Both Vincennes and St Germain-en-Laye make excellent days out from Paris, or even half days as both can be reached by public transport in less than half an hour.  Each has a magnificent castle to visit, plus a range of other cultural, relaxation and shopping possibilities.  So this episode tells you how to get to each place, following up with what there is to see and do there, plus – bien sûr! – a few of the interesting historical snippets which will inform your visit.

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Château de Vincennes

Vincennes Tourist Office

Château de St Germain-en-Laye

St Germain-en-Laye Tourist Office

Espace Vera

Debussy’s Birthplace

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This Paris episode covers two of the most beautiful châteaux in the Paris region.  Both are easy to reach on public transport and both have fascinating stories to tell.  We cover how to get there, what you can expect to see and make sure we cover the most interesting tales – François I’s show-off gallery, Napoleon’s refurbishment to impress the Pope and the party-to-end-all-parties which went ended in disaster and ruination.

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Our Amsterdam Anthology rounds off the series by offering some different perspectives on the city. Here, you’ll find Amsterdam seen through the eyes of writers, some from the past, many contemporary: travel writers, journalists, novelists and an author of short stories.  Between them they provide lots of different ways to get to know – or reminisce about! – the city and, we hope, plenty of inspiration for further reading.  

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This episode in two halves starts with food in Amsterdam; the street snacks you’ll want to try, the Dutch specialities to look out for in restaurants and a brief introduction to the city’s favourite ethnic cuisine, namely Indonesian.  If you don’t know your drop from your rijsttafel, help is at hand.  After a brief word on bier and jenever (Dutch gin) and a look at the Heineken Experience and the city’s Brown Cafes, it’s time for shopping: a tour of the best markets and a visit to the two best areas for wandering, browsing and maybe making a purchase or two.

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Previous Episode   Tulips and diamonds  

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Tulips and diamonds: both figure centrally in the story of Amsterdam.  The Netherlands is known as the ‘flower shop of the world’ and a visit to Amsterdam’s flower market a must for any visit.  Equally, you will surely want to explore Amsterdam’s heritage as the ‘City of Diamonds’.  This episode brings a little background history on both topics, plus ideas for three places to visit to find out more.  

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This episode covers everything it's good to know before you visit the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam: a brief biography of Vincent himself, followed by tips on what to look out for in the museum dedicated to his work.  To finish, there are ideas for 3 more arty venues to visit in Amsterdam if you want to investigate the city's modern art and street art offerings.  

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This episode revolves around Amsterdam's top art gallery, the Rijksmuseum.  It starts with a little history,  explaining how art came to be of such importance in Amsterdam's  Golden Age in the 17th century, then continues with some biographical details on the two top artists from the era, Rembrandt and Vermeer.  It finishes with pointers to some of their best-known works, plus ideas for other highlights to look out for when visiting the gallery.

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This episode on World War II in Amsterdam looks at how 5 years of German occupation affected everyone living there and suggests places to visit to find out more.  We start with the population in general and the Dutch Resistance Museum, then look at the plight of the city’s Jewish population before finishing with a section on Anne Frank: her story and the museum now operating in the building where she and her family lived in hiding for 25 months.  

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This episode introduces Amsterdam's Jewish culture. There's a little historical context, beginning with the arrival of Jews fleeing from other parts of Europe in the 16th century and ending in today’s city where Jewish culture is centred around the Jewish Quarter. Then there's a description of some of the most significant places to visit, focussing especially on the Portugese Synagogue and the Jewish Museum. The holocaust will be dealt with in the next episode.

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National Holocaust Museum  

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This episode takes you to Amsterdam's Golden Age, the era when, as the Encyclopaedia Britannica puts it, ‘the little nation on the North Sea was one of the most powerful countries in the world, dominating the seas and flourishing in trade, science and – especially – the arts.'  First there's a little history to explain how this phenomenon came about and what it meant for Amsterdammers and for the rest of the world, then we visit three different places in the city where you can find out more.  

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