Beauvais has been the centre of business and religion in the Oise Valley for over 1000 years. It offers a bustling market-town experience, the modern shopping offset by its stalwart and ancient cathedral. There are many little Renaissance gems to be found throughout the town.

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Pottery

Workshops and kilns abound in the region that surrounds Beauvais. Several fine potteries are based in the Oise valley. These are closest to Beauvais.


Musee de la Poterie, 17 av Tristan-Klingsor, 60650 Lachapelle-au-Pot (17km West of Beauvais)
Tel: 00 333 44 04 50 70

Celebrating the hand-made pottery from different potters in the Pays de Bray. This area on the borders of Picardie and Normandie, has been famous since Roman times for its pottery.
Open Tuesday to Friday, 14.00 to 18.00 and Saturday and Sunday 14.30 to 18.30. Closed on Monday.

Faiences de Ponchon, 645, Hameau de Pierrepont, 60430 Ponchon
Tel: 00 333 44 03 40 55

Faiences de Ponchon, 10km southeast of Beauvais, is an exhibition, salesroom, and craft workshop, all-in-one. Potter Sylvie Théméreau has single-handedly brought back to life the famous Ponchon tiles which were so popular in the late 19th-century, characterised by rich blues and ochres, hand-painted. Other ceramics are also produced using traditional Oise methods, including pitchers, vases, bowls, and even chess pieces. Open daily, 1000 to 1900. You must phone before visiting.

Ateliers de Savignies, 1, rue Butée, 60650 Savignies
Tel: 03 44 82 28 64

10 km norhwest of Beauvais, this workshop features the works of two potters from the Pays de Bray - Jean-Louis Nigon and Monique Lebroussa. Their pottery is glazed and hand-decorated in accordance to 16th century techniques.
Its location, Savignies, is itself a beautiful little village in the Bray area. It features timbered and stone medieval buildings, including a 13th Century church.
Open daily 1400 to 1900.

Paris-Caramels, 18 av Descartes, 60009 Beauvais
Tel: 00 333 44 05 40 35

No trip to a Picard town is complete without sampling their signature sweet. At Paris-Caramels, specialities include toffees, Beauvais chocolate ‘tuiles’, as well as ‘pates de fruits’ (fresh fruit jellies). These confectioners are extremely innovative, always in search of new flavours: crème fraîche caramels, gingerbread caramels and salty butter caramels are some excellent examples.

Buy direct from the farm

Beauvais is the centre of northern France's most productive agricultural region. Many farms sell their produce directly to the public

GAEC de la Chapelle Saint-Jean, for cheese

Family-run farm which produces fresh unpasteurised cheeses from cow’s milk; tomme au foin, fromage blanc, crème fraîche and other speciality cheeses of the Bray area in Picardie. Only traditional methods of cheese making are used. Jean-Marie Beaudoin, 2, rue Alexis Maillet, Choqueuse, 60380 Grémévilliers (20km NW of Beauvais), Tel. 00 333 44 82 41 47, open Wednesday and Saturday, generally from 900 to 1630.

Chèvrerie de l’Argilière, for goats’ cheeses

Farm shop selling goats’ cheeses, including ash-covered cheeses, available at various stages of maturation and in various shapes and sizes, located in a quiet little rural village. Contact Daniel Burel, 216, rue de Coiseaux, 60130 Le Plessier-sur-Bulles (20km NE of Beauvais), tel: 00 333 44 78 71 19. Open everyday from 1000 to 1200 and 1800 to 2000 except Thursday and Saturday mornings You can alos find them on Saturdays at the Compiègne market.

Les Canards de la Landelle, all things duck

A typical farm of the Bray area, bordering the forests of Thelle. There is a nice and welcoming little shop on site, selling foie gras, confits, magrets, pâtés, rillettes, and other cooked dishes.They also run a ferme-auberge. Chez Martine Clément, 1, rue des Sablons, 60850 Lalandelle (15km W of Beauvais), tel: 00 333 44 81 63 39,.Farm shop open every day, 0900 to 1900.

La ferme du Relais, organic bread and milk and seasonal vegetables

Friendly farm shop which sells their own produce as well as a good range of produce from other Picardie farms, notably from the Oise department. From from November to August they also sell Maroilles and Maliécourt cheese; ewe’s and goat’s cheese from near Vervins, and Colvert beer from the Somme department. Contact Famille Biberon, Blainville, 60430 Noailles (15km S/SE of Beauvais), tel: 00 333 44 07 41 80. Open Tuesday to Saturday 0900 to 1230 and 1500 to1900; Sundays and holidays 0900 to 1230.

More farm shops throughout Picardy can be found at our shopping feature...

