Paris's Royal/Impressionist Era Suburbs

[frenchmystiquetour]

Many tourists in Paris seek interesting day trips outside of Paris (aside from Versailles) and generally head to places such as Provins, Compiegene, The Loire, Chantilly, Reims, Epernay, etc., all of which require a train trip. Some of the western suburbs of Paris provide an interesting alternative and all are within an RER or short SNCF commuter train trip from Paris. This trip report will detail my bike ride through five western suburbs bordering The Seine River beginning with Saint Germain en Laye and then on to Marly Le Roi, Louveciennes, Bougival and ending in Rueil Malmaison. Saint Germain en Laye and Rueil Malmaison are reachable by the RER line A and the others are reachable by SNCF commuter trains leaving from Gare Saint Lazare or La Defense. I live southeast of Paris so I took my bike on the RER line A and headed for Saint Germain en Laye, the beginning of my day long bike trip. Upon exiting the RER station in Saint Germain en Laye here are some photos of what greets the eye.







The first photo is of the Chateau de Saint Germain en Laye. With origins going back to Louis VI in 1124, the chateau as we see it today is largely the product of Francis I with construction commencing in 1539 on the site of the old chateau. Many notable historic events have taken place here but are too innumerable to mention. Let's just focus on Louis XIV. He was born in a building adjacent to the chateau and spent many of his childhood years in residence at the palace. This is where he sought refuge 3 times during the civil revolt in Paris known as The Frond. He more or less left the chateau for good with his removal to Versailles in 1682. Today, the chateau is known for housing the Musee d'Archeologie National (Museum of National Archaeology). Its focus is on prehistory detailing the human presence in France from 600,000 years ago through the Roman era. If you are a lover of prehistory (and even if you are not) I highly recommend a visit to the museum. I love it. Some of the craftsmanship from the objects of the Bronze Age will leave you in awe. Its most famous exhibit is the tiny sculpture in mammoth ivory of La Dame de Brassempouy, one of the earliest known representations of the human figure and estimated to be 25,000 years old.





The 2 photos above are neolithic tombs (called dolmens) which were removed from another site and reconstructed in the ditches in front of the chateau. Below is a photo of the chateau from another angle.

[frenchmystiquetour]

Being a royal town, Saint Germain was the residence of many nobles, wealthy merchants and other royal suck-ups and this legacy is evident in its architectural heritage. Today, Saint Germain is a posh suburb full of chic shops and boutiques. It is a visually beautiful place and quite lively and an enjoyable place to stroll around. Plenty of restaurants and cafes to relax in and the gardens and forest adjacent to the chateau afford one the opportunity to walk off the caloric intake of your repast. Head to the terrace behind the chateau for panoramic views over the Seine and surrounding areas with The Eiffel Tower on the horizon. Let's look at some photos from around town.

[frenchmystiquetour]

Leaving Saint Germain I head down a steep hill on my bike towards Marly Le Roi. How relaxing, until I have to climb back up an equally steep hill to enter Marly Le Roi. If you want to bike between these towns keep in mind that most of them are situated on hills (except Reuil Malmaison). While I wouldn't describe it as incredibly difficult terrain it will require some effort.

Marly was formerly divided into 2 separate villages. It was a favorite hunting ground for Louis XIV and a place where he decided to build a new chateau, more intimate than Versailles. He bought the 2 villages and created the new city of Marly Le Roi. Work began on the Chateau de Marly in 1679 under Jules Hardouin-Mansart with gardens designed by Andre LeNotre. It was ready for Louis's arrival in 1686. The chateau was destroyed during the revolution and all that remains today are some foundation stones. The gardens/lawns, paths, some statuary and waterworks were restored and completed in 2007.

Adjacent to the park of the old chateau is the old village. Anyone seeking to find one of those quaint old villages in the countryside with the old buildings and windy cobblestone streets need go no further than here to find what you seek. Of all the towns I visited on this day, this one was my favorite and I think the most charming. It was very quiet the day I was here (don't know if it's always so quiet) and looked like an enjoyable place to have a bite to eat. I noticed an adequate number of cafes and a few restaurants that seemed to have nice looking menus. Let's look at a few photos of old Marly and be charmed by its quaintness.

