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Château Fort de Sedan: A Torchlight Tour
High on a hill overlooking the historic town of Sedan, France, sits the largest fortified castle in Europe: Château Fort de Sedan. And I had the great fortune to not only tour it, but to do so by torchlight! Intrepid Explorers This adventure was one of several that I experienced while on a rowing tour of the Meuse river last summer. It was a warm Friday evening in July and our group of 80 had just met over an introductory dinner. And now we were at the château, torches in hand, setting out like medieval warriors ready to conquer its secrets. A History of Growth A castle was first…
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Restaurant L’Echiquier, Sedan, France
Today a major winter storm whirls around me, blanketing everything in sight with a fluffy layer of white, meringue-like peaks. So I’ve decided to escape for a bit to a beautiful, warm, summer’s day. I was in Sedan, France last July and had one final evening to myself before embarking on a rowing tour with 79 other people. The tour promised bare bones accommodation (cots in community centre gymnasiums) so I was treating myself to a night at the fantastic Hôtel Le Château Fort de Sedan. I had been informed upon check-in that their dining room was fully booked for dinner that night. So I decided to look for a…
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Sedan: Champagne’s Faded Glory
Situated 200 kilometres northeast of Paris and just 10 kilometres south of the Belgian border, on a peninsula formed by a bend in the Meuse River, lies the historic town of Sedan. If the name sounds familiar, it should. For the class of car we know today as the ‘sedan’ derives its name from this village in the Champagne-Ardenne region of France. A History of Mobility You see, Sedan was where the upholstery fabric for the interior of the chaise à porteur – Sedan chair – was first manufactured. This was the single passenger conveyance that was carried by two men using poles attached to a chair. The example below,…
