Tucked away in Cheongpyeong, about one and a half hour away from the city lies Petite France. At one glance, it's difficult not to imagine that one is in Strasbourg instead of South Korea as Petite France is situated on a low hill overlooking the Cheongpyeong Lake and the pastel colored buildings in Petite France resembles a village in the Alps.
The concept of Petite France encapsulates flowers, stars and The Little Prince so you will be sure to see a lot of wall murals along those themes.
I know this is seriously overdue but I knew I had to get it published instead of letting it sit in my drafts because I really love this place and I think you guys will love it too!
Getting to Petite France
1) Via Subway and Gapyeong Circle Tour bus
If you are coming from Myeongdong, here are the subway transfer stations.
Myeongdong > Dongdaemum > Hoegi > Mangu > Cheongpyeong
From Cheongpyeong Station, catch Gapyeong Circle Tour Bus to Petite France.
Gapyeong Circle Tour Bus
Adult: 5000 won Child/Youth: 3000 won
Gapyeong Circle Tour Bus runs 6 times a day from Cheongpyeong Station to Petite France.
Gapyeong Circle Tour Bus Timetable
11:25 12:25 13:25 15:25 16:25 17:25
2) Via Subway and cab
Take the subway to Cheongpyeong Station and take a cab from there.
3) OR... do it our way!
As Nami Island and Petite France are in close vicnity, we went to Nami Island first by taking the subway to Gapyeong station, followed by Gapyeong Circle Tour Bus to Nami Island. Then we took a cab from Nami Island stop to Petite France as we missed the Gapyeong Circle Tour Bus because we were unable to get onto the ferry and had to wait for another.
The cab fare from Nami Island to Petite France came up to 19000KRW (SGD 22.93) and it took us approximately 25 minutes to reach Petite France. Word of caution - Gapyeong Circle Tour Bus is very punctual and it leaves on the dot. We reached Nami Island stop at 15:16 and there was no bus in sight even when we waited till 15:20 thus we decided to take a cab to Petite France instead as the next bus will only be arriving at 17:15 and we didn't want to spend 2 hours waiting in the cold.
Make sure you have the name and address of Petite France in Korean just in case the taxi driver don't understand the english version. Our taxi driver didn't seem to understand the English version so I passed him the Korean version of Petite France leaflet that I got from Gapyeong Circle Tour Bus earlier.
After 25 minutes of going up and downhill, we reached Petite France and we were greeted by this sight with The Little Prince himself!
Petite France entrance and information centre
Petite France in DramaPetite France won't be foreign to K-drama fans as it is the filming location for many Korean dramas such as Beethoven Virus, Secret Garden (where Ju-won's love for Ra-im develops), Personal Taste and the latest SBS hit drama - You Who Came from the Stars Episode 15 as well as Running Man Season 1 Episode 40.
Petite France filming location for Beethoven Virus, Secret Garden, You Who Came from the Stars and Running Man
You Who Came from the Stars Episode 15 filming location
As Petite France is located on top of a hill, it is a lot colder than Nami Island. Did I mentioned that we got to experience first snow at Gapyeong Station? Ebony was like, "Jie, its raining. Oh no." Upon inspection, I exclaimed, "No, its snowing! Its first snow!!" We were already freezing at Gapyeong Station platform as it is out in the open. We seeked shelter at the station's gantry and bought hot coffee to warm ourselves up before we braced ourselves for Nami Island. Even at Nami Island, we stayed close to every possible woodfire we passed by on the island.
How cold exactly is Petite France in end-November?
It was so cold that my fingers went numb after taking photos with my iPhone for about 5-10 minutes. I didn't have a choice as I didn't have touchscreen gloves. You see, the thing is - because it is very cold in Winter, somehow it makes your camera battery drained out super fast. I had like two batteries but they didn't survive beyond 8 hours. That explains the differing quality of the pictures in this post. T_T
Patricia in Petite France
Fountain Square Cul-de-Sac
Fountain Square Cul-de-Sac (Building D)
Because its a month away from Christmas while we were there, there were plenty of Christmas trees around.
Saint-Exupery Memorial Hall (Building G)
Here, it showcase the author of the celebrated French novel, Le Petit Prince (1943), Saint-Exupery's life and his works such as Le Petit Prince, Vol de Nuit. On the 3rd floor, you can catch Le Petit Prince movie on screen.
Orgel House (Building F)
Orgel House (Building F)
Noteworthy feature of Orgel House includes a 200-year-old music box collected from France and Europe which plays a sweet melody.
Amphitheatre
Amphitheater
As we were feeling cold again, we got ourselves some pizza and coffee from the takeaway coffee shop in Petite France. Did I mention how much I love the illustration on the coffee sleeve?
Pizza and coffee
Marionette Theatre (Building N)
Marionette Theater (Building N)
You will be able to catch 'Guignol', a French traditional hand puppet show named after the show's main character here along with marionette performance and screening animation.
Guest house and wild flower walkway
If stargazing in bed is your cup of tea, you will be pleased to know that there are 28 guest houses in Petite France and some of them have windows obliquely.
Along the way, you will spot lovely wall murals. As if you haven't spotted enough pretty wall murals already!
Below is the Baobab tree where Koreans 'lock' their love.
Baobab Tree
Can't help but to snap more pictures of these pretty French-style buildings. I'm sure you will agree with me if you were there yourself for the cold weather and scenic place makes it ideal for photo-taking!
Before reaching the observatory, this place showcases different postal stamps.
Observatory
At various pit-stops in Petite France, there are stamps available for you to collect. There are a total of 10 stamps.
By then, the sun was almost setting and it was getting dark and colder.
Ending this post with a sunset picture taken in Petite France itself.
Would I head back to Petite France again? You bet I would for that sense of tranquility, away from the busy cities, not to mention that it is the Mediterranean coast or Piedmont Alps that is so much closer to home.
Petite France 쁘띠프랑스
1063, Hoban-ro, Cheongpyeong-myeon, Gapyeong-gun, Gyeonggi-do
경기도 가평군 청평면 호반로 1063
Nearest subway: Cheongpyeong Station
www.pfcamp.com
Admission Fee:
Adults: 8,000 won / Group: 6,000 won
Youths: 6,000 won / Group: 5,000 won.
Children: 5,000 won / Group: 4,000 won
* Group: 20 people or more
Opening hours: 0900 - 1800 (last admission 1700)
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