Once again in my road warrior travels in my belle France, we have been to some real off the beaten path sites and we love it. There is so much to see we are afraid not seen it all after our time is up. In the meantime, we are having a ball encountering these hidden beauties. Another gem out of the vault and pictures to show you all. Therefore, let me tell you about the Maison du Parc of Théméricourt !! Hope you enjoy it as I.
I have written on the national regional park of the Vexin in general before but this is unique spot deserves a post on its own. The Maison du Parc is the head office of the French Vexin Regional Natural Park or Le parc naturel régional du Vexin français covering 98 towns in the departments of Val d’Oise (95) and Yvelines (78). The Maison du Parc is installed in the castle of Théméricourt, fortified house and residential residence of the 15C, typical of French Vexin. In the heart of a 6-hectare park with a pond fed by Aubette de Meulan, The castle outbuildings house the French Vexin museum which offers visitors a journey through history and nature.
The Château de Théméricourt, probably built by Philippe de Théméricourt in the second half of the 15C, has retained its initial plan with two main buildings arranged at right angles and flanked by four turrets topped with pepper shaker roofs. The north and west facades of the castle have retained their original severity. They contrast widely with those open to the park, which, apart from the central turret, remain marked by classicism. The castle grounds have evolved a lot since the 18C. The French garden was succeeded, it seems in the middle of the 19C, by a park with a pond fed by the Aubette de Meulan. In 1984, when Jean-Claude Duvalier, ex-dictator of Haiti bought the castle, he modified all of the volumes by knocking down all the partitions. It was therefore in an empty hull state that the castle was purchased in 1992 by the Val d’Oise departmental council to install the Maison du Parc Naturel Régional du Vexin Français.
Visitors looking for information on tourism and leisure are welcomed at the Musée du Vexin Français. All the documentation on the surroundings is available there as well as many regional works offered in the museum shop. Installed in the outbuildings of the castle, it presents over 400 m² the geographic, historical and heritage components of the territory through a fun and educational approach. The museum devotes different spaces to natural environments, flora and fauna, geology and landscapes of French Vexin, which it highlights by showing the film “Si le Vexin m’’é conté”. This living territory is also told through its men and traditions, like the Vasseur-Loiseaux collection, which reveals remarkable objects of folk art. The museum also has a shop with a wide choice of books, local products or local crafts.
There are various tips on coming by bus or train but never done it and it seems only the 95-23 does it from Cergy-Pontoise to Théméricourt. This is the dept 95 Val d’Oise lots of memories as my dear late wife Martine took bus here at Cergy Pontoise ,the 95-20 to CDG for work , Choices by train,never taken, but for tourist nice route me think the best would be the Vallée de l’Oise Line SNCF Paris Nord > Pontoise > Persan-Beaumont (Transilien line H). Stops/ Arrêts at Chaponval, Auvers-sur-Oise, Valmondois, L’Isle-Adam-Parmain, Champagne-sur-Oise. Now I came always by car;;; the park give you these choices: From Paris taking the A15 direction Rouen which becomes same road the D14,leave exit/ sortie 16. From Rouen on the D14, exit/sortie 16. From Mantes-la-Jolie, direction Magny-en-Vexin by the D983 road then follow signs for “Maison du Parc”. Now from me::: take the A15 direction Rouen which becomes D14 same road: get off at exit/sortie 16 direction D51 road Seraincourt but very quickly turn right on panel maison du parc to Théméricourt castle. If you put maison du parc or théméricourt on today’s GPS you should have no problems. always time for a break in beautiful country.
The Park Natural Regional of Vexin on the maison du parc : http://www.pnr-vexin-francais.fr/fr/le-parc/maison-du-parc/
The Park Natural Regional of Vexin pdf file with info and map : http://www.pnr-vexin-francais.fr/fichier/pnr_document/18/document_fichier_fr_carte_touristique.pdf
The town of Théméricourt on transports : https://www.themericourt.com/transports/
The transilien line H stop Pontoise then bus:; https://www.transilien.com/fr/page-lignes/ligne-h
There you go folks, another wonder of my belle France in the countryside, real beautiful nature and a wonderful looking castle with a museum, good for a day ,and we love it , Again, hope you enjoy this post on the Maison du Parc of Théméricourt as I.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 