Ok so here I am on another sunny nice day and temps up to 24C or about 74F in my neck of the wood, looking at a nice tree park and decided to start this post on an unique aspect of my belle France.
As visitors, we tend to come to the famous places and many like it. France gets about 85M visitors and places like Paris about 32M visitors per year lately. However, as one who lives here,and travel everywhere not just to the famous and sparkling clean taxpayer supported sites (and some nice visitors) I like to take you places, not before written on the blog ,but I should have.
Let me tell you a bit about Eragny sur Oise. Our family love to come here when we lived in Versailles.
Eragny is in the department 95 Val-d’Oise in the region of Île-de-France. Locals sometimes call it Éragny-sur-Oise to differentiate from other similar name town of Eragny in France. The city is located in the left bank of the Oise river at about 30 km (about 19 mi) from Paris, and it is a member of the metropolitan area of the new city of Cergy-Pontoise,
This is one of the towns we went for the Art de Vivre shopping center, just because it had the Pizza Hut and Toys ‘R US stores nearest our home in Versailles, and was easy on our runs to Normandy to pass by here on the A15. It is still there and even translated in English: https://art-de-vivre.klepierre.fr/Shopping
Toys R Us
Pizza Hut
toys R Us
It was , also convenient stop coming from CDG airport on the La Francilienne road N104 on our way home under the A15 by the N186 to Versailles. A bit further direction Paris,(or from Paris direction Rouen) you can come as we did to a nice outlet stores mall at Franconville off the A15 exit/sortie 4 ; the Quai des Marques for especially my brand names business suits and coats. It’s takes a bit time by public transport from Paris but with a car is always easier. You can take at Gare Saint Lazare the train direction Gare d’Ermont Eaubonne and descend at the station of Sannois from there take bus 261 to Franconville and walk 20 minutes to the shopping. Webpage: http://www.quaidesmarques.com/Franconville
A bit of history I like
Early in the 12C the lands and villages around here had the name of Erigny, belonging to the abbey of Saint-Martin-des-Champs . It was exposed on a cliff dominating the Oise river. Eragny was just a small village until the 20C. It was in 1564 that a Jean d’Alesso, coming from Italy with Saint Francis of Paul purchase the lordship of Eragny. His coat of arms are now the town. François d’Alesso, marquis of Eragny was governor general of the Antilles in Martinique by 1691 and their descendants were spread all over the area and preserve it until the French revolution when they were confiscated as immigrants expropiation lands. In the 20C, an important writer set up home here, this was Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre, author of Paul et Virginie. He was a disciple of Rousseau, and took possession of a house here in 1804 that was the old presbytery, after his death in 1814 the town really came down to the sleepy town it is today.
Things to see in Eragny sur Oise
The Presbytère at 31 rue Bernardin-de-Saint-Pierre , it was built under the order of priest Sigogne in the middle of the 18C . Under the French revolution his successor died in the guillotine and the building change hands several times thereafter until given in 1804 to Bernardin de Saint-Pierre in exchange for a debt of the family. The writer known for his work call Paul et Virginie lived there the last ten years of his life until finally purchase by the city in 1834. The house of the fisherman or Maison des Pêcheurs at 24 rue de la Fontaine, this was built behind a guinguette bordering the Oise river for the Sunday fisherman coming from Paris as the train station was close by . The ground floor has original pieces and can be reach ,those in the first floor (2nd US) are reach thru an exterior balcony. The front gates of the old Castle at 6 rue de Saint-Ouen-l’Aumône ,has two square pylon that still is there of the castle of Alesso from the mid 16C . The castle came down even before the French revolution. The Saint Pie X Church built in the 1950’s to replace an older Church destroyed during WWII. The army stables, at the Clos du Manége, the army trained here in a horse complex of seven identical stables built early 20C. It stop working in 1918 when the army set up headquarters in the city of Pontoise . One of these stables is used today for equestrian circle club.
Some webpages to help you plan your trip here ,why not ,it is so close to lovely Paris!
Eragny sur Oise : https://www.eragny.fr/notre-ville/son-histoire-et-son-patrimoine/son-patrimoine
Tourism of Eragny sur Oise : http://www.ot-cergypontoise.fr/Decouvrir/Le-territoire/Eragny-sur-Oise
Dept 95 Val d’Oise tourist office : http://www.valdoise-tourisme.com/index-en.php
Ïle de France region tourist office: http://en.visitparisregion.com/
There you go ,enjoy it the find. Hope it helps expand your vision of my belle France. Remember, happy travels, good health ,and many cheers to all!!!
