What to see and do in Saint-Germain-en-Laye | EUROtoday
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Saint-Germain-en-Laye, a suburb of Paris, has a protracted, wealthy historical past. Home to 29 French Kings and Emperors because the 12th century, and birthplace of King Louis XIV, simply 25 minutes by Metro or prepare from the middle of Paris, it is nicely price a go to says Janine Marsh.
It’s astonishing how little-known Saint-Germain-en-Laye is outdoors of France. So near the world-renowned Versailles, arguably its rival, this suburban city loved fame and fortune for hundreds of years, and will have gained additional recognition and appreciation had been it not for the destiny that noticed it deserted by Louis XIV, the final king born there.
Just a little little bit of historical past
Like most of the most marvelous chateaux in France, all of it started with a love of looking, when in 1122, Louis VI, AKA Louis the Fat (he was seemingly so giant he could not mount a horse in his center age) had a fortified fortress constructed on this forested a part of France simply 20km west of Paris – the seat of royal energy. At that point, Saint-Germain-en-Laye was only a small village set round a monastery, and vineyards lined the slopes that swept right down to the sting of the river Seine. Subsequent Kings lived right here and over the centuries the fortress was burned down, rebuilt, renovated and expanded. A second fortress was constructed a brief stroll away, known as the Chateau Neuf to differentiate it from the Chateau Vieux (the outdated fortress. More looking lodges had been constructed, aristocrats constructed mansions right here, and a thriving city developed.
It was all trying fairly good for Saint-Germain-en-Laye (named after the sixth century Bishop of Paris who is claimed to have lived within the forest). But then Versailles occurred.
Chateau Neuf, Saint-Germaine-en-Laye
Louis XIV, the Sun King, was born within the Chateau Neuf in September 1638, and although not a lot of the constructing stays, the pavillion he is stated to have made his look in continues to be there, half of what’s now a resort. In its heyday, as much as 3000 individuals lived within the hilltop fortress. Contemporaries described the gardens because the “8th wonder of the world” with galleries, flower gardens, and shell-lined grottoes constructed into terraces main right down to the Seine, and clockwork figures, labored by water pumps, within the backyard.
But all of the water triggered structural injury. Louis declared that he could not stand residing there and, in his twenties, moved into the Chateau Vieux. He commissioned work to renovate and broaden the outdated fortress and had his favourite gardener Le Nôtre design the gardens. But he nonetheless wasn’t completely satisfied, and in 1682 Louis moved completely to Versailles. In 1689, he invited his exiled cousin King James II of England to remain on the Chateau Vieux and the ‘Jacobite King’ stayed till his dying in 1701.
What to see and do in Saint-Germaine-en-Laye
Saint-Germain-en-Laye is simply 25 minutes from the Arc de Triomphe by RER prepare line A, bringing you to the doorstep of the Chateau Vieux. It’s a monumental constructing which homes an unimaginable chapel in its grounds. A masterpiece of gothic type, it was constructed between 1235 and 1239, commissioned by King Louis XI (AKA Saint Louis), to carry treasured relics together with fragments of the True Cross of the Crown of Thorns. It was the primary chapel of its variety, and forerunner of the well-known Saint-Chapelle in Paris the place the relics had been moved to earlier than lastly being housed in Notre-Dame Cathedral. The royal chapel just isn’t furnished however its magnificence shines by, and should you lookup, you may spot sculpted heads regarded as King Louis XI and his household – trying down from their heavenly perches by the centuries.
The fortress itself is now the National Museum of Archaeology, with an enormous assortment of European artifacts starting from Palaeolithic to the Middle Ages. Nip as much as the roof on good climate days to get a fowl’s eye view over the town. And subsequent door, wander the grounds of the park Le Nôtre designed, now often known as the Domain National (the massive forest begins right here). You can undoubtedly see why the Kings liked this place a lot – from the Grand Terrasse the views over the Seine and Paris are astounding.
Pop to the Church of Saint-Germain-en-Laye reverse the outdated fortress and you’ll’t miss out on a plaque devoted to the English King James II. It’s a curious story. When he died in 1701 his physique was, for need of a greater phrase, ‘shared’ amongst numerous establishments in Paris – his coronary heart went to a convent, his mind went to a Scottish school, pores and skin from his proper arm was given to the English Augustinian nuns, the remainder of him went to the Church of the English Benedictines, aside from his intestines which had been decanted into two urns – one went to the church of St-Germain-en-Laye and one to the Jesuit Chapel of Saint-Omer in Pas-de-Calais.
The French Revolution, which noticed the stays of nobles pulled from their coffins (typically lead lined, the lead was used to make bullets), meant he was additional dispersed, however in 1824 some stays had been authenticated and laid to relaxation within the church at Saint-Germain-en-Laye. When Queen Victoria was invited to Paris by Napoleon III in 1855 to go to the Universal Exhibition, she requested to go the place the place her royal ancestor as soon as lived. She stayed on the fortress and paid for a tomb and plaque honoring James II within the church.
The historic streets of the Saint-Germain-en-Laye are lined with magnificent mansions. At 23 Rue du Vieil Abreuvoir is the Hotel de la Marquise de Maintenon, mistress and, later the second spouse of Louis XIV. Madame de Montespan, one other of his mistresses, based a hospital for the poor which turned the house of artist Maurice Denis and is now a wonderful museum devoted to his outstanding artwork and that of Les Nabis, post-impressionist French painters.
In 1862, musician Claude Debussy was born within the city, and his former house is now a small museum.
The city has an enormous vary of retailers, eating places (Les Fistons, 20 Place Charles de Gaulle, reverse the fortress, has an incredible menu and pleasant service), and bars, plus one of many greatest markets within the area (Tuesday, Friday and Sunday mornings). And do not miss Patisserie Grandin in Rue au Pain which has been serving superb muffins since 1822, I like to recommend Le Saint-Germain – a scrumptious almond and rum concoction.
So near Paris – St-Germain-en-Laye makes for a wonderful day journey or base to go to the broader space together with the Chateau de Malmaison the place Napoleon and Josephine lived, the Chateau de Monte Cristo, house of Alexandre Dumas, and Chatou and the Ile des Impressionists the place Monet, Manet, Renoir and Degas liked to arrange easel and seize the native magnificence.
Find extra info at: seine-saintgermain.fr/en
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