Plan interactif

Walking to la Celle Saint-Cloud

Download (French) Circuit-Promenade_La Celle Saint Cloud

Guided school tours and activity centres

Going with the Flow ! Students follow the course of the water in the urban landscape by reading in an original way about the history of Bougival, a town situated by the Seine, its impressionists walk and the story of the so-called Marly Machine and the locks. It also provides reflection on the water cycle […]

The Heights of Bougival, La Jonchère, the Quays

An idea for a walk through Bougival ! Start Church car park, place des Combattants 1- Take rue Pierre Gilon 2- Go up rue Emile Richebourg 3- Statue of François Debergue 4- Go up Chemin des Bourbiers 5- Take Rue Philippe Paget 6- Go down Chemin du Haut du Parc 7- From the panoramic viewpoint, […]

Town Centre and Saint-Michel District

A walk which will take you to the St-Michel district, one of the oldest parts of Bougival. There you will notice some small winegrowers’ houses nestling against each other, with an outdoor flight of steps concealing the entrance to some vaulted cellars. In 1869, the year Impressionism began, Claude Monet lived there with his wife […]

The Marly Machine Dam – Alfred Sisley

The painting depicts part of the building housing the 6 huge wheels installed across the branch of the Seine. The Machine was finally demolished in 1968, amid general indifference, when a dam for regulating rises in the level of the water in the Seine was built. The small brick edifice was an annex to this […]

Road from Saint-Germain to Marly – Alfred Sisley

Walking along the Seine and the D113 road, on the right, you pass in front of the Machine buildings which were used to house employees, the administrative buildings and repair workshops. This group of buildings has been listed as a National Heritage Site since 1987. As you go up the ramp by which the Machine […]

Boats at the lock at Bougival – Alfred Sisley

Seen from the Island of La Loge – At the end of the path adjacent to the locks, the artist painted the vivid reflections in the water and did not hesitate to capture the presence of a barge tugboat at the lock by depicting smoke coming out its funnel. The painting portrays the tip of […]

The Quay – Berthe Morisot

Go up the steps leading to the bank of the river. The artist used to set herself up on a small boat in the middle of the branch in the river to paint the quay, from where there was a rather unique viewpoint. This canvas, with a vertical format, shows Berthe Morisot’s, fluid painting style […]

The Bridge at Bougival – Claude Monet

In this great painting, the painter exploits the spatial relationship between the road crossing over the bridge in the direction of the village and the track on the left going down to the river. Autumn is depicted clearly; russet-coloured leaves are still clinging to the branches and the sun, the trajectory of which has become […]

Barges on the Seine at Bougival – Camille Pissarro

When Pissarro returned from England in 1871 to settle once more at Louveciennes, the banks of the Seine and above all life on the river were his favourite subjects. A painter of modernity, he was the first to “show” barges going upstream or remaining motionless as they went through the locks. He set up his […]

Marly, embarkation at Bougival – J.M.W. Turner

A great traveller, Turner sketched the banks of the Seine on the spot in a “River Seine” travel notebook. He then worked the sketch in watercolours in a larger format so that prints could be produced for publication. This landscape can be qualified as modern and picturesque insofar as the banks of the Seine are […]

The Marly Machine – Alfred Sisley

From Louveciennes where he settled, Sisley confirmed his talent as a landscape painter exploring the loop in the Seine. The so-called Marly Machine, painted several times, housed the new hydraulic machine that brought water to Marly reservoir. The painter set up his easel opposite it: the precise shapes of the red-bricked building block off the […]

The Factory in the Flood – Alfred Sisley

The flooding of the river Seine in 1872, like the even more famous one in 1876, became a subject to be painted for Sisley. The lock keepers’ house on the Island of La Loge is the main subject of the painting. The latter is reflected in the calm water, an impressive, solid, motionless building. Only […]

Ice floes on the Seine – Claude Monet

Claude Monet captures the misty atmosphere of winter. The depiction of the river and the background are handled with broad strokes of almost monochome paint; the sky and the water blend together in a harmony of grey tones. A few figures, coming to draw some water with their buckets, painted with brisk, precise brushstrokes, create some life on […]

Banks of the Seine at Bougival – Albert Lebourg

Attracted by the Seine valley, Albert Lebourg painted the quay bordering the Seine coming from Rueil many times. Monet and Pissarro had already chosen this landscape where the houses follow the curve of the river, with the Marly aqueduct just visible in the distance. In this canvas the huge sky, in which winter mist still […]

La Jonchère Park

This wooded parkland of about 11 hectares (about 27 acres), reserved for walking and of which some species date back to the 18th century, overlooks the Seine and provides a spectacular view over the whole valley. A magnificent setting for the village of Bougival and a backdrop often painted by the Impressionists, the hill is […]

Island of La Chaussée

For everyone’s enjoyment, Bougival offers its lush greenery to all visitors in search of tranquillity and recreation. The Island of La Chaussée is home to the municipal park and all the Patrice Vieljeux sports complex: children’s play areas: slides, springers, rope pyramids, swing 3 football pitches (grass and sand-covered) tennis club (9 tennis courts) pétanque […]

Island of La Loge

The locks with their intense activity will be of great interest to children. This is a very popular place for walking because you can explore the banks of the Seine overlooking Croissy. You will be able to admire the Château de poche and then hunt for antiques at “Emmaüs”, which is opposite the locks beyond […]

River landing stage

Bougival’s history is closely linked to the Seine. At the time of the Impressionists, the banks of the Seine were full of life and the inhabitants used to indulge in water-related activities. To develop river tourism in Bougival, an 18 m landing stage is now in operation. The landing stage was built on theIsland of La […]

River stopping place

To promote river tourism in Bougival, the Island of La Chaussée has been equipped with an 18 m stopping place upstream of Bougival bridge.

Alfred Sisley

Having shared with Auguste Renoir and Claude Monet the enjoyment of painting in the forest of Fontainebleau, Alfred Sisley (1839-1899) went to join his friends beside the Seine at Bougival in about 1870. It was here that his talent as a landscape painter asserted itself, by choosing to depict the peaceful nature of the countryside with its water, trees […]

Painters in Bougival

Over the years, Bougival has lost none of its beauty. Its shimmering landscapes are still intact and this makes being able to visualise this “impressionist paradise” all the more moving. The message has been received and we are constantly protecting this valuable legacy. But what in fact is so special about Bougival, for it to attract and inspire […]

The Belle Epoque

In the 19th century, this tranquil spot so close to Paris attracted a number of literary figures (Dumas fils wrote “The Lady of the Camellias” here and Turgenev, etc.) and artists (A. Renoir, C. Monet, A. Sisley, J.L. Gérôme, P. Viardot and G. Bizet who composed “Carmen”, etc.) who would occasionally spend time here. The […]

Bougival’s Golden Age

The Impressionists This was the time of the “Belle Époque”, with its promenades, its boaters, its guingettes (open-air cafés with dance floors), its restaurants and hotels ! The Boating Party in Bougival and the La Grenouillère Dance in Croissy competed with each other and Parisians jostled each other at them. People went boating everywhere, regattas […]