SAINT-CLOUD

'Saint-Cloud' is a commune of the Hauts-de-Seine (''Heights of the Seine''), in the western suburbs of Paris, France. This ''Francilienne'' town is located 9.6 kilometres (6 mi) from the center of Paris.

Contents

History

Main sights

Transport

Notable people

Twin towns

External links

History

The town is named after Clodoald, grandson of Clovis, who is supposed to have sought refuge in the hamlet of Novigentum. Canonized after his death, the village where his tomb was located took the name of Sanctus Clodoaldus.
A park contains the ruins of the Château de Saint-Cloud, built in 1572 and destroyed by fire in 1870, during the Franco-Prussian War. The château was the residence of several French rulers, and served as the main country residence of the cadet Orléans line prior to the French Revolution. The palace was also the site of the ''coup d'état'' led by Napoleon Bonaparte that overthrew the French Directory in 1799.

Main sights

Main articles: Château de Saint-Cloud

The main landmarks are the park of the demolished Château de Saint-Cloud and the Pavillon de Breteuil. The Saint-Cloud Racecourse, a race track for Thoroughbred flat racing, was built by Edmond Blanc in 1901 and is host to a number of important races including the annual Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud.

Transport

Saint-Cloud is served by two stations on the Transilien La Défense and Transilien Paris – Saint-Lazare suburban rail lines: Le Val d'Or and Saint-Cloud.
The town is also served by a number of stops on the T2 Tramway, which runs along the side of the Seine.
Central Saint-Cloud, known as ''Le Village'', is also served by the metro station 'Boulogne-Pont de Saint-Cloud' (line 10), located across the Seine river on the Boulogne-Billancourt side of the ''Pont de Saint Cloud''.

Notable people

Saint-Cloud was the birthplace of:

★ Philippe II, Duke of Orléans (1674-1723), Regent of France from 1715 to 1723

★ Philippe Égalité (1747-1793), a key figure during the early stages of the French Revolution

★ Princess Marie Bonaparte (1882-1962), psychoanalyst, closely linked with Sigmund Freud

★ Gilbert Norman (1914-1944), Special Operations Executive member

★ Jean-Claude Killy (born 1943), alpine skier and a triple Olympic champion

★ Gérard Manset (born 1945), known as Manset, rock songwriter

★ Hervé Guibert (1955-1991), writer

★ Alexandra Fusai (born 1973), former professional tennis player

★ Angelique Boyer Actress

Twin towns

Saint-Cloud is twinned with:

★ - Frascati, Italy

★ - Bad Godesberg, Germany

★ - Kortrijk, Belgium

★ - Windsor and Maidenhead, United Kingdom

External links

★ Official website (in French)