I bring you back to my former region Île de France, and a familiar town. It is an off the beaten path area that should be visited more, and I look forward to be back, eventually. I found me new pics in my cd rom vault that should be in my blog for you and me, Therefore, let me tell you about this is Meudon !!! Hope you enjoy it as I,
The town of Meudon is located in the Hauts-de-Seine department 92 in the Île-de-France region of my belle France, The town, best known for its forest and its observatory , has also been home to numerous personalities, such as Auguste Rodin, Richard Wagner, Louis Ferdinand Céline, Pascal Manoukian, Ambroise Paré, and Armande Béjart. The town is located on the left bank of the Seine, 9.5 km from Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, the zero point of France’s roads. 3.5 km from Boulogne-Billancourt, 4 km from the Porte du Bas Meudon (Quai d’Issy), 3 km from the Porte de Saint-Cloud. Also, 3 km from Issy-les-Moulineaux, 4 km from Clamart, 8 km from Vélizy-Villacoublay, 10 km from Versailles,and 468 km from my current home, We came from Versailles along the Avenue de Paris or D10 road ,this road becomes the D910 continue bearing right into the Rue du Pavé des Gardes or D181 road to Meudon rond point bear right into the D406 continue to your left hand side ,the Hangar Y.
The town of Meudon benefits from several major road axes: mainly the N 118 which crosses the Meudon forest, connecting the Sèvres bridge to the A10 autoroute, and the A86, the Île-de-France ring road, interchanging with the N 118 at the Vélizy 2 shopping center, near the town. The Route de Vaugirard or D7 road crosses Meudon along the Seine. This road connects the Paris ring road via the Quai d’Issy and the Porte du Bas-Meudon to the towns of the Val de Seine (Sèvres, Saint-Cloud, Suresnes, the La Défense business district, etc.). The Pavé des Gardes road (D 181) is a historic winding road used by the royal armies to travel from Paris to the Palace of Versailles. It crosses Meudon from Meudon-sur-Seine to the Meudon Forest, passing through the Bellevue district. The Rue de la République and then the Avenue de Trivaux (D 406) connects the city center of Meudon to the Meudon-la-Forêt district, passing through the Meudon Forest. In the forest, this winding road, known as the “7 Turns,” was notably used by cyclists during the 2014 Tour de France, Not use here but the RER C via the Invalides line to Versailles-Rive-Gauche, serves Meudon-Val-Fleury station. The Train line N via the Paris-Montparnasse line to Brest and the Meudon viaduct, serves Meudon and Bellevue stations. This line serves Paris-Montparnasse, Rambouillet, Plaisir-Grignon, and Mantes-la-Jolie.
The airship hangar Y, the last monument of the Universal Exhibition and first airship factory is open since 2023, Hangar Y, after 70 years of neglect, the mythical building aeronautical site is being transformed. At Hangar Y ,a new space that brings together exhibitions, outdoor works of art and workshops, in a place with a unique history. The first airship hangar in the world becomes a new place of life and culture hosting exhibitions, an outdoor art trail, but also numerous workshops, heart of a space of more than 9 hectares.
Built in 1879 from parts of the Machine Gallery at the World’s Fair, Hangar Y has long served as a place to test, store and manufacture airships. It subsequently hosted the first Air and Space Museum, but also many large-scale artistic projects. In 1963, the painter Marc Chagall moved there, for example, with his assistants to assemble his 220 m2 ceiling created for the Paris Opera. In 2003, the hangar was transformed into a military hospital to shoot several scenes for the film Un long dimanche de fiançailles, or A Long Sunday Engagement with Audrey Tautou and Gaspard Ulliel. Hangar Y offers an exceptional view and light punctuated by works by some twenty international artists such as Christian Boltanski, Sarah Lucas, Shilpa Gupta, Ernesto Neto, Wang Keping, Pascale Marthine Tayou, Ugo Rondinone, Subodh Gupta or even Kiki Smith.
