Chemin des Impressionnistes

The Chemin des Impressionnistes, taking you through the heart of the Seine’s meanders west of Paris, encourages you to explore landscapes depicted by the likes of Auguste Renoir, Alfred Sisley, Claude Monet and Camille Pissarro. Thanks to 30 panels displaying reproductions of works in the exact spots where these painters set up their easels, view the surrounding landscapes via some of these Impressionists’ most famous works.

You can download the various trails available via the app Outdoor Active. They include fun options for all the family. You can also pick up a detailed map of the trails from the tourist offices at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Marly-le-Roi and Chatou (from May to October).

Circuit Monet / Monet Trail

Going from Chatou Bridge to Bougival Bridge, this walk leads you in the footsteps of Claude Monet who, through summer 1869, often strolled alongside this stretch of the Seine with Auguste Renoir. The two artists enjoyed painting the same subject, side by side. It was at Croissy-sur-Seine that they first adopted this “bold yet casual” habit so characteristic of the Impressionists.

The trail begins on the Seine’s banks at Croissy, following the towpath, beside which one of the very first luxury housing estates in the region went up. Some extremely beautiful homes were built here, in the style of a Swiss chalet, a Palladian villa, even a palace from the Arabian Nights. The area got the nickname of the Riviera beside the Seine! Next, head for La Grenouillère and its Belle Époque atmosphere, to be experienced via paintings, engravings, objects and films displayed close to the famed waterside guinguette (open-air restaurant), in the Musée de la Grenouillère. This walk ends at Bougival Bridge, on the very spot where the Bal des Canotiers de Bougival took place, as so famously depicted by Auguste Renoir.

Circuit Pissarro / Pissarro Trail

Starting from Louveciennes, where the artist Camille Pissarro stayed between 1869 and 1872, this trail encourages you to explore this little town before going on to Marly-le-Roi, with its Parc de Marly, where Louis XIV once had a sumptuous royal residence, and the old village of Marly-le-Roi itself, with its steep streets and colourful houses. Experience the local landscapes as rendered by the painterly eye of the likes of Pissarro, Renoir and Sisley, seeing the way the rich local heritage would have looked in the late 19^th century.

Circuit Renoir / Renoir Trail

The starting point for this trail is the Hameau Fournaise, where Auguste Renoir executed his famous Déjeuner des canotiers in 1880-1881. A very regular customer at the Restaurant Fournaise, the artist painted several portraits of Alphonsine, the owner’s daughter, and he would meet his future wife, Aline Charigot, here. The famed building now also contains the Musée Fournaise, bearing witness to those golden days along the Seine’s meanders. Close by, the association Sequana encourages visitors to focus on the pastime of boating so dear to the painters here in the late 19^th century. To complete this Impressionist trail, head on to Carrières-sur-Seine, with its public gardens beside the Seine and its troglodytic houses built into the riverbank, as depicted by Claude Monet and, later, by Maurice de Vlaminck.

Circuit Sisley / Sisley Trail

Leading you from the Seine’s banks at Le Pecq to the towpath at Le Port-Marly, this walk takes you via various places depicted by Alfred Sisley, who lived first in Louveciennes, then in Marly-le-Roi, opposite L’Abreuvoir. At Le Port-Marly, he undertook a series of seven canvases that count among his most famous pieces, including L’Inondation à Port-Marly. The artist was so captivated by the Seine floods he witnessed here that he gave four pieces from this series the same name.