Pick-your-own is the kind of outing that gets everyone on the same wavelength: it's a chance to leave the capital for a day and breathe in the fresh air, but above all, to discover natural sites and learn all about the techniques and methods used to grow your favorite fruits, vegetables and flowers. With the kids, it's the ideal free outing in spring,summer or evenautumn (especially for squash!), plus a great day out in the countryside with your hands in the soil!
Many farms, fields and other production sites for certain varieties of fruit, vegetables or even flowers offer you the chance to come and pick them for part of the year: freshness guaranteed for these products that you harvest straight from the ground (or the tree), but above all, you have (at last) the opportunity to eat locally at interesting prices, since you pay by the kilo for what you harvest. Most fields reopen for picking in April and close to the public in October or November, but some are open all year round in the Île-de-France region. Come on, put on some good shoes and clothes that won't hurt: we'll take you with us!
Cueillette de Rutel, near Meaux, offers 20 hectares of fields bordering woods. These fields and the Dujardin family farm have been open to the public since 1976, but the family has been tending them for 6 generations. You'll find over 70 varieties of fruit and vegetables, selected for their gustatory qualities and grown with respect for sustainable agriculture. An adjoining store sells fruit and vegetables harvested in the fields, free-range poultry, beef, veal, pork, lamb and other meats traditionally raised on neighboring farms, artisan cheeses and a selection of handcrafted products.
Cueillette de Servigny was founded in the 1980s. For almost 40 years now, the Signolle family has been offering Parisians the chance to pick their own fruit, vegetables and flowers, near Sénart. A year-round boutique offers mouth-watering regional specialities from local producers: cheeses, charcuterie, fruit juices, honeys, lemonades, wines, terrines...
In Compans, near Roissy, there's not one, but two cueillettes, on rue de Mitry and rue de l'église. From April to November, you can come and pick fruit, vegetables and flowers every day from over 20 hectares. An adjoining store sells fruit and vegetables harvested in the fields, free-range poultry, farm eggs, fruit juices and cookies. Cueillette de Compans has imagined a drive that's open all year round!
Cueillette de Voisenon is a young farm that opened in 2006 near Melun. Since then, the family has offered over 62 hectares of fruit, vegetables and flowers. Over 40 vegetables are available, as well as strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, redcurrants and melons. An adjoining store sells meat and cheese, as well as local produce, all year round. New at Cueillette de Voisenon is a 24-hour fruit and vegetable vending machine at 1 rue des Closeaux in Voisenon.
Near Coulommiers, the Cueillette de Nolongues is open from May to October for picking and collecting organic fruit and vegetables. This pick-your-own operation offers 9 varieties of apples, pears, peaches, nectarines, raspberries, cherries and mirabelles, as well as potatoes, pumpkins, green beans, carrots, peppers, zucchinis, tomatoes and celery.
Cueillette de Torfou is located in the Juine Valley, between Arpajon and Etréchy, on a 20-hectare plot that has belonged to the Poupinel family for four generations. In winter, early vegetables, radishes, lettuces, field strawberries and spinach await the curious, followed by tomatoes, potatoes and lilies. In June, strawberries in the hanging garden, raspberries and redcurrants, and from mid-August, you can discover the first apples and several varieties of plums in the orchards. Over 60 varieties of fruit and vegetables await us.
Ferme de Viltain is a safe bet. Since 1954, the same family has welcomed us to its livestock farm, dairy and adjoining 50-hectare pick-your-own farm near Jouy-en-Josas and Saclay. The pick-your-own operation is open from April to October, with tomatoes, zucchinis, eggplants, peppers, not forgetting green beans, carrots, onions, cucumbers and gherkins, parsnips, pumpkins, strawberries, redcurrants, blackcurrants, raspberries and blackberries, as well as tulips, irises, carnations, lilies and fragrant roses, depending on the season. La halle de Viltain sells dairy products (with a special mention for their yoghurts), artisanal products, poultry, charcuterie, cookies, cheeses and jams, all selected for their gustatory qualities.
Cueillette de Gally, which is free to enter, offers fields covering 60 hectares near Versailles, where children can pick their own fruit and vegetables. Strawberries, apples, tomatoes, salads and potatoes, you're sure to find seasonal produce depending on the time of year you visit. An adjoining store sells over 2,500 products all year round from producers and artisans whose work Fermes de Gally admires. And alongside all this, an educational farm (entrance fee payable) allows you to walk among the biquettes, alpine goats, chickens, sheep, donkeys and even an Andalusian horse.
Ferme du Logis, located in Jumeauville near Thoiry, claims to be a traditional cereal farm. It began selling produce in 1977. More than 40 fruits and vegetables are grown on some 65 hectares of harvested land, as well as hen houses and products processed from the harvest, including fruit juices, fruit pastes and rapeseed oil. Please note that admission is €5 for everyone, even children, and refunds are made on departure by deducting purchases.
Cueillette de Cergy is open from May to October on a 40-hectare farm behind the Gare de Cergy-le-Haut station, with strawberries, raspberries, redcurrants, blackcurrants, apples, plums, tomatoes, eggplants, zucchinis, potatoes, beans and more. In addition, tulips, gladioli, dahlias, roses and wildflowers are also available for picking. In Cergy, the Marché de Caroline also offers local products, including farmhouse cheeses, artisanal charcuterie, free-range poultry, jams, honeys and craft beers.
Not far from Domont and Isle Adam, Cueillette de la Croix-Blanche has been inviting the curious to come and pick fruit, vegetables and flowers since 1981. Nearly 40 products are on offer in the 54 hectares of fields, and building on the success of their open farm, the family has purchased fields from neighbors, increasing their picking area from 33 hectares to 54 hectares. In addition to picking, baskets are available to take away from May to November.
