The age of castles: the first notable buildings
The most remote architectural testimonies are mainly castles. In addition to the must-see castles of Vincennes, Versailles and Fontainebleau, there are a few others that are well worth a visit. Few castles are still standing and have not been altered. Blandy-les-Tours in Seine-et-Marne dates back to the 13th century. In Essonne, Étampes has only its ruined 12th-century royal keep. By contrast, the entire defensive system of the 13th-century Château de Dourdan is still visible. At La Roche-Guyon, in Val-d'Oise, the 12th-century keep stands guard over the castle, and can still be climbed via the steep stone staircase carved into the rock. In the Yvelines region, the Houdan keep is one of the finest examples of 12th-century French military architecture.
From the 17th century onwards, castles were built that became architectural masterpieces. In the Yvelines region, the Château de Maison-Laffitte, built by François Mansart, is a small marvel. Château de Rambouillet, a former 14th-century fortified castle, was transformed into a pleasure residence by Louis XVI. In Hauts-de-Seine, the Château de Sceaux is remarkable for its park designed by Lenôtre. The Château de la Malmaison in Rueil-Malmaison, a gift from Napoleon to Josephine, has retained all its authenticity and offers visitors the chance to explore its intimate, rose-filled gardens.
Paris: architecture in the early 20th century
The urban structure inherited from the Second Empire remained unchanged in the early 20th century, apart from the major construction of the metro. On the other hand, the Haussmannian program continued, and construction grew rapidly. The installation of the French presidency and the business districts around the Champs-Élysées perpetuated the great east-west axis from the Grande Arche at La Défense throughout the 20th century. At the same time, at the beginning of the century, the rural exodus from the Paris region led to the emptying of the countryside, and Paris became the focus of many new arrivals, resulting in the construction of large housing estates.
Paris and its environs: post-war oddities
In the 1950s, urban development resumed at a steady pace, with large-scale projects. On the one hand, there were restoration projects, as in the Marais district, and on the other, building projects: bars or towers that changed the face of entire neighborhoods, as in Belleville, around rue de Flandres or place d'Italie. In Grenelle, the Front de Seine district became a French-style "Manhattan", even if today its appearance is often criticized. The ring road was built around Paris, and expressways were built along the banks of the Seine. From the 1970s onwards, industry gradually left Paris, the halles centrales were demolished, the Beaubourg district was razed, and the abattoirs at La Villette, the halles de Bercy and the Citroën factories were transformed into urban parks, accompanied by housing and facilities. We're beginning to realize that some projects may be a little too polluting, as in the case of the Saint-Martin canal, which was finally saved when it was supposed to become an urban freeway linking Bastille to the north of Paris.
Paris: a time of major construction projects
In 1977, the city's special status, inherited from Napoleon I, was replaced by a mayor elected by direct universal suffrage. The first mayor was Jacques Chirac. The end of the 20th century was marked by a policy of major works launched by the various Presidents of the Republic: the Centre Pompidou, the Musée d'Orsay, the Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie, the Grande Arche de la Défense, the Grand Louvre, the Opéra-Bastille, the Ministry of Finance, the Bibliothèque nationale de France and the Musée du Quai Branly all sought to revive the architectural monumentality that had marked Paris's urban history. Today, the shortage of land means that the city is developing on the last remaining railway wastelands on the outskirts, with a return to higher buildings.
The outskirts of Paris: the architectural and urban development of the suburbs
After the Second World War, in response to the growing demand for low-cost housing, a large number of apartment blocks were built: this was the era of the HLM and large housing estates, both in the suburbs and in Paris, where they sprang up along the Maréchaux boulevards. In the suburbs, these new dwellings occupied vacant spaces between housing estates, as in Savigny-sur-Orge, Morsang, Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois, Sarcelles, Stains and Viry-Châtillon, for example. It was only belatedly that the need to plan these urban developments was felt: too late?
