Favières – Forest, Garden Art and Cultural Heritage

Favières can be explored through three distinct themes: vast forest areas, the Jardins Japonais and historic buildings. This gives you different starting points for planning your trip: the landscape, garden art and architecture each offer a distinct focus.

Forest areas and walking trails

About two-thirds of the municipality of Favières is covered by large forest areas. This approximate figure shows how much the forest landscape defines the town. Walking trails in Favières provide access to the surrounding forests. In this way, paths into the countryside complement the municipality’s cultural themes. If nature is your main consideration when choosing a destination, the proportion of forest is a clear indication of Favières’ character; the walking trails connect you with the forests.

Jardins Japonais: garden art and planning your visit

The Jardins Japonais de Favières cover nearly 9,000 m². Landscape designer Sandrine Milic created them to introduce the public to the art of traditional Japanese gardens. Their design theme is just as central as the size of the grounds. You can explore the gardens independently or as part of a guided tour. The choice is whether to discover the grounds on your own or opt for a tour. Advance reservations are required for visits. As visiting arrangements may change, check them again before your arrival.

Église Saint-Martin: architectural and decorative history

The Église Saint-Martin brings together traces of several periods. Its oldest section is Romanesque in style and is thought to date from the 11th century. The choir’s wood panelling and the main altar date from the 18th century. The large stained-glass window dates from the mid-19th century and was fully restored in 2005. The different dates relate to different elements: the oldest section of the building, the panelling and the window. This provides more than one point of reference for understanding the architecture, although the exact century of the oldest section remains uncertain.

Chapelle de la Route-des-Grès

The Chapelle de la Route-des-Grès was built in 1858 and bequeathed to the municipality of Favières in 1876. Its rectangular floor plan has no transept. A transept is the part of a building that runs across the nave; its absence is one of the specified features of the chapel’s basic layout. Other features include a semicircular apse and a nave capped by a ceiling. A small bell turret sits above the façade. These details describe different aspects of the chapel: its floor plan, the shape of the apse, the nave’s ceiling and the feature above the façade. They make it possible to understand the building through its specific architectural forms.

Other historical traces

The town’s history goes back to the 9th century: Favières was already a parish at that time. A funerary monument is part of the municipality’s cultural heritage and was moved to the Favières cemetery in March 1887. These details add further historical milestones to the architectural and decorative history of the Église Saint-Martin and the Chapelle de la Route-des-Grès. Together, they show that Favières can be explored not only through its forest landscape and garden art, but also through different aspects of its history.

Discover more destinations: Mary-sur-Marne, Paley, Isles-Lès-Villenoy, Magny-Le-Hongre, Veneux-les-Sablons, Germigny-l'Évêque, Longueville, Verdelot.

For the broader travel overview: Seine-Et-Marne.