A distant northwestern suburb of Paris, Pontoise is in the Cergy-Pontoise conurbation.
The new city of this city was built in the 1980s and became a reference for advanced urban design and architecture. The cityscape showed up in several movies in the 1980s, like Eric Rohmer’s Boyfriends and Girlfriends. And even Cergy-Pontoise can pack a punch, especially when you see Dani Karavan’s incredible Axe Majeur. In Pontoise, you can dip into the old side, where impressionist painters like Pissarro painted Oise and where there is a series of medieval tunnels under the street. And for day and night trips, Paris always takes only half an hour on the train.
[toc]
1. Axe Majeur
This gigantic monument is difficult to describe when many things are rolled into one. Ax Majeur was designed by Dani Karavan at the time when the new town of Cergy-Pontoise combined.
Beginning with a belvedere tower it’s a dramatic set of sculptures extending along a straight line more than three kilometers in length. A laser beam from the tower points out the route that descends the slope above the Oise and crosses the river.
This line passes through 12 stations, each one with a special meaning for the town: It includes the Oise riverbanks where the Impressionists painted, and a man-made island, built in the Cergy Pond on the other side of the Oise.
2. Gare de Cergy-Saint-Christophe
A train station is often included in the list of important attractions, but Gare Saint-Christophe is very special: It was inaugurated in 1985 and encapsulated in the bold design of this new town.
The clock above the entrance is the largest in Europe, a humungous glass cylinder ten meters in diameter and conceived by Philippe and Martine Deslandes, collaborating with the watchmaker Huchez.
Recently, the watch was integrated into the Ax Majeur, opening up the vision of the Belvedere Tour.
3. Musée Camille Pissarro
The Impressionist Camille Pissarro loved Pontoise so much he lived here for 17 years. This museum in a red brick Louis XIII villa on the plateau above the river has only one Pissarro. But this work depicts the river banks at La Roche-Guyon on the Seine so it is a great souvenir of the time when Impressionists escaped from Paris to paint rivers in the west.
4. Musée Tavet-Delacour
A lovely 15th-century gothic castle is the Pontoise town museum. The building was commissioned by the Bishop of Rouen for the Vicar of Pontoise, and is in great shape, with corner turrets and dormer windows. The exhibitions inside are varied, with 20th-century art and historic artifacts.
There’s quite a large exhibition of the Constructivist painter Otto Freundlich, along with artists like Matisse, Arp, Legros, and Signoret. See also a collection of medieval church sculptures and seven chinoiserie paintings that once belonged to Count Maupeou Ableiges.
5. Carmel de Pontoise
The oldest Carmelite convent in France was founded in 1605 just outside the center of Pontoise but now engulfed by the streets of the new town. The monastery is decorated with art from the 17th century, like the altar hanging made with embroidered red silk, a Spanish-style lace altar cloth and an array of paintings.
There’s also a precious reliquary that went missing after the Revolution but was rediscovered at an auction in Alençon and brought back to the convent. The Carmel de Pontoise is a working convent, so only the church is open to the public, but there’s a small shop here selling handicrafts and postcards to raise money.
6. Tour of Old Pontoise
Next to the river, the Pontoise architecture is more than a few centuries old and has a small set of attractions to add to your itinerary. Most of these are closed to the public, but should still be seen from the outside.
The Moulin des Patis is an old watermill that was painted by Cézanne. Hôpital des Enfermés is a historic site with a facade from the 18th century and has long been converted from a hospital to a school.
On the river, you can also see where Pontoise was fortified, and there are artillery terraces stepping up the hillside.
7. Souterrains de Pontoise
Beneath the old part of Pontoise by the Oise River is an underworld of cellars, vaults, tunnels, quarries, and caves. You can go down to see them every Sunday on a guided tour led by the tour office.
They were first dug for chalk and limestone in the 1100s and were expanded up to the 1600s. You’ll descend with a guide who will open up innocuous-looking hatches at street level that reveal surprising underground spaces. As you go you’ll be clued-in on the stories behind these chambers.
8. Église Notre-Dame
Although Pontoise’s main church was completed around the turn of the 17th century, it was built over a 13th-century basilica destroyed in the French Wars of Religion. The replacement was endowed with a set of fine paintings from the 17th and 18th centuries. The church was restored in the 1800s when a floor was laid with concrete.
And to do this, many funny stones dating back to the old gothic church have been ripped apart. You can spot their fragments in some strange places, like on the steps of the main portal and the stairs leading to the altar.
9. Île de Loisirs de Cergy-Pontoise
If you’re sporty in July and August you need only cross the Oise to a gigantic activity center. On a meander in the river is a 250-hectare site with some 150 lakes. When the weather’s good you’ll have a massive swimming area, combined with facilities for watersports like white-water rafting, canoeing, and sailing.
On land, there’s even more, including a mini-train for kids, tennis courts, a tree-top climbing course, hiking trails through the forest, cycle hire and a mini-golf course.
10. Église Saint-Christophe de Cergy
The best thing about this church next-door in Cergy is the part that will grab your attention as soon as you arrive: It’s the Renaissance portal, which is from a section of the church that was never completed.
So all that stands is a gateway leading to a courtyard that was meant to be the new church’s interior. Rising above this is the Romanesque bell tower that was built in the 12th century.
The interior of the church has been heavily reworked over hundreds of years, but hints of yesteryear remain, like the 11th-century arches and capitals under the tower.
More ideals for you: Top 10 things to do in Pomezia
from : https://wikitopx.com/travel/top-10-things-to-do-in-pontoise-709499.html
from Wiki Topx
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét