If you love art and Paris check these places out!
Hello Again,
Welcome back. We hope you are enjoying reading the newsletters as much as we are enjoying writing them!
This week we are going north of Paris to check out the sites we have enjoyed on our travels. Some, we have come across by chance because we have been driving somewhere else or getting lost. Getting lost is one our families favorite pastimes.
We head off in a general direction, either by car or on foot (in a town or city) and then follow the signs that sound interesting. Getting home usually requires a GPS or map. If you are accustomed to relying on your phone’s GPS beware that outside of the big cities Wifi hotspots in France are rare, unless you have a french phone plan.
Try to organise a sim card for your phone. If you purchase it in France, to activate it ask the store attendant for help as it will be in French. A money saving tip is to use Skype, FaceTime and other chat media whenever you can find a Wifi signal. Mcdonalds has free wifi as do many large shopping centres.
So back to travelling north of Paris, now I’ve had my little rant!
Monet’s Garden — Giverny
The village of Giverny is between Paris and Rouen less than 80km from Paris. Claude Monet bought his house in 1890 and created a beautiful garden, including the “water garden”, used in his famous water lily pond series of pictures. He lived and worked there until he died in 1926.
The house has been restored and is a testament to Monet’s taste in colour with his furniture and art collections displayed. The house is but a small part of the experience. The gardens are lovely with a different mood set depending on the time of year you visit. (Closed Nov — March)
There are two disappointing aspects to Monet’s garden — firstly, its very popular with the tourists, so it is very busy, no matter when you go. At times you have to queue just to see the gardens and particularly around the water lily pond. I’d suggest arriving early before the tour buses arrive mid morning.
Secondly, some idiot put a road through the middle of the garden, so the water lily pond is accessible through an underground tunnel that goes under the road. Not such a big deal, I suppose, although the “vista” is ruined from the house across the garden towards the pond!
If you love Monet’s work you’ll love the garden. There are plenty of photo opportunities. The men in our party stayed at the cafe while the ladies toured the garden! My husband told me the coffee at the café was expensive and awful, consider taking a flask.
Also in Giverny is the Musée d’Art Américain (closed Mondays, Nov — March) which is devoted to American impressionist artists who came to France seeking inspiration from around 1887.
Getting to Giverny and Practicalities
Visit http://giverny.org/gardens/fcm/visitgb.htm to find the exact dates as they vary slightly from one year to the next.
The train to Vernon and Giverny takes about 45 minutes and leaves from Gare St-Lazare in Paris. You can go to Gare St-Lazare and purchase your train tickets ahead of time and also get tickets to Monet’s Home & Gardens ahead of time online or at FNAC (plus €1.60 service charge). There’s a FNAC just opposite Gare St-Lazare. With an advance ticket, you can use the Group entrance, rather than wait in line at the regular entrance. Tickets are for any day (not a specific date/time).
When looking at the board at the station for your platform; number, look for departures at your time to Rouen, the trains final destination (not Vernon). Be SURE to validate your ticket in the yellow machine at the head of the track.
At Vernon, buses are coordinated with the train schedule. As the train pulls into the station, the bus is waiting (to your right facing front). When you get off the train, follow the shoe prints to the opposite side of the station to the bus with a digital display: Vernon-Giverny over the front window. Bus fare €2 each way. You can purchase a return ticket on boarding the bus.
Chantilly
This town was once famous for its lace but is known for its stunning chateau and horse museum. The Grand and Petit Châteaux form a museum with art, decorative treasures, books and paintings collected by the Duc d’Aumale in the 19th century. The 18th-century stables house the Musée Vivant Du Cheval, a horse museum situated beside the chateau’s racetrack, which has the present day club rooms and stand on the opposite side.
The main chateaux is surrounded by water as it is set on an island. When we visited this château it had been raining, and the river water was running fast. The chateau’s collections are endless, some fascinating and mind blowing others I passed quickly. You should plan to spend at least half a day, if not more at this fascinating and incredibly beautiful chateau.
Getting to Chantilly and Practicalities
Chantilly is situated approximately 40km from Paris or 20 minutes from Charles de Gaulle Airport. Drive your car, or catch the train from Paris.
Paris-Chantilly:
Catch the fast train from Gare du Nord SNCF main lines (25 minutes), get off at “Chantilly-Gouvieux” see www.voyages-sncf.com for more details. OR RER line D (45 minutes), get off at “Chantilly-Gouvieux” see www.transilien.com for more details.
Here’s a link to Chantilly’s website and how to get there.
Maisons-Laffitte
The Château de Maisons, approximately 18km from Central Paris, was built in the 17th century on a hill overlooking a bend in the Seine. It is the work of the king’s architect François Mansart who was then at the very pinnacle of his glorious career. The majesty, symmetry and harmonious forms of this splendid château make it an architectural masterpiece of its age.
