Grand staircases and castles
We spent six days exploring typical French manor residences and abandoned or forgotten castles. Even though many castles were largely deserted, they still featured lovely ancient circular hallways and staircases. With their crumbling roofs and luxuriant greenery, they may appear somewhat untamed from the exterior. There were occasions when the furniture, artwork, and other objects in the castles were largely undamaged and only gathered dust. Since photography was the only thing we did for a living, we never took anything from the locations. It’s also crucial to note that we never force windows or locks to open in order to enter an abandoned building. To enter an abandoned space, we might climb via an open window or stroll out of an open door.
Sounds and suspicious mold
It can be challenging to determine whether a location has truly been abandoned in many situations. We went to a manor home that had been converted into a hotel ten years prior, but the hotel had since closed. Ten years before, we had seen newspaper clippings about an auction in which the highest bidder had won all of the treasures and furnishings. We strolled up to the manor house-hotel and went through the main door. There were smashed windows all around, with glass pieces all over the place. We discovered historical pictures of weddings and sizable gatherings that took place there.
The motion picture set
An abandoned movie set was one unusual yet entertaining place we visited. In 2006, the film Arthur and the Invisibles was released. We spent a considerable amount of time hiking through a typical French woodland to get to this specific location—a usual occurrence during urban exploration—just to arrive at a house that resembled an American prairie house. Looking at this set, a home, seemed weird since it was taken so completely out of context. It’s easy to find images of the house from the movie on Google, and we’ve enjoyed contrasting the real house with the movie scenes.
The home of a lover
Eventually, Ksenia and Vadim showed us several smaller, less well-known French residences where all the furniture and other belongings were still in place, just as we had anticipated. Because the common household goods here are remnants of a bygone age, these locations may have the sensation of true time capsules. We were a little taken aback to discover these locations so near to bustling residential areas. For one specific location, known as “Lover’s house,” we essentially strolled into the middle of a medium-sized town, unlocked a rusted gate, and entered via the open front door. People were all around us, and the group carrying camera equipment received little notice from them.
Small pain, but there’s wine.
The vacation was successful, however there were a few small annoyances. Since our French hosts travel frequently, it seems sense that they are on a restricted budget. As all of us Finns have “regular” 9–5 jobs, our opportunities for travel are restricted to statutory vacations. We can now afford to be more carefree with our money because we won’t be spending as many days visiting deserted locations. Our hosts were partial to hostels that lacked the standard amenities like towels, breakfast, and many power outlets. I discovered that on the first night, after taking a cold shower, I was drying myself off with the extra bed sheet rather than a towel.
It was time to return home after the “legs house.” The week was rather intensive, full with amazing deserted castles, homes, vehicles, and other strange places. These were far and away the only ones covered above. Trips for urban exploration are, at least for me, fulfilling yet demanding. There are no safety regulations in abandoned locations, thus it is entirely your responsibility if you get wounded. These are areas that society doesn’t think should be investigated. Although seeing them can occasionally be physically taxing, the psychological impact is frequently far more potent. Returning to my “safe zone,” which included many pictures of course, and my recollections and experiences, felt good.
