Back at you to update this older post on one of the most if not the most famous street of my dear Versailles, Again here is glorious and as said, Versailles is a lot more than the palace, The city is a treasure vault of historical, architectural wonders and the best way is to walk it; the city is not big, easily walkable. Therefore, let me tell you about the Avenue de Paris of Versailles !!! Hope you enjoy it as I.
We all cross it, walk it ,and things to do , the grand the beautiful and the architecturally stunning if you look closely Avenue de Paris , The avenue is the old royal road that connected the palace of Versailles with the palace of the Louvre in Paris, In fact as you go by car as I, you come into Versailles on the Avenue de Paris and come into Paris on the Avenue de Versailles ; the now D910 or D10 road !! The Avenue de Paris was created in 1682, the central axis of the Trident set up by Jules Hardouin-Mansart (avenues of Sceaux, Paris, Saint Cloud). One of the widest avenues of France (97 meters). The avenue was planted with a double mail of elms then replaced by sycamore trees due to elm disease.
And yes it is walkable, worth the effort me think, you should try it, A wonderful sights of architecturally and historically stunning buildings along the way, Enjoy the Avenue de Paris of Versailles !!!
The main things you can see, me think are :
At No. 1: Grande Ecurie (stables) of the king. Now houses the city’s Archives open (Consultation room) from Tuesday to Friday from 14h to 17h45 amongst many others see other post. The reason why it is shown in the Avenue de Paris, as the Petite Ecurie done to the Place d’Armes. N 2 bis: Old Porch (Pullman Hotel) remains of the artillery barracks created by Napoleon III (see the N of Napoleon on the entrance door and the Napoleonic Eagle on the entrance to the Avenue du Général-de-Gaulle). The barracks was destroyed in 1988 to make way for the shopping district of the Les Ménages (where you can buy tickets for the Château). N 3: central Post Office building . N ° 4 Hôtel de Ville (city/town hall) of Versailles, ( a must to visit you can) former hotel of the Princess of Conti (Marie-Anne de Bourbon, daughter of Louis XIV and the Marquise de Lavaliere), and then of the Grand masters of the castle. The lower part overlooking the avenue of General de Gaulle dates from the reign of Louis XIV and was the first city/town hall. The more imposing part, Neo Louis XIII style and overlooking the Avenue de Paris, dated 1897-1900. N 6: Carved portal of the Hotel des gendarmerie de la garde de Louis XV, built in 1737 , barracks until 1908 and current departmental department of Tax Services restored in 2014. Concentrate in its upper part, mainly around the bull’s eye, the carved decor is made up of military trophy falls (with armour and helmets of wars), garlands of flowers, fins and shells, whose finesse and richness make it a masterpiece of rocaille stone art. It bears the motto of the gendarmes of the guard of the King: “Quo Jubet iratus Jupiter” or where Jupiter furiously orders. N 11-13 Préfecture of Versailles (dept government of Yvelines). Succeeding in 1792 at the Vénerie (the King’s hunting kennel) and at the narrow rue des Reservoirs, the former hotel of the department, then prefecture in 1800, was inaugurated in 1867. The prefecture was occupied in 1870 by the King of Prussia and his staff, then by Adolphe Thiers, Mac-Mahon and Jules Grevy as hotel of the Presidency of the French Republic until 1879. The prefecture and the Yvelines General Council have been occupying the premises since 1880. N 15: School of Music founded by Emile Cousin in 1878 (then transferred to Rue de Jouvencel). N 19: Police hotel in place of the old monumental stables of the Countess du Barry mistress of Louis XV, built in 1772, then owned by the Comte de Provence brother of Louis XVI , and himself later Louis XVIII . The buildings housed the lancers of Napoleon’s Imperial Guard who were killed in Waterloo, then the Montbauron barracks. They are now home to the police station. N 21: The old hotel of the Countess du Barry, built in 1751, and today Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Val d’Oise (95) and Yvelines(78) since 1937.
