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Post by frenchmystiquetour on May 28, 2010 13:35:33 GMT
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.
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Post by frenchmystiquetour on May 28, 2010 13:37:02 GMT
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Post by frenchmystiquetour on May 28, 2010 13:39:28 GMT
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Post by frenchmystiquetour on May 28, 2010 13:40:44 GMT
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Post by frenchmystiquetour on May 28, 2010 13:41:51 GMT
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Post by frenchmystiquetour on May 28, 2010 13:43:23 GMT
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.
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Post by frenchmystiquetour on May 28, 2010 13:44:49 GMT
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/
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Post by frenchmystiquetour on May 28, 2010 13:46:17 GMT
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Post by frenchmystiquetour on May 28, 2010 13:47:46 GMT
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Post by frenchmystiquetour on May 28, 2010 13:48:53 GMT
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Post by frenchmystiquetour on May 28, 2010 13:49:54 GMT
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.
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Post by bixaorellana on May 28, 2010 16:29:03 GMT
Wow ~~ so much to see and take in! The area encompasses names -- LaNotre! Malmaison! -- that sing of the glories of French landscaping and botanical jewels. Because of that I have to say I was surprised not to see more planting and things in bloom such as you show at the Parc des Impressionnistes. Is that because the garden areas are behind the chateaux? The garden at the Chateau de Marly shows the classic LaNotre design elements, but seems strangely under-planted.
The other surprising thing was to see so few people out and about in such a lovely area. The museums alone should be major attractions, particularly the archeology museum in that historic setting.
Ha ~~ I loved your picture of the run-down building in Bougival, with its shabby splendor and iconoclastic color schemes. It was a nice counter-point to the perfectly maintained facades elsewhere. I have to say that I don't agree that Bougival seems underwhelming. When I saw that spire nestled at the foot of the wooded hill I thought "Oh boy!". However, I know that feeling of being X amount into a trip and starting to feel flat.
This was a wonderful, very personal tour -- thanks!
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Post by frenchmystiquetour on May 28, 2010 18:19:43 GMT
Hi Bixa,
Yes, at Malmaison the park areas are behind the chateau. You are also correct in your observation of Chateau de Marly. The bones of the LeNotre design are there but the details (i.e. flower beds and sculpted gardens) are absent. Since it was only renovated as of 2007 I imagine it must have been abandoned for quite some time and the cost of redoing all the flowers and such must have been to high to bear. I guess the absence of people might have had to do with the fact that it was a weekday and it is not high season yet. When I arrived in Rueil Malmaison it was after 4:00 on a Friday and you'll notice that there were many people out and about.
You know, my wife said the same thing about Bougival. I said my favorite town was Marly Le Roi and she said the pictures of Louveciennes were more charming than Marly. Sometimes the camera see things differently than your mind. Bougival was actually pleasant enough but I found it the least interesting visually of the places I visited. Maybe I need to change that comment. Anyway, thanks for the comments and compliments. Glad you enjoyed it.
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Post by Deleted on May 28, 2010 18:32:17 GMT
That was a truly excellent overview of the 'nice' western suburbs, FMT. I have always loved Saint Germain-en-Laye and can probably dig up a few of my own photos sooner or later. I used to regularly picnic in the gardens and forest of the château. I even used to go to the Fête des Loges in the forest in the summer -- the raucous carnival that follows the Foire du Trône in Paris.
Bougival is the home of the Depardieu clan, and they are very attached to it. I lived through my own adventures there, because the true interest of Bougival lies in the absolutely gigantic underground quarries under the city. I thought I was going to die in one of them. Our completely unauthorized groups would rendezvous at midnight and come back up around dawn.
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Post by frenchmystiquetour on May 28, 2010 19:10:48 GMT
Yes, these are the 'nice' suburbs. I knew about the Depardieu's but I knew nothing about the quarries. Are they still open, or does one have find their own private entry, as you used to do? Should I ask you what you were doing down there from midnight to sunrise?
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Post by Deleted on May 28, 2010 20:01:27 GMT
The quarries are closed and totally forbidden for totally valid security reasons. You have to go to a 'cataphiles' site to get contacts for them. Here is an example of what is down there.
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Post by Deleted on May 28, 2010 20:07:30 GMT
The "carrière des lions" is the one I visited the most. It gets its name from two carved lions at the entrance of a very elegant apartment complex along the Seine, along the RN to Saint Germain from Nanterre. You drive in between the lions and over to the left where there is a guest parking lot next to the hillside. Then you squeeze through the hole in the fence where there is a pathway that takes you to the quarry, which is closed by a huge metal gate. Then all you have to do is to climb over that (I'm not sure whether I could anymore) and enter the incredible labyrinth. I usually went in groups of more than 20, but once I took 2 friends and there were just the 3 of us, and it was creepy as hell with just a couple flashlights in the pitch black depths of the earth.
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Post by frenchmystiquetour on May 28, 2010 21:26:06 GMT
I think I saw those 2 lions the other day. At an apt. complex called Residence des Deux Lions. Wish I had this info while I was there. I wasn't sure if those were the 2 lions from the Egyptian part of the 1867 Paris Exposition. I doubted it but wasn't sure.
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Post by Deleted on May 29, 2010 4:38:50 GMT
Yes, that is indeed the place.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 20, 2010 7:47:00 GMT
I used this thread to warm me up from the miserable late November weather. Now I have to face trying to go outside.
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Post by frenchmystiquetour on Nov 23, 2010 11:58:59 GMT
K2 - I can handle the cold and gray but add the rain and that makes it truly miserable.
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Post by lola on Nov 24, 2010 5:12:01 GMT
Cool report, fmt. Looks very worth visiting.
Poor Josephine: one of many that man done wrong.
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Post by hwinpp on Nov 24, 2010 6:54:04 GMT
Your reports are positively professional, FMT. Very well done... now to find time to read the accompanying articles
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Post by frenchmystiquetour on Nov 24, 2010 18:48:39 GMT
lola - Thanks lola! There's some good stuff in those western suburbs that most people will never see. Yup, poor Josephine. Left alone in that horrible luxuriant château. hwinpp - I am 100% committed to quality control, in as much as it means that I can just provide links to where people can find the useful information.
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