[frenchmystiquetour]

During the 19th century Marly and its environs attracted artists and writers, notable among them being Alexandre Dumas (wrote The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo), Guy de Maupassant and Ivan Tourgueniev and impressionist painters such as Sisley, Pissaro, Monet and Renoir, to name a few. I did not see all of the attractions that Marly had to offer this day. Notable among the things I missed was The Chateau de Monte Cristo (residence of Dumas), a renaissance style chateau (open to the public) with elaborate gardens. I also missed seeing the locations of several famous impressionist works. More than 120 impressionist works by the above mentioned artists were painted in this vicinity. Many of the works you are undoubtedly familiar with. At each location where a famous work was created, you will find a tableau with a picture of the work as well as a brief description. Below is a link to the tourist office website. They have downloadable itineraries so you can do self guided walks and discover the places where many of these famous works were created. This area is reputed to be the birthplace of impressionism. If you are an impressionist aficionado I would highly recommend this as a day trip.

www.marlyleroi-tourisme.fr/english-version/discoveries/marly.htm

Now we'll take a look at the gardens on the grounds of the old Chateau de Marly. Here we go:

[frenchmystiquetour]

Having finished in the old chateau grounds I moved on to the adjacent town of Louveciennes. The first thing I encountered was the large aqueduct built by Mansart. Its purpose was to carry water to Versailles and the Chateau de Marly. The original pump house for the Aqueduct, known as The Machine of Marly, was on the banks of the Seine and was described as an “Eighth Wonder of the World”. Built of wood, it rotted and was replaced 3 or 4 times and was finally decommissioned in 1967. When you see the very steep hill behind the pump house you can see why it developed its reputation. It must have been quite a feat of engineering at that time to move water up such a steep incline. Here's the aqueduct:



And here's a photo of the pumphouse along The Seine. Note the steep hill behind it.



If you want to read an indepth explanation of the Machine and Aqueduct and see some illustrations click on the link below:

world.std.com/~hmfh/machine1.htm

Next I moved into the older section of town. Here's some photos.

[frenchmystiquetour]

Louveciennes has 7 notable and historic chateaus but most are private and not open to the public. Some can be viewed from a distance and others are hidden from street viewing. I happened to miss a couple of the viewable ones by accident. Oh well. Another time. Here is one I did see (below) called the Chateau de Madame du Barry.



The chateau had several notable residents and owners. Prior to Louis XV giving it to Madame du Barry it was occupied by several of the illegitimate offspring of Louis XIV and The Marquise de Montespan.

The Chateau de Madame du Barry is located on a road called Chemin de la Machine. The street was the location for a painting by Sisley titled, appropriately enough, “Chemin de la Machine, Louveciennes” in 1873. Here is the same view painted by Sisley.



You'll notice my bike, on the left, next to a tableau showing Sisley's painting. Today it doesn't much resemble the painting due to all the tree growth blocking the view of the river at the foot of the hill. Remember that prior to coal heating for stoves, wood was the primary fuel for centuries, besides being used to construct just about everything else prior to the industrial revolution. Just about anyplace near a population center was largely devoid of trees and forests. Europe of today is much more forested than the Europe of centuries past. I'm from New England and it reminds me of the many old time photos I have seen showing a more or less bald landscape in New England, where roughly 80 percent or more of its trees had been cut down since the arrival of the pilgrims.

Okay, to the left of where you saw my bike in the last photo is a house that was painted by either Sisley or Pissarro. Sorry, I forgot to take a photo of the tableau to remember the name and author of the painting. After spending almost half an hour googling I still couldn't come up with either. Perhaps one of you readers will recognize it. Of course, trees and vegetation make it look different now. Anyway, here it is below.



