Another gem and older picture found in my vault. This town we visited quite often while living in Versailles and working in Paris for 9 years, before moving west to the Morbihan breton! We came here for the ride, the shopping and our lunch. Therefore, it should be in my blog!! Let me tell you a bit more of the Quai des Marques of Franconville!!
The town of Franconville or Franconville-la-Garenne, the official name of the town, is located in the department of Val-d’Oise,95 in the Île-de-France region. 20 km from Paris, Its main roads are, from east to west, rue de l’Orme-Saint-Edme, rue de la Station, boulevard Maurice-Berteaux, rue du Plessis-Bouchard and, from the south to the north, rue du Général-Leclerc, boulevard Rhin-et-Danube and chaussée Jules-César.
The town is crossed by the A15 highway which connects Gennevilliers to Cergy, the A115 from Franconville to Méry-sur-Oise and Auvers-sur-Oise and the D14 road which connects Paris to Rouen via Pontoise and Vexin. Franconville is served by the Franconville – Le Plessis-Bouchard train station in town. The Paris – Pontoise line has been crossing the city since 1846, becoming Line H of the Transilien Paris-Nord connecting Gare du Nord to Pontoise. In addition, Franconville is serve by the RER C. I always came by here with my car.fyi
However, the main reason we came and found out about Franconville as we know it was the nice outlet mall 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. Here we came to see sales of some of our favorite stores such as Adidas, Arrow, Levi’s, Le Creuset, San Marina, Dim outlet, Charles le Golf, Lacoste and eateries Jeff de Bruges ! There are many other stores outside such as Ikea ,Culture , and C&A , as well as eateries such as Hippopotamus, Buffalo Grill , and the nostalgic (now closed) El Rancho tex-mex resto, Memories forever !!!
The official Quai des Marques of Franconville : https://www.quaidesmarques.com/franconville/
A bit of history I like, tell us that in the 11-12C, the land of Franconville was divided between various lords: the abbey of Saint-Denis, the barons of Montmorency but also the commandery of Cernay of the Templars. One of the vassals of the barons of Montmorency, Guillaume Bateste, is the first identified resident lord of Franconville. At the beginning of the 13C, he built a castle of modest dimensions near the current rue de Cormeilles. He is also credited with building the first church in Franconville. Finally, it was at this time that the Saint-Marc leper colony was founded, or malmaison, intended to accommodate lepers.
Over the 18C,Franconville even became a sought-after place of residence. Beautiful residences were built, including the Cadet-de-Vaux castle (1758). Wealthy families, bourgeois or noble, came to settle or stay there. Some famous residents or visitors have left a souvenir of their visit: the chemist Antoine-Alexis Cadet de Vaux, the American statesman Benjamin Franklin, the astronomer Jean-Dominique Cassini… The town of Franconville was born on Sunday August 12, 1787,
Some of the things to see here if more time are :
The Sainte-Madeleine Church, built from 1903 on the site of the former 15C sanctuary which was falling into ruin. The choir and the neo-Romanesque style transept were built first, the bell tower in the 1950s. Several degraded and unattractive stained glass windows were replaced in 1963, as was the missing rooster bell tower. The stained glass window that can be seen near the entrance to the church is that of the choir of the previous church on the same place, today 79 rue du Général-Leclerc.
The Cadet-de-Vaux Castle: Characteristic of the 18C, it was built by the Becquet family on a large plot of land. It was then acquired on August 22, 1788 by the scholar and philanthropist Antoine Alexis Cadet de Vaux who gave it his name. The Suger House: It was built around 1850 by the Baudouin family. After WWII, the Suger Foundation moved there and gave it its name. It gave way, following financial difficulties, to a private, open-air school, where the very young conductor Roberto Benzi would study, which closed its doors in 1970. Bought by the town of Franconville, it was renovated and it houses the municipal school of music, dance and dramatic art.
The city of Franconville on its heritage : https://www.ville-franconville.fr/ma-ville/bienvenue-a-franconville/
The agglo metro area of Val Parisis of which Franconville is member : https://www.valparisis.fr/territoire/franconville
There you go folks, another dandy spot in my belle France. A town full of wonderful family visits and great shopping of older days, always remembered with fondness. Quai des Marques of Franconville is worth the detour for good bargains from Paris. Hope you enjoy the post as I
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 
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