I was looking in my cd rom vault and found me a picture that for the memories’s sake need to have in my blog for you and me, This is not your usual tourist destination, but worth the detour for its wonderful promenades along the Seine river. For me it was a brief stop picking my boys from their elementary school further in Verneuil sur Seine (see post) before putting them in private school by Versailles ; memories forever, Therefore, here is my take on this is Villennes sur Seine !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I.
The town of Villennes-sur-Seine is located in the Yvelines department no, 78 ,in the Île-de-France region of my belle France, sitting along the left bank of the Seine river. The municipal territory includes an island in the Seine, the Île de Villennes, occupied by a private housing development. The town is located 28 km from Paris, 22 km from Versailles,28 km from Mantes la Jolie, and 10 km from Saint-Germain-en-Laye, the town is served by the A13 and A14 autoroutes or highways, the interchange between which is located south of Villennes, in Orgeval. accessible via exit/sortie 7 on the A13 highway to A14, Poissy, Chambourcy, Villennes, Orgeval, The town is also connected by the D153 which connects Poissy to the A13 highway and the D 113. The D 164, which connects the D 153 to Médan via the city center of Villennes. And the D 154, which connects the D 113 to Vernouillet. A glorious territory many times taken, memories forever.
I came here from Versailles via Bd de la Reine right on the Bd du Roi (D186 road) left on place de la Loi continue on same road into Bd Saint Antoine go over the loop of the A13 to get on it dir Rouen get off at exit/sortie 7 onto the D113 dir Orgeval then quick right into the D153 dir Poissy but bear left onto Avenue du Général Charles de Gaulle dir Villennes sur Seine ,the road becomes the Avenue Georges Clemenceau ,then right on Rue du Port and a quick right on Allée Franz Schubert to the train station parking, However, one of the few fewer towns/cities in France that I have, also, come by train briefly stopping.
The Gare de Villennes-sur-Seine train station sits on Transilien Line J, connecting the Paris-Saint-Lazare, Vernon – Giverny, Les Mureaux and Mantes-la-Jolie stations. It is located on the Paris-Saint-Lazare line to Le Havre. This line opened in May 1843, but the first stops at Villennes sur Seine stop date from 1844. The first real station opened in 1880. The current station opened in 1911 and was modernized in 2001. It follows Poissy and precedes Vernouillet – Verneuil stations. The ticket office has magnetic loops for the hearing impaired. A drinks dispenser is available in the waiting room. The Art Nouveau-style passenger building, built in 1911 based on the plans of the old Clamart station, demolished in 1972, is a small building built around a concourse lit on both sides by a glass roof under a gable roof with a ribbed ceiling perpendicular to the wings on either side. A pretty nice little station of many nice memories.
Other things to see here with more time are the Church of Saint-Nicolas, a stone church in the Romanesque style dating from the 11C. During the Hundred Years’ War, it was partially destroyed. The bell tower was built at the end of the 16C; the portal dates from 1875. During the revolutionary period, the church served as a place for public meetings. The artificial grotto: located in Fauvel Park, it is the work of the landscaper Varé, designer of the former park of the Château de Villennes, now disappeared, into a romantic garden. The Physiopolis estate: in 1927, two doctor brothers, Gaston and André Durville, created the Physiopolis estate on the island of Platais. They thus gave free rein to their philosophy: life in harmony with nature and the development of the body through exercise. They are the precursors of naturism. The old castle of Vilennes, dating from the 13C, extensively remodeled in the 15C, then in the 18-19C, The castle of Perdrier-Brinon: the first castle was built by Henri Perdrier in the 15C. Partly destroyed after the French revolution, it was razed by the Viscount of Osmond who rebuilt a new one on the same site. Demolished after the war of 1914-1918, only the left wing and the pediment of the central building remain today, as well as the English river and the kiosks of the English garden. The castle existing in the 17-18C should not be confused with the one built at the very beginning of the 19C, of which photographs have been preserved. The latter castle was located right next to the stables, while the castle known in the 17C was located a little further north.
A bit of history I like tell us that the parish of Villennes was created in 1007. The construction of the Saint-Nicolas Church began in the 11C and was completed in the 12tC under the initiative of the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés in Paris. On December 28, 1814, an arch of the old bridge collapsed. The mill was partially destroyed. The Seine then became the primary means of public transport until the construction of the railway. During WWII, the area was occupied by the nazis. In July 1944, a Luftwaffe plane crashed into the Marolles farm, killing the couple who lived there. The town was liberated by the American army on August 25, 1944, after an ambush by the nazis army against local resistance fighters.
The town of Villennes sur Seine on its heritage : https://www.ville-villennes-sur-seine.fr/index.php/-Le-patrimoine?idpage=36&afficheMenuContextuel=true
The SNCF gare de Villennes train station : https://www.garesetconnexions.sncf/en/stations-services/villennes-seine
The Transilien local IDF transports on the gare de Villennes sur Seine : https://www.transilien.com/fr/gare/villennes-sur-seine-8738664
The local Terres de Seine tourist office on Villennes sur Seine : https://www.terres-de-seine.fr/?s=villennes+sur+seine
There you folks, I feel better now, to give credit to another nice spot in my world. This is Villennes sur Seine in my former wonderful Yvelines, all appreciative of knowing them and remember well. Again, hope you enjoy this post on this is Villennes sur Seine !!! as I.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 