Just a bit further down the same street one arrives at the Pavillon de Musique de Madame du Barry. When I arrived in front of this building I saw that the gate was open and there were no signs saying do not enter, so I just rode right in on my bike. I didn't get more than a few meters when a snooty man with a phony smile on his face that said “Who do you think you are, you lowly plebian, to be riding into my domain” greeted me (rudely) with the phrase “And what business have you to be here?” Returning his fake smile with one of my own I turned my nose in the air and replied “The business of biking.” He told me it was private property. I told him the gate was open and there was was no sign saying it was private property and then apologized as politely (and falsely) as I could and left. Well, sort of. Only after I stood approximately 3 inches from the entry and took a good minute or two preparing to take my best and most artistic photo ever. And here it is. Voila!



Okay, so I actually had to move back from the gate to get the building in the picture. Anyway, let's move on from that unpleasant experience.

[frenchmystiquetour]

Next up was the town of Bougival. I rode my bike through some pleasant but uneventful suburban areas above the river that were undoubtedly the scene of many a bucolic countryside impressionist paintings. I had been riding for 4 or 5 hours at this point and still had to get to Rueil Malmaison so my visit to Bougival was a bit brief. I have some photos but didn't do a lot of mental note taking so my historical recollection of these photos is really inadequate. Anyway, let's have a look.









I was a bit underwhelmed with Bougival but I think maybe fatique from several hours of biking was setting in. My wife and a few others have said the photos are quite nice. I found the other places I visited that day to be visually more stimulating. I'll let you be the judge. I'm sure it must have been very pretty at one point. Perhaps my unpreparedness left me uninformed as to some undiscovered history that I should have noticed (a lot of “uns” in that last sentence). Having descended the slopes of Bougival I was now at the banks of The Seine. This is where you will see The Machine of Marly (which you have seen and which is not the original building). Here is another impressionist scene where I again forgot to take a pic of the tableau stating the name of the painting and artist (either Sisley or Pissarro). Sorry. With the lack of a dirt roads and the horses and carriages shown in the painting it doesn't much resemble what you see today anyway.



And here is one last photo in Bougival. It was a run down building that was badly in need of maintenance but I found a certain character in it that transcended its dilapidated state.



I feel maybe I've been a bit unfair in my treatment of Bougival. Looking at the tourist office website I notice many things of historic significance I did not discover. Mostly on my bike rides I am seeking pretty scenery and eye candy and if I find neither I tend to move along. Here is a link to the tourist office website where you will discover much more about Bougival than I did. It's in French but google does offer a (very poor) translation option. You are given the opportunity to offer a better translation if you so desire. Here it is.

www.syndicat-initiative-bougival.com/

[frenchmystiquetour]

Now on to my final destination of Rueil Malmaison. I entered the town near the famous Chateau de la Malmaison so this was my first stop. There are some lovely tree lined streets near the chateau and here they are.







I think most of you have heard about the famous chateau so there's not too much I can tell you that you don't know already (the residence of The Empress Josephine, Napoleon's wife, in case you didn't know). I have visited the inside of the chateau twice and I really like it. It's full of personal belongings of both Josephine and Napoleon and makes for a much more personal and intimate visit than Versailles. I have never found it to be crowded (quite undercrowded usually) and the same was true on this day. Very light tourist traffic here. You can not enter the grounds without paying so I only have this photo of the front of the chateau.



From here I headed towards the old village nearby. I passed the lovely little Parc de Bois Preau along the way. The Chateau de Bois Preau is on the grounds and is a museum housing personal items from Napoleon's exile on Saint Helena. It is under renovation and closed at present. Here is a pic of the chateau with a statue of Josephine in the foreground.

[frenchmystiquetour]

Now I am arriving at the old downtown village area. Here is the first view on my approach.



I arrived at the main square which is dominated by the Eglise Saint-Pierre Saint-Paul, which houses the tomb of The Empress Josephine.



Here are some photos of the main square.

[frenchmystiquetour]

The old downtown area is very lively and full of stores, cafes, boutiques, restaurants etc. It's a nice place to stroll around and just enjoy the atmosphere. Have a look.









The next photo is the old town hall which is now the Museum of Local History.