Installed on part of the vast domain of the royal castle of Meudon, the park includes a fragment of the historic garden designed by André Le Nôtre, official landscape designer of the Palace of Versailles under Louis XIV. In the middle, the Chalais basin offers us a peaceful setting, bordered by its historic reedbed and its pontoons that were once used by fishermen. An exceptional site which also hosts a children’s playground, picnic tables and benches, ideal for lunch in a friendly and bucolic atmosphere. Hangar Y is located at 9, avenue de Trivaux , Park open Monday to Friday from 10h to 20h and from 10h to 22h on Saturday and Sunday, Exhibitions open Saturday, Sunday and school holidays from 10h to 20h.
Other things to see in Meudon, me think, are : The National Estate, a former royal domain that includes the Château de Meudon, the Observatory, the Orangery, the terraces of Meudon, and the Saint-Martin Church. The Museum of Art and History is housed in the former home of Armande Béjart, actress and widow of Molière. The earliest traces of this building date back to the 15C. It was notably occupied in the 16C by Ambroise Paré. The Dauphin’s Vegetable Garden, the former vegetable garden of the royal estate of the Château de Meudon, has been extensively modified. It is located below the Avenue du Château. The historic Pavé des Gardes road, which connects Paris to Versailles, runs through Meudon-sur-Seine and Meudon Bellevue. The Château de Bellevue, built by Louis XV for Madame de Pompadour, has been demolished. Only rare traces remain , The Charles Schacher villa located at 11 bis rue des Capucins , The viaduct or Hélène bridge, built during the construction of the railway line, linking Montparnasse station to Versailles station. The Imperial Cedar located at 11 rue de la République (formerly rue Napoléon) was planted around 1800 thanks to the passion for cedars of Joséphine de Beauharnais. The tree fascinated Eugénie de Montijo, empress of the French Spanish wife of Napoléon III, The Meudon observatory, a branch of the Paris observatory founded in 1877 on the ruins of the Château-Neuf. Rodin’s tomb, along with his house, the Villa des Brillants, have become a museum featuring many of the artist’s works. The Solar Tower is located near the château and was built by the Paris Observatory.
A bit of history I like tell us that the oldest known lord of Meudon is the knight Erkenbold, in 1180. In the Middle Ages, the history of Meudon is deeply linked to the Meudon family, a family of the very ancient French nobility. In 1539, the land of Meudon belonged to Cardinal Antoine Sanguin, who left it to his niece Anne de Pisseleu, mistress of Francis I. Anne sold Meudon to Cardinal Charles of Lorraine in the 16C. On his return from the Council of Trent, he brought the first four Capuchins seen in France and had them build a convent. In 1695, Louis XIV bought Meudon for his eldest son, the Grand Dauphin, who built a second château there from 1706. In 1718, the Château de Meudon belonged to the Duchess of Berry, daughter of the Regent, and in 1726 the estate was reunited with the crown. During the French revolution, the town temporarily bore the name of Rabelais. In 1795, a fire damaged the old château, which was then demolished from 1803. Napoleon I restored the other, and Marie-Louise stayed there with her son during the Russian campaign. The Duke of Orléans and Marshal Soult lived there successively. After the accession of Napoleon III, the castle was occupied by Princes Jerome and Jérôme Napoléon Bonaparte. The new castle, erected by the Grand Dauphin, son of Louis XIV, burned down a few days after the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871. It was transformed into an observatory in 1877. The famous vaudeville author Eugène Scribe and Richard Wagner, who composed The Flying Dutchman there, lived in Meudon in the 19C. In 1884, the first fully controlled flight of an airship took place in Meudon.
The official Hangar Y: https://hangar-y.com/
The City of Meudon on the Hangar Y: https://www.meudon.fr/mes-loisirs/culture/hangar-y/
The Île de France region tourist office on the Hangar Y : https://www.visitparisregion.com/en/hangar-y
The City of Meudon on its heritage : https://www.meudon.fr/ma-ville/decouvrir-meudon-presentation-de-la-ville/histoire-et-patrimoine/
The Hauts de Seine dept 92 tourist office on Meudon : https://destination.hauts-de-seine.fr/promenade-meudon.html
There you go folks, again another dandy in my former region of Île de France, This is one town that needs to be visited more ,still off beaten path mode but worth the detour, It is sublime, and darn good to be at. Again, hope you enjoy this post on this is Meudon !!! as I,
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 