This is first region of France that I saw and many do it too, It hold so many souvenirs of my first encounter with France, the Île de France region is a must. I have so much written on it in my blog on many monuments do read them, This post will be in my black and white series no pictures, Therefore, here is my take on the Île de France region !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I.
The Île-de-France is a very densely populated region, representing 18.8% of the population of metropolitan France on just 2.2% of its land area, making it the most populated , and most densely populated region in France. It is heavily centered on the Paris metropolitan area, which covers 23.5% of the region’s surface area but is home to 88.4% of its population. The region borders five other French regions: Hauts-de-France to the north, Grand Est to the east, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté to the southeast, Centre-Val de Loire to the southwest, and Normandy to the west. Among the region’s most important forests are Fontainebleau, Rambouillet, Montmorency, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, and Sénart.
The Paris Metro: 16 lines operated by the RATP, serving central Paris and the inner suburbs. It opened in 1900 and last read has 321 stations and 245 km of track. In 1969, the first section of the regional metro, the future RER, was inaugurated: this new line, fully electrified, connected Nation to Boissy-Saint-Léger. The following year, a direct, high-capacity rail link between Étoile and La Défense was opened, ten years after construction began on the new business district. It was extended to the new Auber station in the Opéra quartier/neighborhood in 1972, then westward to Saint-Germain-en-Laye, incorporating part of the historic line in 1973. In 1977, the crossing of Paris by the new RER A was completed with the link between the Auber and Châtelet – Les Halles stations, while a new branch towards Marne-la-Vallée was built. At the same time, the Sceaux line serving the Chevreuse Valley and the southeast of the Hauts-de-Seine was extended to the new heart of the network at Les Halles and became the RER B. The RER B runs to Roissy CDG Airport, while the RER A runs to the new town of Cergy-Pontoise. The RER C connects the suburban networks of the Invalides and Austerlitz stations from 1979, then the Montmorency Valley in 1988. The RER D line, connecting the Gare de Lyon network to Les Halles and the Plaine de France district in the north, opened in 1987; followed by the RER E, designed to relieve some of the traffic on the RER A, which opened in 2024.
In 1990, the tramways, which had been completely abandoned and whose last tram had run in Paris in 1937, were revived in a more modern form, with more comfortable and fully electrified vehicles. The T1 line, in the city, was the first section, newly built on roads previously reserved for cars. The T2 line largely taking over the unprofitable “Moulineaux line” from 1997 onwards, was a success, and a similar conversion was carried out in the tramway line 4 for the “Coquetiers line.” The T3 tramway is gradually replacing the PC bus, with the current T3a and T3b lines. A cable car line, also was built above Créteil,
The road network in the Île-de-France region comprises approximately 800 km of highways. There are about ten radial highways: the main ones being the Autoroute du Soleil (Dijon, Lyon, Marseille), the Autoroute du Nord (Lille), the Autoroute de Normandie (Rouen, Caen, Le Havre), the Autoroute de l’Est (Reims, Metz, Nancy, Strasbourg), and the Autoroutes Aquitaine and Océane (Nantes, Bordeaux, Rennes), as well as concentric highways: the périphérique or ring road encircles Paris, the A86 for the inner suburbs, and the Francilienne or A104.
The Île-de-France region has three airports: Paris-Le Bourget Airport (visit): historically the first airport, too close to the city center, is now reserved for business aviation; Paris-Orly Airport (used): created after the Second World War, it is intended for domestic traffic and for serving Southern Europe and North Africa; Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport (used most): the most recent (1974), now handles the majority of international traffic and freight. Paris also has a heliport, located in the 15th arrondissement but south of the Boulevard Périphérique (ring road), on the border with the town of Issy-les-Moulineaux, hence its name (Paris-Issy-les-Moulineaux Heliport). The site is operated by Aéroports de Paris (ADP).
Under the monarchy, there was, administratively, a military government, directly under the authority of the King of France. The Généralité of Paris, another administrative entity of the Ancien Régime headed by an intendant, had boundaries that did not coincide with those of the government. Following the French revolution, it was divided into five departments: Seine, Seine-et-Oise, Seine-et-Marne, Oise, and Aisne. The region was reconstituted after 1945 from the first three, and administrative decentralization beginning in 1964, followed by political decentralization in 1982, consolidated the former provinces. Like other French administrative entities of the time, its official recognition was abolished in 1789 with the establishment of the departments. The city of Paris (75) constitutes a department in itself, in the center; Hauts-de-Seine (92) to the west; Seine-Saint-Denis (93) to the northeast; and Val-de-Marne (94) to the southeast. Most of the former Seine-et-Oise department, which bore the number 78, was divided into three departments which, along with Seine-et-Marne, form the outer ring of the Île-de-France region: Val-d’Oise (95), further northwest; Yvelines (78), further west; and Essonne (91), further south. Seine-et-Marne (77), to the east, remains unchanged, thus becoming the largest department in Île-de-France. Today, it comprises eight departments: Essonne, Hauts-de-Seine, Paris, Seine-Saint-Denis, Seine-et-Marne, Val-de-Marne, Val-d’Oise, and Yvelines. The regional council administers the Île-de-France region. It is headquartered in Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine, at 2 rue Simone Veil, and has been chaired since 2015 by Valérie Pécresse (party Soyons libres).
There is so much to see will need more than a blog or book, see my many posts on the monuments here, For short, the Île-de-France region is the cradle of Gothic architecture. Evidence of Renaissance architecture can also be found as well as classical and neoclassical, Romano-Byzantine, Hispano-Moorish, and Flamboyant Romanesque. Modern and contemporary architecture is well represented as well The region currently has eight cities of Art and History: Paris, Boulogne-Billancourt, Étampes, Rambouillet, Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, Pontoise, Meaux and Noisiel. It has four historical and tourist routes: the historic route of the writer’s houses, the Normandy-Vexin route, the François 1er route and the Impressionists route. It has 4 most beautiful gardens in France: Château de Breteuil, Château de Saint-Jean-de-Beauregard, Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte, and the Domaine de Courson. Four sites are classified as UNESCO: the banks of the Seine in Paris, the Palace and Park of Fontainebleau, the Palace and Park of Versailles and the medieval fair town of Provins.
The official Conseil régional d’Île-de-France on the heritage : https://www.iledefrance.fr/decouvrir-la-richesse-du-patrimoine
The official regional préfecture on the Île de France regon on its history : https://www.prefectures-regions.gouv.fr/ile-de-france/Region-et-institutions/Portrait-de-la-region
The Île de France region tourist office : https://www.visitparisregion.com/en
There you go folks, a dandy beautiful glorious Île de France region, you are here, you must be here period, The first region I saw in France thanks to my wonderfully nice dear late wife Martine !!! There is so much to see and do here, Hemingway should had written a second book, France is a mouvable feast !!! Again, hope you enjoy this unique post on the Île de France region !!! as I
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 