At N ° 22 the hotel Menus Plaisirs. This hotel was raised by Louis XV and occupied by the administration of the Menus-Plaisirs between 1739 and 1745. It housed the workshops of sets and the material of the Games and shows related to the festivities of the King and the court. A provisional room hosted the assembly of Notables in 1787-88, and finally the deputies summoned to the States General on May 5, 1789 by the King. It was in this room that the abolition of privileges and the declaration of Human and Citizen Rights were voted on. It was bought and demolished in 1800. The hotel became a cavalry barracks, then the technical services of the city were lodged from 1942 to 1988. Since 1987, it houses the Center of Baroque Music of Versailles which produces concerts and shows in France and abroad and brings together a research center and a singing school. No. 28: Prison for women. It was installed in 1789 at the site of a former boarding school built in 1750. Then the state bought it in 1857 and enlarged the place in 1860. N 31: Lycée Jean-de-la-Bruyère, (high school) named after the moralistic writer who died in Versailles in 1696. It was named in 1962. N 38-40: Chamber of Notaries. Hotel of the time of Louis XVI. N 63 Pavillon de Provence, former residence of Monsieur, brother of the king and king Louis XVIII was born here. From 1922 to 1940, the abode housed the eastern Normal School of Daughters of the Universal Israelite Alliance. From 1946 to 1962, it was taken over by the children’s relief work and welcomed Elie Wiesel, the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986. N 68: Convent of Solitude belonging to the Sisters of Notre-Dame du Cénacle. This building associated with an English park of the late 17C, reworked in the 19C, belonged to the Earl of Vergennes, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Louis XVI from 1775 to 1787. N 70: Lycée Marie Curie, (high school) named after the French physicist and chemist, of Polish origin, who received twice the Nobel Prize for her research on radiation and radium in 1903 and 1911. N 73 Domaine de Madame Elizabeth.(see post) Owned by the community of Célestins monks, having been redeemed and built by the Prince and Princess of Rohan-Guéméné, then by Louis XVI, it was given as a gift to his sister who was later guillotined in 1792. Manufacture of watchmaking at the French revolution. The Yvelines General Council bought it in 1983 as well as the Orangerie in 1997. In 2016, the park designed in the English way before the revolution, allows to appreciate a remarkable collection of native and exotic forest species such as American oak, purple beech, lime tree, sycamore trees etc, a garden of aromatic plants and demonstrations of permaculture and a pet park. N 89 Reliefs above the door of the Vauban School, made in 1957; They represent Le Nôtre and Vauban.
At N 90 bis: Old ponds where the stream of Madame Elisabeth’s English park was poured. Then replaced by a rose garden in the Truffaut nurseries, then by the residence of the Roseraie. At N 93: Robert de Montesquiou-Fezensac , one of the personalities of the Literary and Social Society of the late 19C, was a tenant from 1894. In particular, he received Marcel Proust and Sarah Bernhardt. N 109-109 bis: Congregation of the Servant Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. N 111 Parc Chauchard with the picturesque and vast music pavilion of Madame, Countess of Provence, sister-in-law of Louis XVI and wife of Louis XVIII, built around 1780. This pavilion is associated with a small enclosed rectangular garden at the end of which is the statue of Alfred Chauchard. Madame’s park was cut in two in the French revolution, one that later became the Lycée Sainte-Geneviève (1913 high school), the other for several successive owners, including the last Alfred Chauchard, founder of the department stores of the Louvre in Paris, which was the place for his most deserving workers who became owners in 1902.
In 1824, the city built, on the orders of the Marquis de la Londe, mayor of the 3rd arrondissement of Seine et Oise, pavilions to collect the grant, the Grille d’Octroi . Thus the avenue de Paris is equipped at the entrance to Versailles on either side of the central artery with two pavilions. Iron gates spanning the entire width of Avenue de Paris were also installed. These pavilions and gates made it possible to control the passage of goods and to tax them. The building on the left when coming from Paris contained the collection office while the building on the right was used to house the attendants. As the grant had become a tax that hampered the development of economic activity, the city decided to abolish it in February 1943 and replace it with the collection of local taxes. The buildings are therefore decommissioned and the gates removed. Finally, the crossroads was redeveloped in 1993 to make it safer, while the pavilions were saved and today form a symbolic entrance into the city. Around it you have the square or Place Louis XIV, and here finishes the Avenue de Paris on the edge of the town of Viroflay.
The Mayor’s office of the City of Versailles :https://www.versailles.fr/38/mairie/mairie-de-versailles.htm
The Versailles tourist office on its heritage :https://en.versailles-tourisme.com/visiting-the-city.html
There you go folks, a little bit of my beloved Versailles, a town full of history of France and the world, that needs more personal and up close attention by you all. Like I said, Versailles is a lot more than the palace !! Again, hope you enjoy the post as I,
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 