Twelve secret daytrips by train

 

Look inside Chapter 5, Neuilly-sur-Marne, pp. 90-97

Contents

Diagram map showing journey times from Paris stations       1

Map of the Ile de France showing 12 destinations        2

Rail map of the Ile de France with stations in text highighted     4-13

Preface         23

The Ile de France: past and present         29

How to use this guide       45

GARE DU NORD

1. Parc de la Poudrerie         49

2 km walk along the Canal de l’Ourcq to astonishing remains of 19C gunpowder factory hidden in a woodland park and nature reserve. Return from Vert-Galant station or optional 3 km continuation of canalside walk to Villeparisis station.

                   21 minutes by train

 

 

GARE DE L’EST

2. Lagny-sur-Marne            59

Lively medieval market town, impressive 13C church, café with toilettes containing bas-relief and lavabo of 12C church, restaurant. Optional 5 km riverside walk to monumental outdoor sculptures carved by local artist and bus to Val d’Europe station, or 8½ km walk to sculptures and return to Lagny along opposite bank of the Marne.
                                                                                    23 minutes by train

3. Meaux            71

12C cathedral and Bossuet’s 17C walled garden at Meaux, restaurant, historic bridge. Optional 10 km walk along the quiet Canal de Chalifert, past old village where Ronsard was curé in 1552 and café in idyllic riverside setting, to Esbly station.

                  25 minutes by train

 

4.  La Ferté-sous-Jouarre           80

Old millstone-manufacturing town on both sides of the River Marne, market. 6 km circular river and country walk to well-preserved Merovingian crypts (c. 500-800 AD) of Benedictine abbey at Jouarre.

                          42 minutes by train

 

CHATELET-LES HALLES

 5. Neuilly-sur-Marne               90

1 km walk along the River Marne to 1960s guinguette for drink/lunch/dancing. Return to Neuilly-Plaisance or optional 2.8 km walk along Canal de Chelles, then bus or 2 km walk to Chelles-Gournay station.

             15 minutes by train

 

6. Brunoy           98

5 km walk from Brunoy along the River Yerres, past 12C church, Neolithic menhir, island restaurant, medieval mill and 18C bridge to country house of Impressionist painter Caillebotte at Yerres, set in a public park by the river.

                     32 minutes by train

 

7.  Igny        106

4 km walk along the River Bièvre and tea in garden of 18C Château de Roches, now a museum to Victor Hugo. Return from Vauboyen station or optional 2½ km continuation of country walk to Jouy-en- Josas station, past 12C Madonna in church, Oberkampf’s 18C textile workshop, café with garden.

                                      37 minutes by train

CHATELET METRO

8. Château de Vincennes        116

Impressive 14C castle and donjon in Bois de Vincennes, medieval royal residence and seat of government. Good-value traditional brasserie nearby.  Optional 3 km walk through Bois past Lac des Minimes to the little-known Jardin Tropical containing abandoned pavilions from the 1907 Exposition Coloniale, returning from Nogent-sur-Marne station.

                                                                                   17 minutes by métro

9. Parc Saint-Cloud        128

3½ km walk from Pont de Sèvres to Musée Céramique de Sèvres and through park, past 17C waterfall with panoramic views of Paris. Optional visits to Musée Historique and hilltop Jardin de Trocadéro and lake, then downhill through old town of Saint-Cloud for scenic return to Paris by bus along the Seine.
                                                                                    

                                                                                    39 minutes by métro

10. Parc de Bagatelle       137

Ten-minute bus ride and short walk to landscaped ‘English’ park within the Bois de Boulogne with café, lakes, grottoes, waterfalls, peacocks, roses, wild flowers and exceptional iris garden.

32 minutes by métro and bus

 

LA DEFENSE RER OR METRO

11. Malmaison           144

Bus ride and short walk to 17C Château de Malmaison, home of Josephine and Napoleon. Lunch in nearby brasserie with garden and return by bus to La Défense.  Optional 1½ km walk through park to church in Rueil where Josephine is buried and lunch in traditional brasserie, returning to La Défense by bus. Optional continuation by bus to Bougival for 3 km walk along the Seine past Georges Bizet’s house to Rueil-Malmaison station.

                                                                    25 minutes by bus

GARE ST LAZARE

12. Marly le Roi         155

3½ km walk through old village of Marly le Roi and park of Louis XIV’s vanished château, past 17C aqueduct, 11C church and former homes of Elisabeth Vigée Lebrun, Auguste Renoir and Anaïs Nin to Louveciennes station. Optional 1 km continuation past Mme du Barry’s former château at Louveciennes, downhill to the Seine past viewpoints painted by the Impressionists and remains of the Machine de Marly at Bougival, returning to La Défense by bus. Optional 1 km continuation to Pont de Bougival past Impressionist reproductions and further 1 km optional detour uphill to village of Bougival, returning to La Défense by bus.
                                                                                      

                                                                                      33 minutes by train

 

Getting around the Ile de France        168

The cultural context             168
Getting into the local rhythm, the pleasures of provincial life, the love of numbers, the French attitude to information

Practical details              171
Public transport: types of ticket, trains, buses, taxis, boats, bicycles, walking, maps, useful sources of information, books, bookshops

Table of best days to visit      182

Glossary       184

Train traveller’s glossary       186

Chronology of French rulers      187

Acknowledgements and picture credits        188

Index      189