Attractions and Places To See around Saint-Martin-Des-Champs - Top 20

This section parallel to the Seine cycle route is not very smooth. The large number of holes are filled with ballast (large stones) from the SNCF tracks. Without suspension it hurts :D

This small table is in the oldest large circle. A large table is located in the new small star. An old table, called the "débotter" table, on which the king sat so that his large hunting boots could be put on, it also served as a snack table and also, and perhaps especially by climbing onto it by a circular bench, as an observatory in the center of a star. The small table of Beynes seems the oldest, it is a large circular block, split in the middle and supported by four terminals. The large table is more ornate with the inscription "remade in 1783", and its top bears the indication of the roads, also serving as an orientation table. This assignment is unique, moreover the inscription "Route d'Auteuil" does not correspond to the star where it is, but to the Grand Rond. It is reasonable to think that the table from Ste Appoline (Plaisir) was brought there first, while the one from Beynes was being remade, then the tablets were reversed, and this is how the large table is in the small star and gives the orientations of the Grand Rond.

This gas-fired Edf power station has been closed for several years; however, these two immense chimneys, which I hope will remain as a testimony to a certain era, have the major interest of being visible from dozens of kilometers around and are for me an excellent landmark to locate myself during my bike rides.

The Porcheville thermal power plant is a former power plant, its final shutdown having taken place on May 1, 2017. It is located in Porcheville in the Yvelines (France) on the banks of the Seine, about fifty kilometers northwest of Paris. It was operated by EDF. The two chimneys of the plant are 220 meters high to evacuate their fumes well above the 70 m cliff facing the site on the left bank of the Seine.

Church located in the Yvelines in Beynes, in the west of Paris. It dates from the 13th century and has seen various demolitions and reconstructions throughout history. Today located in the city center, you can stop there for a supply or simply catch your breath.

Super beautiful, and well highlighted by the municipality.

From the 8th century, Beynes is a land owned by the abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. It is therefore monks who clear and cultivate the land of Beynes. They build a first place of worship, probably in wood. At the beginning of the 11th century, King Robert II the Pious (972 / 1031) gave the fiefdom of Beynes to Guillaume de Hainaut, first lord of the Montfort family. In 1072, it is attested that Beynes depends on the priory of Saint Laurent de Montfort-L'Amaury. In 1159, a papal bull from Pope Adrian IV, the only English pope in history, attests that King Robert the Pious granted the patronage of the church and the main tithe to Saint Magloire Abbey in Paris. The construction of the current church is dated from the middle of the 12th century, date of the appearance of the parish, consecrated to Saint Martin in 1183. The church has undergone various episodes of demolitions and alterations over the centuries, and appears to have been partly rebuilt in 1773, then remodeled and extended in the 1830s to 1880s. Subsequently, numerous consolidations and repairs took place. The choir, the oldest part, dates from the 12th century, while the nave and the side aisles on the basilica plan are from the 18th and 19th centuries. The Virgin and Child: polychrome stone statue from the 14th century, listed as a historical monument since 1907. The tabernacle: the 18th century sculpted wooden altar, surmounted by a 17th century altarpiece, has been listed as a historical monument since 1907. This tabernacle was sculpted by monks who reproduced certain elements of the portal of the Saint Gervais church from Paris. The two small wooden statues adorn the sides: Saint Vincent and Saint Nicolas. The capitals of the choir: vestiges of the primitive church of the 12th century have been updated: columns, Romanesque capitals, departure of a double roller arch and slightly broken Romanesque arcades.

The castle of Beynes is installed in the bottom of a valley. Its construction dates back to the 11th century. It first had a military role at a time when the course of the Mauldre constituted a line of defense of the royal domain, to the west, in particular against the English during the Hundred Years' War. In the 15th century, the castle having lost its strategic importance due to the extension of the royal domain, Robert d'Estouteville, chamberlain of King Charles VII and owner of the premises, made it undergo some modifications, by demolishing the keep and adapting the nascent artillery fortifications. In the 16th century, in 1536, the estate was ceded to Diane de Poitiers (Madame de Valentinois) by Henri II, her royal lover2. She had a new dwelling built by Philibert Delorme, author of the Château des Tuileries, the Château d'Anet or part of that of Chenonceau. The castle is among the first listed with a framework that was a precursor to the principle of glued laminated timber, the technique of which was therefore invented by this great architect3,4. In the 17th century, in 1688, ladies of the high aristocracy gathered there around the mystical Madame Guyon. On October 4, they organized a meeting at the château between Madame Guyon and their spiritual director, the Abbé de Fénelon5. This one becomes one of the most fervent disciples of Madame Guyon6. In the 18th century, the ruins of the castle served for a time as the setting for the English park laid out by the Phélypeaux de Pontchartrain who then owned it. An estimate for its restoration is produced7, its cost probably convinces the owners to leave it as it is. Abandoned then dismantled, it even serves as a quarry for the construction of the village. In 1967, the Château de Beynes was bought by the municipality, which was responsible for saving the estate, which was then buried by vegetation. From 1995 to 1999, it was excavated and then benefited from reinforcement works. In 2014, all the remains were classified as historical monuments 8. At the beginning of June 2016, heavy rains caused the flooding of the moat9,10, and the collapse of a section of the wall. Work, in the form of a subsidized and sponsored volunteer site, is underway to stop its deterioration and allow its access to the public11.