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© OTI SGBS
With 50 kilometers of banks along the Seine, more than 5000 hectares of national forests, a cultural and architectural heritage with a national scope, the tourist destination “Saint Germain Boucles de Seine”, from the eponymous conurbation, has many assets.
The blue of the Seine, the green of the forest, the white stones, the yellow of the Sun King… the territory offers a range of multiple colors. Its zone stretches on 19 cities around the Seine axis, with an immediate access to Paris.
It offers very diverse cultural and natural themes:
Impressionism with spots that inspired many painters, like Renoir, Monet, Sisley, Pissaro… In addition to the paths signaling the sights painted by these artists, the Impressionists’ island offers, alongside the Fournaise Museum and House, testimonies and atmosphere of the prosperous era of the Seine banks during the second half of the XIXth century. The Grenouillère Museum in Croissy, the former open-air dance hall of this era, revisits the Belle Epoque way of life. Commented cruises give another take on these places. The offer of the Impressionists region can get into an overall service including a tour with two other major sites: Giverny and Auvers-sur-Oise.
In the heart of history with royal cities. Saint-Germain-en-Laye and Marly-le-Roi figure up among the most well-known royal residences. The legacy includes the castle of Saint-Germain-en-Laye and the private mansions in its city center as well as the Promenade-Museum, the Castle of the Countess Du Barry and the Music Pavilion in Louveciennes. The national estates of Marly-le-Roi and Saint-Germain-en-Laye preserve the perspectives, terraces, statuaries and basins of the royal period. Theme tours, which include the National Museum of Port-Royal des Champs in Magny-les-Hameaux and the military high school of Saint-Cyr, are possible.
Artists’ houses. Authentic, intimate, warm, the mansions of Alexandre Dumas or Claude Debussy recreate the environment surrounding these characters which have marked their century; plate collections, paintings and personal objects allow a review of these distinguished figures.
The offer of strolls in the nature at the gateway of Paris with the forests of Saint-Germain-en-Laye and Marly-le-Roi, the former estate for royal hunting, provides an amazing variety of activities: hiking, horse-riding, biking, and even a carriage ride. Five golf courses complement the leisure offer. In Chambourcy, the Retz Desert is today one of the last British-Chinese gardens of the Enlightenment Age whereas Le Vésinet, a city-park is a residential “classified site”.
Accommodation and catering
Various accommodations from four-stars hotels, « Relais et Châteaux » (in castles), to charming bed and breakfast, are adapted to groups, as well as a wide range of restaurants offering all kinds of cooking, from Michelin-starred to outdoor restaurants.
Qualified tourist services
The inter-communal tourist office of Saint Germain Boucles de Seine (under EPIC status), comprises a team of 8 agents and about fifteen accredited guide-lecturers equally able to answer all kinds of demands of group offers. From the package turnkey, to custom-made creations, it forms the best guarantee for quality services at negotiable prices.
From 02/05 to 30/09, daily between 10 am and 6 pm. Monday: 2 pm to 6 pm
Tuesday to Friday: 10 am to 1 pm, then 2 pm to 6 pm
Saturday: 10 am to 6 pm
Sundays and bank holidays: 9 am to 1 pm.
From 01/10 to 01/05, every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday between 10 am and 5.30 pm. Tuesday to Friday: 10.30 am to 12.30 pm, then 1.30 pm to 5.30 pm
Saturday: 10.30 am to 6 pm
Closed on Sundays, Mondays and bank holidays.
