I love to update this small post on a memorable spot for my family. This is very closed to our old home in Versailles. My dear late wife Martine love gardening and heard of this place; I look it up and saw the important historical spot so of course no gamers we went for it. It was our spot for garden supplies and came to participate in many activities here like egg hunting at Easter. Let me tell you about the La Ferme de Gally or Gally’s farm in Saint Cyr l’école! This is in theYvelines dept 78 of theÏle de France region.
I will dwell into my beloved area of Versailles ; many things to see and seldom seeing by visitors. When my boys were younger we came here often , it was a nice way to get away from Versailles into the countryside. We had petting farm, gardening, collect of fruits, and history all around with the still standing Porte de Gally or gate of Gally that went into the back of the Domaine of Versailles (if you are inside the castle property this is way back beyond the Grand Canal you can do walks there still just far back) ,where we used to do our jogging and playing with the boys as well. Oh those wonderful younger days..!!
I like to tell you a bit on this wonderful Ferme de Gally or Gally’s farm in Saint Cyr l’école. The farm of Gally is located at the western end of the park of the Domaine de Versailles. It is about 3 km from the palace/museum. The farm of Gally is located between the l’Etoile Royale (in the north), the Allée Royal de Villepreux, and the Porte de Maintenon at Bailly (south). You can come here better with a car but if in Versailles bus line 17 of Transdev takes you close, Ligne 17 in about 17 minutes from the Versailles Rive Droite train station (closest to my neighborhood) on Maréchal Foch direction Grille de Maintenon you get off here and walk just a couple minutes to the farm entrance on Route de Saint-Cyr. By car take the Route de Versailles, D10 along the Orangerie on your right and the pièce d’eau des Suisses on your left, and continue direction Saint Cyr l’école until the junction with the D7 road still direction St Cyr l’école and you will see the panels for the farm on your right hand side in 6 km! from in front of the palace/museum.
There are 3 boutiques now and many more but I will concentrate on the original and my fav place to go egg hunting in Easter with the boys or just shopping there and collecting fruits and vegetables by hand ! As well as a small petting farm with domestic animals! Open from Monday to Sunday without interruption from 9h30 to 19h. Open during school holidays and holidays at regular times. And the nice Café gally entrance at Rue du Doctor Vaillant (D7) . As with today’s world check the times before coming ok
A bit of history I like
Gally is first of all the history of the Laureau family, a farmer here since 1746. And at this time purveyors to the kings at Versailles. Today, brothers Dominique and Xavier Laureau, the custodians of the transmitted know-how, have diversified their traditional activities and bring their expertise in the field of plants in the service of individuals and companies.
The name of Gally would refer to the quality of the soils in the vicinity of the brook now the stream of Gally and the marshy area that was Versailles before the clearing for the castle. The brook which takes its source in the Grand Canal of Versailles and which runs off to the west of the Plain of Versailles. Gally’s farm was first a priory, attached to the abbey of Sainte-Geneviève in Paris. The earliest written record recorded to date on the existence of the Priory of Gally comes from a bull of Pope Alexander III, written in 1163. In 1663 and 1675, king Louis XIV, residing at the Château de Versailles, encompassed the lands of Trianon and Musseloue, redeemed from the Abbaye de Sainte-Geneviève. Gally’s Farm then entered the royal estate while the king arranged the surroundings of the small park. The entire land of the Gally farm became the property of the king in 1684, when Abbé Emanuel de Sainte-Geneviève sold the remaining 319 ares.
In 1806, Napoleon I , bought the estate of Gally, after having set up the conservation of the Royal estate. As a result, Gally’s farm experiencing a revival in its agricultural operation, especially since the royal hunting no longer prevented agricultural work. New buildings have appeared over the centuries, depending on the needs of the time and the wishes of the different owners. According to the experts’ estimates some buttresses and columns could date from the 10C. The shepherd’s house dates from the 11C. The west façade of the farmhouse corresponds to the priory and dates from the late 11C or early 12C. The skylights and some buttresses date back to the 13C. The sheep herd dates from the 15C. The old barn dates back to the 17C. Gally’s farm remains to this day one of the oldest built ensembles, still active in this part of the west of Paris.
Today, the farm is divided into 4 sectors of activity: self-service harvesting of more than 40 ha composed of an orchard and a vegetable garden; The “Open Farm”, an educational farm allowing children to approach and familiarize themselves with animals (cows, horses, pigs, chickens, ducks, goats) and discover nature through fun and practical workshops (making juice of apples, bread and butter, extraction of honey from the hive, work around animal footprints, gardening sessions); Finally a garden center. You can also buy fresh products at the shop, where you find a coffee shop, which of course only cooks products from the farm. One can finally participate in cooking courses, or for the younger ones to organize there its birthday. An original address very popular in the beautiful days.
Some webpages to help you plan your trip here are:
The official current group of farms as les Fermes de Gally: https://www.lesfermesdegally.com/
The official Gally’s farm of St Cyr l’école: https://www.gally.com/
The Paris tourist office on the Ferme de Gally: https://en.parisinfo.com/paris-museum-monument/103284/Ferme-de-Gally-Saint-Cyr
The Yvelines dept 78 tourist board on the Ferme de Gally: http://www.sortir-yvelines.fr/Loisirs/Loisirs-dans-les-Yvelines/ferme-pedagogique-cueillette/ferme-pedagogique-Gally-Saint-cyr-Ecole
There you go a nice side trip from Versailles and you thought it is only the palace/museum right ! There is a whole world to discover in Versailles and surrounding royal areas indeed. Hope you enjoy the post on the Ferme de Gally as I; and it is good for the entire family.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 
Leave a Reply