A day in Maisons-Laffitte, the city where everything revolves around the horse – Going out Grand Paris

Wedged between the forest of Saint-Germain-en-Laye and the Seine, the city is famous for its castle and racecourse. Visit at a trot.

10am. The Conflans-Sainte-Honorine-Fin-d'Oise station is aptly named! The river and the Seine meet here, in front of the old boatmen charter. Built in 1959, the modernist building, all concrete and pilings, now serves as a home for Tibetan migrants. Others live on a barge moored a few hundred meters on the banks of the Seine. christened I serve, the old cement barge houses since 1936 a vast chapel and a hearth. Visitors are welcome: in front of the bar, texts and photos tell the story of the boat.

11h. The Ile-de-France green belt trail takes the footbridge over the Seine. To the south, it joins the forest of Saint-Germain-en-Laye. Arrived at Etoile du Renard, the path on the left leads to the Caves du Nord, Maisons-Laffitte. Under this strange name hides a riding career set up in ancient moats. The multicolored obstacles and majesty of the Grand Siècle masonry contribute to the beauty of the site, clbadified as a Historic Monument. The entire neighborhood was built in 1830 on the perimeter of the castle park. It is one of its owners, the Comte d'Artois, younger brother of Louis XVI, who bequeathed to the city its equestrian tradition. Here, the horse is king, moreover a road sign indicates its priority character. And each avenue is even doubled by a bridle path.

13h. Lunch at the Thoroughbred, a nice hotel-restaurant planted in front of the racecourse. The lime trees of the terrace and the old-fashioned decoration are impersonal breweries. The dishes of the day recite the timeless ones, such as stuffed tomatoes and veal sauté.

14h. The visit of the Racehorse Training Center allows you to admire thoroughbreds at work. The mounts and their rider gallop on four magnificent straight lines, turf or sand, to work the flat or the obstacle. In the undergrowth, the "rounds", rings of varying length and shape, offer a spectacle worthy of Degas' equestrian paintings. About fifty coaches and their six hundred horses come here daily.

15:30. The Château de Maisons is the emblematic work of François Mansart. Before climbing on the floors, the visitor has every interest in spinning in the basement: a screen shows the documentary of the late series "Architectures", Arte. Twenty-six minutes devoted to the monument, to understand why this clbadic masterpiece served as a model for so many town halls and sub-prefectures a century later. And when you climb the stairs of honor, you will probably ask yourself: "But how's that? " However, the most curious place may be to look in the tiny "mirror cabinet", "Dedicated to conversation, small scholarly meetings and intimate entertainment …".