The Château de Maisons stood on the edge of the Saint-Germain forest and was used as the king’s hunting residence. The château had many prestigious guests including kings, princes, emperors and marshals, but also writers and thinkers such as Voltaire, Madame de Staël and Benjamin Constant.
The apartments of château reflect the principal owners of the castle in an evolution of styles, tastes and lifestyles over the centuries.
Not to be missed are the many sculpted fireplaces plus the vestibule, decorated with Doric columns, and sweeping grand staircase leading to a hall with cherub cornices; and the beautiful, bright Grand Hall with it’s musicians gallery decorated with Italian landscapes and lovely chandeliers. Also worth seeing is the circular and domed side room for the king that has been mirrored to reflect daylight from a single window.
There is also a permanent exhibition depicting the racing history of the occupants and times of the periods.
The town of Maisons-Laffitte is known for its horse racing track, the Maisons-Laffitte Racecourse, which is why the town is known as the “cité du cheval” and is compared with Newmarket in the United Kingdom. The town is pretty with boulevards and tree-lined streets.
Getting to Maisons-Laffitte and Practicalities
The town of Maisons-Laffitte can easily be accessed by local RER A trains that run every 10–20 minutes from Gare St-Lazare.
Open mid-May to mid-September: 10–12h30 and 2–6 pm, closing an hour early outside these times. Also closed main public holidays.
Auvers-Sur-Oise
Auvers delighted Van Gogh, who captured it with zeal, painting almost 70 canvases during his brief time there. Though the village has grown in the 125 years since Van Gogh’s death, it still has fewer than 7,000 people, and the wheat fields, irises and most of the buildings that he immortalized remain (his painting of the local church hangs in the Musée d’Orsay).
Less than an hour by train from Paris, 30 km to the north of Paris, Auvers is an easy day trip or stay overnight stay.
The village has many spots that remain almost untouched from Van Gogh’s time. Auberge Ravoux (52 rue du Général de Gaulle) where Van Gogh lived in room 5 can be seen upstairs at the Auberge and, while the building no longer functions as an inn, the downstairs is a restaurant worth trying.
Admission to Van Gogh’s room is about $7; a three-course fixed menu is about $42; If you want to know more follow this link to Van Gogh’s website.
Other sites include: Notre-Dame d’Auvers, the towns gothic cathedral immortalized by Van Gogh and the cemetery where Van Gogh and his brother Theo lie side by side; the Daubigny’s studio, with its wonderfully restored décor painted by the Daubigny family and friends, Corot and Daumier; the house of Dr Gachet and its beautifully planted garden, painted by so many artists; the Absinth Museum, a superb tribute to the notorious ‘green fairy’; and the nearby château (Château d’Auvers).
For more information read this article in the Wall Street Journal: A Tour of Van Gogh’s Picture-Perfect French Village
Note: the name of this town Auvers-Sur-Oise means Auvers by the River Oise. Many towns use this way of distinguishing where they are situated.
Check out this video: Auvers sur Oise, France Day Trip/Journée à Auvers sur Oise
Getting to Auvers-Sur-Oise and Practicalities
The train to Auvers use a Mobilis pass to get from Paris to Auvers-Sur-Oise. You need a zone 1–5 pass since Auvers is in zone 5. This costs less than 20€ for a one day pass at the time of writing.
There are various option for travel to Auvers:
Take a train from Gare du Nord (direction Pontoise) getting off at Pontoise.
OR Take a train from Gare Saint-Lazare (direction Gisors) getting off at Pontoise.
OR Another option is RER C to Pontoise and then change there for the train for Auvers but it is almost always a longer option.
Then you must catch a local train from Pontoise to Auvers.
Use www.transilien.com to get more details on the train timetables and how to get there.
The other option on weekend and holidays is to take a special train that leaves from platform 34 (Gare du Nord/Paris Nord) at 9:56 a.m. and departs Auvers at 6:18 p.m. This special direct train takes between 32 and 35 minutes. The regular trains require a change and take about one to one and a half hours. The direct train operates between the first Sunday in April until the last Sunday in October — call the tourist office (+33 1 34 48 08 54) or visit Transilien/SNCF for timetable Gare du Nord to Auvers-Sur-Oise.
We’d love to help you see France the easy no-stress way.
If you are planning a holiday to Paris/France and don’t know where to start; we can help you plan your trip with a tailored itinerary just for you. WE can organise your entry tickets and travel passes, whilst helping you avoid a lot of the stress associated with getting around.
Let us help you. Contact Susan at: susan@rebelentrepreneur.biz
Have a great week and thanks for reading our newsletter. The next newsletter will not be about Paris, we’re going to head out further to areas where you will have to move hotels, out of Paris and start experiencing the real France, in my opinion!
Please share this newsletter with your friends and send comments and requests!
À Bientôt!Sign up NOW for our Newsletter!
