Taxi Fontainebleau → Sens

The taxi journey between Fontainebleau and Sens connects two outstanding heritage jewels from southern Ile-de-France and northern Burgundy. Sens, a sub-prefecture of the Yonne department, is a city of major historical importance whose Cathedral of Saint-Etienne, consecrated in 1164, is widely regarded as the first great Gothic cathedral ever built in France. Its architect, Henri Sanglier, laid the foundations of the Gothic art that would later flourish at Notre-Dame de Paris, Chartres and Reims. Thomas Becket, the exiled Archbishop of Canterbury, sheltered here for six years (1164-1170) under the protection of Pope Alexander III, who held a council in Sens in 1163. The cathedral treasury is one of the richest in France, preserving Becket's chasuble and mitre, sixth-century Byzantine ivories, and Flemish tapestries. In ancient times, Sens was Agedincum, capital of the Roman province of Senonia -- the Senones being the Gallic tribe that famously sacked Rome in 390 BC under their chieftain Brennus. The 70-kilometre journey via the A6 crosses the sweeping cereal plains of the Gatinais and the Brie, quintessential agricultural landscapes of the Paris Basin, before reaching the valley of the Yonne river. No direct train service links these two cities, making the 55-minute taxi the only practical direct connection.