On Wednesday afternoon I (plus a friend of a friend who was visiting Paris for the week) headed out to see this medieval castle just outside Paris. My roommate had told me that Vincennes is nearly as impressive as Versailles and yet almost completely overlooked, though it's extremely accessible to Paris (it's just a metro ride away from the city center.) 
Built in the 14th century, it looked just like a storybook castle--it had a moat (albeit currently empty) with a drawbridge, all sorts of turrets and nooks and passageways, its own chapel, and a dozen or so buildings making up the complex.
Numerous monarchs resided here for at least part of the year until Louis XIV decided to set up house at Versailles instead, and then the chateau became a prison, where the likes of the Marquis de Sade and Mirabeau were held.
That's it for fun facts about the Château de Vincennes; here are a few more photos (most of them courtesy of Adam):
It was bitterly cold and we were thoroughly numb after spending several hours walking through the castle and grounds, but after looking at this view of the forest just beyond the fortress walls, I vowed to return when spring is here to go for a walk through the Bois de Vincennes.
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