The Château at Saint-Germain-En-Laye was initially built in 1122, although the current structure dates from 1367. Louis XIV lived there for a while near the end of the 15th Century, Napoleon founded the beginnings of a museum there in 1862 for "Celtic and Roman Antiquities", and the huge interior courtyard was recently completely renovated.

As well as a huge chapel (24 metres x 10 metres) the building now houses what has grown to become the National Archaeology Museum. If you think that a 30-minute ride on the RER is too much trouble, you should think again. The journey is direct from Chatelet (right in the centre of Paris) and the station is just over the road from the Château! Check out the map below. Hopefully it will give you an idea of the scale of the building and the greenery nearby.

Jean Le Gac is a French artist born in 1936, best known for his paintings. For the Treasure Hunt exhibition, he has taken up the entire chapel, partly covering the floor with military blankets. A wooden walkway leads through the huge space, and random holes give you glances of bits of paintings, texts and photographs relating to archaeological digs. As a visitor, you almost have to search for the exhibits, hence the Treasure Hunt name. Sounds great!

Here's all the essential information for the Treasure Hunt at the National Archaeology Museum in Saint-Germain-En-Laye

When: 24th October 2007 - 5th May 2008
Where: National Archaeology Museum, Château - Place Charles de Gaulle in Saint-Germain-En-Laye. RER line A
Opening hours: 10am-5.15pm every day except Tuesdays
How much is this little excursion going to cost me?: Entrance is free! You'll have to pay for the RER though...


Bigger map here

Château courtyard photo (c) Cityzen. Chapel photo (c) Josh Clark