Cidrerie Maeyaert, 13 rue de la Gare, 60112 Milly-sur-Thérain
Tel: 00 333 44 81 33 33

This family-run business, 15km North West of Beauvais, has won several awards for their ciders, a sample of which is organic. Make a change from the usual case of Carling under the stairs by selecting one of their special biers, aperitifs and liqueurs, and fruit juices.

Cavavin, 9 rue Louvet, 60000 Beauvais, Tel: 00 333 44 45 37 77

A full-service wine shop featuring a wide range of wines at prices for every palette. Many excellent wines can be found for less than 10€. They offer expert opinions and are experienced with most of their products. They are especially good at advising and recommending the good value wines. An unbeatable selection with a personalised service.

The Christmas Market, place Jeanne Hachette

Get your skates on and go to Beauvais! Here Christmas is a real celebratiom, with the main square of the town taken over by the market all December, and by the giant ice-rink through to February!

More great ideas can be found in our regular shopping feature...

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Enjoy Beauvais

Cathédrale Saint Pierre, rue Saint Pierre, 60000 Beauvais
Tel: 03 44 48 11 60

The church was a central pillar in the building of Beauvais, and nothing demonstrates this more so than the immense St. Peter's Cathedral. Building began in 1225, and its imposing dimensions reveal Beauvais as one of the most important Middle Ages towns in France. The history of the cathedral is fraught with mishaps, having collapsed on two occassions. The choir and the transept of the Cathedral survive, one of the highest vaults. Also, parts of the original Carolingian church still remain.

Two exceptional clocks can be seen inside the Cathedral; a Medieval Clock dating from the 14th century originally designed to signal religious services. It is probably the oldest chiming clock still in working order. The astronomical clock is a fine example of the clock making techniques of the late 19th century. It has over 90,000 moving parts. Over 12 metres high and 6 metres wide, it is set in a Roman-Bizantine style case. The façade has 52 dials showing the position of the planets sunrise and sunset, the phases of the moon, the tides, etc. At each hourly bell, 68 automats at the top of the clock re-enact a scene from the last judgement.

Medieval village of Gerberoy

Having been the scene of many battles, especially in the 20th Century, the towns of Picardy have been repeatedly rebuilt . Happily, an example of medieval France survives in the village of Gerberoy, 25km north west of Beauvais. It is 'registered' as one of the most beautiful villages in France. You can find remains of the medieval collegiate church, the city walls, the cobbled streets, and the ruins of the fortress, now an Italian style garden. They mix nicely with 17th Century half-timbered houses and the 18th Century City Hall and covered market.

As a stop-over, the Hostellerie du Vieux Logis in Gerberoy is an atmospheric place of timber frame and medieval character. They have both a reputable restaurant and a tea room.

For Gerberoy, leave the A16 motorway, west, at Junction 14 (D901), the village is at the cross roads of the D133 and D930.

La Picardie Verte - Green Picardy

The area north of Beauvais is called La Picardie Verte. It is an area where ancient traditions and architecture have been preserved; the village of Gerberoy is in this region. There's lots of walking paths, small villages with old churches, wash houses, forges, mills, and painters' workshops. For first-hand information about what to do in the area, while in Beauvais visit the Maison du Tourisme de la Picardie Verte, 49bis rue du Général Leclerc, 60690 Marseille en Beauvaisis or call 00 333 44 46 32 20 or e-mail at ot.picardieverte@wanadoo.fr . The office is open Tuesday to Saturday, 0930 to 1230 and 1330 to 1730.

The Royal Tapestry Manufactory, 24, rue Henri Brispot, 60000 Beauvais
Tel 00 333 44 05 14 28

National Gallery of Tapestry, 22, rue Saint-Pierre, 60000 Beauvais
Tel: 03 44 15 39 10

Beauvais tapestry has been collected by the rich and famous for centuries. The Getty Museum, The Frick Museum and the Elysee Palace are a few that hold examples of this fine craft. Beauvais was a Mecca for tapestry for over three centuries. Louis XIV created a Royal Tapestry manufactory in Beauvais in 1664, where tapestries were manufactured for the French court and exported throughout Europe. The original was destroyed in June 1940, but the art lives on, thanks to the local and national government following the same technique as in the 17th Century. The Factory is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, 1400 to 1600. Exhibitions at the museum are open Tuesday to Saturday, 1000 to 1230 and 1400 to 1800.

Beauvais is easy to reach by rail and road

By Rail

Beauvais is just beyond the northern outskirts of Paris, about 50 miles. Trains regularly depart from Paris Gare du Nord thorughout the day. Fast trains take less than an hour.

By Road

Beauvais is a two hour drive from Calais, direct on the A16 motorway. Or, from Paris, Beauvais can be reached by the A16 in about an hour.