👉 Click here to turn this article into an immersive travel diary
To the east of Paris, in the Val-de-Marne region, a commune on the outskirts of the capital stands out from the hustle and bustle of the City of Light with its village atmosphere. Dominated by its imposing fortified castle and bordering the forest that bears its name, Vincennes is a friendly town where culture and nature intertwine.
In an interview with us, Vincennes mayor Charlotte Libert invites us to rediscover this charming nugget just a metro ride away.
Charlotte Libert, I'm mayor of Vincennes and regional councillor for the Île-de-France region. I was born near the town, lived there all my youth and naturally became mayor of the town of my birth and heart. I'm very keen on sport, sailing and hiking. As far as culture is concerned, I'm very much into cinema, and when I have the time, I try to go to concerts - the latest being Taylor Swift.
It's a commune with a rich history, castle and heritage. It's not very big (editor's note: less than 2 km²), so it's extremely warm and friendly. It's also a town with a well-developed shopping offer. For years, we've been working to create links through cultural and sporting activities run by 250 associations. With this extremely strong network and social fabric, you can do just about anything you like in Vincennes!
By mixing people of all ages! We're like a village on the outskirts of Paris. We're like a village just outside Paris. We organize a wide range of outdoor events to help residents get to know each other, from a very early age: the baby ball for the youngest; the 11-15 year-olds' evening for secondary school students (from both the private and public sectors) who meet at the Hôtel de Ville, transformed into a nightclub for the evening; and a more recent event, Vibe, aimed at 15-25 year-olds, with a program of urban music designed especially for them.
It's our château, which we've been trying to revive for the last ten years. It's a military building, run by the army, so it doesn't belong to the town. But it has incredible cultural and artistic potential, and all we need to do is open it up and turn it into something great! It's starting to take off, and we're delighted, because it's a site that deserves a lot more attention, both in terms of the number of visits and the way it's used. There are heights, widths, space, moats, ditches... You can do it all in the château!
The America Festival, dedicated to American literature, has been running for some twenty years, and every two years welcomes some forty well-known American authors. The festival is run entirely by enthusiastic volunteers, notably the Millepages bookshop and its founder, Francis Giffard, who is a focal point for literature and reading in the town. It's a major literary event, now known throughout Europe, with almost 50,000 visitors over four days every other year.
There's also the Le Vif photography festival, the April Shakespeare festival, which combines exhibitions, theater and cinema around the works of William Shakespeare, and of course a film festival, Vincennes being a land of cinema. It was here that the Pathé brothers developed their business and Kodak prospered, so this festival is important for the commune. With an ever-growing audience, the festival aims to encourage encounters with the film industry, and offers screenings of cult films: the next edition of the Vincennes Film Festival will take place from October 2 to 5, 2025.
Vincennes' festivals are run by incredible teams of volunteers, who devote their time to the event with the skills of professionals.
You can visit the château, the floral park and, if you go further afield, the racecourse and its many attractions. As mayor of Vincennes and regional councillor, I've been in discussions with the City of Paris to keep the racecourse site in Vincennes. The site has a very special feature: its clinker track, found nowhere else in France or Europe. It's on its way to becoming a real place for festivities.
For a really top-notch itinerary, you go down to the Château de Vincennes, through the woods and then down to the Marne, where you can spend the day surrounded by old stones, water and greenery. We've got plenty of food shops in the town center, ideal for putting together a picnic basket!
The Olympic Games were incredible to experience as mayor. The torch relay was a real gamble, and we all remember the"Olympic bashing " . When I announced that we were going to set up a fan zone, people looked at me in amazement, but I really believed in it! On the day of the flame, which was supposed to pass by at 11.30am, the streets of Vincennes were still empty at 10.45am. That gave me doubts. And then, in half an hour, they filled up. A winning bet! The fan zone in the heart of the château was also extraordinary. The most incredible moment was Léon Marchand's final. It gave me chills!
The Millepages bookshop is a key player; everyone goes there, they are very good at giving advice and you can find everything there, on every subject. As far as associations are concerned, there'sEspace Sorano, with its theater, jazz season and association premises right in the center of town; Prima la Musica, which offers us classical concerts every month and, in another style, Arts en mouvements, a dance association specializing in break dancing and hip hop, is changing the rather bourgeois image of Vincennes. The association is run by two formidable women who are well known in the break scene and who do an absolutely extraordinary job, particularly with young people.
With theTourist Office, now territorial, and our heritage department, we've developed special tours, including the attic of theHôtel de Ville, the churches and the Château de Vincennes, where you'll find the tomb of the brave, a place open to visitors in an exceptional way. There's also the house of Charles and Emile Pathé, hidden in the courtyard of a building, which has been raised and transformed into a building, and which we show visitors around - otherwise no one will find it!
At the Château de Vincennes, you can climb up to see the frame of the Sainte Chapelle and the upper parts of the keep, or descend to the Tombeau des braves, a site open to visitors in an exceptional way. The presence of people from all over the world can also be felt, particularly in sports( Gaelicsoccer , pickleball andeven Quidditch are played in Vincennes!), and it's even possible to attend aUkrainian Orthodox mass in a Catholic church and dance to Portuguese music!
Nearby, the Rosa Bonheur has become an institution, particularly popular with families and young working people, and this is much appreciated, as the woodland lacks a symbolic place. On the gastronomic front, L'Ours, Jacky Ribault's restaurant right in the center of town, is nestled in a magnificent cocoon and offers a very appealing cuisine (designer, to be sure!), all the more so as the chef has a real personality. Generally speaking, there is a plethora of quality restaurants, new-generation tearooms and food shops in Vincennes - it's a city of gourmets! In fact, there are some brands that we don't want to see arrive, such as dark kitchens, in order to make room for these local artisans.
Is there a particular Paris arrondissement or city that you particularly like?
The Hangar Y in Meudon is a prime example of a redevelopment project. It must not have been easy to take over such a space, but it has become a real cultural venue.
What future projects are you looking forward to in Vincennes?
While the town has a fine auditorium and already boasts a cultural and sports center, it lacked a large auditorium. The current auditorium dates back to the 70s and seats just 500 for a town of 50,000 inhabitants. We have begun renovation work on this hall and will be opening a new one within the next two years, with a capacity of 750 seats, including 250 standing. This will enable us to further develop and vary ourcultural offering to welcome rock concerts, circus arts and dance performances.
