Ivry-sur-Seine is a commune in the Val-de-Marnedepartment in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 5.3 kilometres (4 mi) from the centre of Paris. Paris’s main Asian district, the Quartier Asiatique in the 13th arrondissement, borders the commune and now extends into the northern parts of Ivry. Asian commercial activity, especially Chinese and Vietnamese, has greatly increased in Ivry-sur-Seine during the past two decades. The commune contains one of the highest concentrations of Vietnamese in France, who began settling in the city in the late 1970s after the Vietnam War. read more…
Boulogne-Billancourt, often colloquially called simply Boulogne, until 1924 Boulogne-sur-Seine) is a commune in the western suburbs, and 8 km (5 mi) from the centre, of the French capital Paris. Boulogne-Billancourt is a subprefecture of the Hauts-de-Seinedepartment and the seat of the Arrondissement of Boulogne-Billancourt. With an average household income in 2013 of €47,592, nearly twice the French average of €25,548, Boulogne-Billancourt is one of the wealthiest cities in France. Boulogne-Billancourt is the most populous suburb of Paris and one of the most densely populated municipalities in Europe. Formerly an important industrial site, it has successfully reconverted into business services and is now home to major communication companies headquartered in the Val de Seinebusiness district. read more…
The 19th arrondissement of Paris (XIXe arrondissement) is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, this arrondissement is referred to as dix-neuvième. La petite Jérusalem (Little Jerusalem) is located in the Quartier de la Mouzaïa/Quartier d’Amérique. read more…
Île-de-France (literally “Island of France”) is the most populous of the 18 regions of France. It is located in the north-central part of the country and often called the Région Parisienne (“Paris Region”) because it includes the city of Paris. Île-de-France is densely populated and economically important: it covers only 12,012 square kilometres (4,638 square miles), about 2% of France’s territory, but has an official estimated population of 12,213,364 (18.2% of the population of France) and accounts for nearly 30% of the French Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Although the modern name Île-de-France literally means “Island of France”, the etymology is in fact unclear. The “island” may refer to the land between the rivers Oise, Marne and Seine, or it may also have been a reference to the Île de la Cité, where the French royal palace and cathedral were located. read more…
Vincent Willem van Gogh was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade he created about 2,100 artworks, including around 860 oil paintings, most of them in the last two years of his life in France, where he died. They include landscapes, still lifes, portraits and self-portraits, and are characterised by bold colours and dramatic, impulsive and expressive brushwork that contributed to the foundations of modern art. His suicide at 37 followed years of mental illness and poverty. read more…
Rambouillet is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France.It is located on the outskirts of Paris, 44.3 km (27.5 mi) southwest from the center. Rambouillet is a sub-prefecture of the department. Rambouillet lies on the edge of the vast Forest of Rambouillet (Forêt de Rambouillet or Forêt de l’Yveline), and is famous for its historical castle, the Château de Rambouillet, which hosted several international summits. Due to its proximity to Paris and Versailles, Rambouillet has long been an occasional seat of government. read more…
Rueil-Malmaison is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, in the Hauts-de-Seine department. It is located 12.6 kilometers from the center of Paris. Rueil is famous for the Château de Malmaison where Napoleon and his first wife Joséphine de Beauharnais lived. Upon her death in 1814, she was buried at the nearby Saint-Pierre-Saint-Paul church, which stands at the centre of the city. The Rueil barracks of the Swiss Guard were constructed in 1756 under Louis XV by the architect Axel Guillaumot, and have been classifed Monument historique since 1973. The Guard was formed by Louis XIII in 1616 and massacred at the Tuileries on 10 August 1792 during the French Revolution. At the end of the 19th century, Impressionist painters like Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edouard Manet and Claude Monet came to paint the Seine River which crosses the town. Rueil is (despite the title) the principal location of the novel Loin de Rueil by the French novelist Raymond Queneau. read more…