[frenchmystiquetour]

Heading north out of the village I decided to have one last look at The Seine. Once you cross under the RER tracks you enter the modern part of town. I'm not a fan of modern architecture but the area looked pleasant enough. Here's a pic of one the parks in this area.



Having reached the Seine I took a few final photos.





And then a nice little park called Parc des Impressionnistes.










This last photo from the park is an obvious homage to Monet's garden in Giverny.



That's all folks. Hope you enjoyed it. Drop me a line if you have any questions about this trip.

[Jody]

I wondered what those stones in what I thought was a moat were! And now I know!!

[janetnj]

St. Germain en Laye has been on my list. Thanks for sharing your report - seeing the pictures makes me want to go even more.

[Shoesy]

I wanna go too, Janet !!! It looks as if I could spend an entire day there.

FMT - I am in awe of how much you manage to accomplish in just one day ! So many beautiful and fascinating sights ! WOW !!!

What an enjoyable post ! Merci !

[mez]

Dec 5, 2010 23:41:55 GMT -5 Shoesy said:

FMT - I am in awe of how much you manage to accomplish in just one day ! So many beautiful and fascinating sights ! WOW !!!

I agree! I saw your post this morning at work but work blocks access to the pictures so I needed to wait until now. Definitely worth the wait.

Thanks for taking the time to share your excursion with us.

[mossie]

Many thanks for these essays, I have to admit that I get overwhelmed by the sheer volume of facts and wonderful pics. Definitely worth an exalt.
st Germain en Laye has been on my possible list for a long time.

[sistereurope]

Many thanks from me too, I really enjoyed your trip! I want to be there now (especially since we just got hit with the cold spell that you all have been experiencing)

I'm taking my daughter to Paris for her graduation in June (her idea, really! ;D), and she told me last night that she wants to go see a medieval village (!). I of course thought of Provins, but I was wondering if you think any of these towns would work? I was thinking Provins. but I have to say that while I enjoyed castle at Carcassone, overall I didn't really care for the the whole touristy aspect of the town. I know some OPers been there and loved it, but I'm thinking that the June crowds might be a bit much...? thanks FMT!

[Darcy]

Thanks for another great day trip report!

For anyone going to St Germain en Laye, I highly recommend a visit to Chateau de Monte Cristo, the home of Dumas, as fmt mentioned. It's a lovely small chateau with nice gardens, and the petit Chateau d'If, Dumas' writing studio, is charming!

And if you haven't been to Malmaison, Josephine's home, you've missed something very special. As fmt said, it's never crowded. I was there on a beautiful day in May when the hundreds of roses were in bloom, and there were less than 10 people in the chateau.

Thanks again, fmt!

[frenchmystiquetour]

Thanks all for reading and commenting. It makes it worth the effort to get such positive feedback. I've met a few of you in person now and I hope I'll get to meet some more of you on your next trips to Paris.

sistereurope - These towns are definitely much different than Provins, which in turn is much different than Carcassonne. I think the advantage of these places, especially saint Germain en Laye and Rueil-Malmaison, is that they are so easy to reach from Paris. If you've got two days at your disposal on your next trip to Paris you could easily do Rueil/St. Germain one day and Provins on the other.

I've been to Carcassonne and I loved it (I've read a few books about the Cathars) but I know it always receives mixed reviews, the negative ones usually attributed to excess tourism. Provins is a touristy place but not nearly to the extent that Carcassonne is. It's about a 1-1/2 hour train trip from Paris leaving from Gare de l'Est. They've got some great medieval shows, if that kind of thing interests you. It's really a pleasant place to stroll around and there are plenty of restos, cafés etc. It's another place I love to visit, often even. If you look here in the forums I've written another trip report about biking to Provins so you can see pictures in that report of what it looks like, if that interests you.

Some other places I've written about, and have reports here on the forum, are Compiègne, Sens and Laon. Wonderful places to visit that receive very little tourist attention and are great day trips from Paris.

[Jody]

FMT, The new issue of France magazine has an article on bicycling to Mont St Michel. Doubt if you can pick it up in Paris but it might be available online or I could send you a copy