunch on your own, we will return to our hotel in the afternoon.
The rest of the afternoon is free to spend in Compiègne, for example visiting the Château de Compiègne.
Dinner in a restaurant within walking distance of the hotel.
Sunday, May 24
We will depart for the return journey at 8:30 a.m. We will stop in Kortrijk to visit Abby, a new museum of visual arts in a former abbey. After a farewell lunch in Kortrijk, we will drive to Utrecht.
We hope to arrive there around 8:00 p.m.
Annelies & Anja
Important
Included: bus travel, all overnight stays with breakfast buffet, four dinners, one lunch (including drinks) and a goûter. Also included are the guided tours and entrance fees mentioned. Other refreshments and lunches are at your own expense.
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