The court of the Cité

The Cité international de la langue française is a cultural and living place entirely dedicated to the French language and French-speaking cultures, in the castle of Villers-Cotterêts.

The imposing Château de Villers-Cotterêts is one of the few royal residences in Picardy. With its Renaissance decoration, it is on a par with the finest achievements of its time. Its restoration has brought out its remarkable Renaissance features.

Recent archaeological excavations conducted by INRAP have uncovered, in the heart of the royal dwelling of the castle of Villers-Cotterêts, the remains of a game of paume, considered to be the ancestor of our current tennis. This courtyard of the jeu de paume will not fail to impress the future visitor of the Cité internationale de la langue française: covered by an impressive glass roof that houses a lexical sky composed of 88 words, it is the heart of the Cité.