Saint-Gratien is a commune of the Val-d'Oise located about ten kilometers from the city of Paris. Located at the gates of the Montmorency valley, it takes place on the border of Argenteuil, Eaubonne, Enghien-les-Bains or Epinay-sur-Seine, in Seine-Saint-Denis.
Former property of Guillaume de Cornillon at the beginning of XIIIe century, Saint-Gratien is a municipality at the very origin very old. However, it was necessary to wait until the end of the eighteenth century so that the city of Paris could take on its full significance by becoming a tourist resort for the Parisians. Many secondary houses dating from this period can still be admired.
Today, a suburban city with more than 21,000 inhabitants, Saint-Gratien benefits from its interesting geographical location, as well as its historical and architectural heritage that testify to its glorious past.
The Catinat Castle is the main tourist site of the commune of Saint-Gratien. Built at the beginning of the 17th century, it was the home of the greatest authors of the period, such as Madame de Sévigné, Fénelon or the Duke of La Rochefoucauld, before being bought by Mathilde-Létizia Bonaparte, daughter of Jérôme Bonaparte and niece of Napoleon Bonaparte, in the middle of the XIXe century. Today the building houses part of the social services of the town hall of Saint-Gratien. The façade and the chimneys are inscribed on the supplementary inventory of Historic Monuments.
Built in the middle of the 19th century, the church Saint-Gratien was built partly thanks to the donations of Mathilde Bonaparte, in order to replace the original building that dates from the thirteenth century. She is buried there today. There are many pieces of furniture from the XVIIIth and XIXth centuries inscribed or classified in the Historic Monuments, like the sarcophagus of Marshal Catinat.
The town hall of Saint-Gratien was built in the style of a bourgeois house at the beginning of the 20th century. In particular, you can admire the marriage hall and its neo-Gothic style with, among other things, paintings depicting the history of the town. Two wings were added to the main building at the end of the 1930s.
Built at the beginning of the XIXth century, the castle of the princess Mathilde has today been transformed into different apartments. Of Empire style, it once had a facade decorated with a beautiful peristyle and Corinthian columns, giving it the appearance of a Greek temple.
Walking through the city, you can also admire a cedar of Lebanon installed on the Place Gambetta. According to local legend, it would have been planted there on the orders of Louis XIV who wished to thank Nicolas de Catinat, then Marshal of France.
The market is held every Wednesday and Sunday morning in Salengro Square. The city also offers a lively Christmas market at the end of the year.
The One World, Cultures Festival is held every year in June. It puts forward a country, a continent or a culture, through exhibitions, conferences, culinary workshops, shows, storytelling, concerts, screenings...
