Val d Oise is a department of Ile de France.
Geography
Val-d’Oise is a department named after the Oise River. It comprises 2 national parks as well as urbanized parts like south-east and centre.
East of the department is formed by Plaine de France and south of the Montmorency valley.
There is a France’s main airport of Charles de Gaulle.
The most important cities are: Argenteuil, Montmorency, Cergy and Pontoise.
Towns
La Roche-Guyon grew around the Chateau de La Roche-Guyon. The medieval and 18th century chateau with its keep occupies a commanding position is set against the chalk cliffs overlooking the Seine valley and has born testimony to over 1,000 years of history.
Montmorency was the fief of the Montmorency family, one of the oldest and most distinguished families of the French nobility. From a very rugged terrain, Montmorency has become since the 17th Century a vacation sought which attracted many celebrities. The city has a beautiful hilltop view of Lake Enghien.
Pontoise is one of the capitals of the impressionist movement. Many painters took as a starting point the city and its area for the creation of landscapes. It has a beautiful Saint-Maclou de Pontoise cathedral dating back to 12th Century and 2 museums of sculpture and painting.
In Ecouen, the imposing Chateau is home to the Musee National de la Renaissance (the largest Renaissance museum in France) with an exceptional collection of 16th century tapestry, furniture and ceramics. It’s surrounded by 43 acres park. The town itself hosts a veriety of events all over the year.
In Auvers-sur-Oise you can take a trip in a wooden railway carriage through the countryside that inspired the impressionists, past the banks of the Seine and the Oise. The town is associated with several famous artists, the most prominent being Vincent van Gogh. The gallery of its painting and other 19th artists is places in the charming Chateau d’Auvers sur Oise.
Activities
The Val d’Oise has eight golf courses. You can ride in the Vexin, canoe on the Epte, paraglyde at Saint-Clair-sur-Epte or hike on the Route des Cretes which runs from La Roche-Guyon to Saint-Cyr-en-Arthies.
The other attraction include: aerokart, airshows, adventure land, bowling, casino and paintball centre.
Between the events not to be missed is the “Forges et Forgerons” exhibition in Archaological Museum and exhibitions of contemporary art. For the music enthusiast there are plenty of music festivals like Auvers-sur-Oise music festival, Music autumn in Taverny, Enghien Jazz festival, Jazz in Auvers, Musical season at Royaumont and The Pontoise Baroque Festival.
The area has also a lot of historic sites and places of interest like: Notre-Dame du Val Abbey, Auvers Castle, the property of the La Rochefoucauld, Epinay-Champlatreux Castle, Daubigny residence, La Roche-Guyon Castle and Maubuisson Abbey.
The most visited museums are: Argenteuil museum, National Renaissance Museum and Vieux Cormeilles museum.
Gastronomy
The department has numerous farms offering the regional specialities as goat cheese from, poultry, rabbits, pears, plums and apples.
Useful information:
Tourism office in Val d Oise:
www.francetourism.com
Maps of Val d Oise:
www.ign.fr
www.viamichelin.com
Travel from the UK
By air: Easyjet flies from Belfast, Liverpool Newcastle and London Luton to Paris.
Ryanair flies from Shannon, Dublin and Glasgow to Paris.
By rail: Eurostar go from London to Paris in just 2h35.
By car: You can travel by car to Paris by taking the ferries which go from Dover to Calais and then you can take the Motorway to Paris.
You can also cross the channel with the Eurostar and stop at Calais. Then you will travel on the motorway directly to Paris.
Our team of sale advisers at Sextant Properties will be happy to help you to find a property in Val d Oise. We have a large network of partners in Val d Oise. All of them are registered French real estate agents and speak both French and English. Whatever kind of property you are looking for: farmhouse, longere, barn, gite, B&B, country house, mill, castle or chateau, we will do our best to find a property in Val d Oise matching your requirements.