Château d'Ecouen in Écouen

You're standing at the Château d'Écouen, on a hilltop about twenty kilometres north of Paris. There's been a fortress up here since the twelfth century. It watched over the plain below, the old invasion route from the north. Have a look at the wall and bastions around the site. They were mostly for show, because the man who built this place commanded the French army.