Paray-Vieille-Poste is a town in the Essonne department, in the Ile-de-France region, about ten kilometers south of Paris.
Its territory of 6 km² located on the plateau of Longboyau, within the natural region of Hurepoix, today has the singularity of being two-thirds occupied by Paris-Orly airport (in this case, part of the runways and terminals).
Until the First World War, it was a village dedicated to agriculture which took its name from a post house established in the 17th century on the road leading to Fontainebleau. In 1917, the American army set up a first airfield there.
Between the two wars, housing estates were created which welcomed new inhabitants "fleeing" the capital. However, in 1954, the expansion of Orly airport led to the expropriation and occupation by the runways and infrastructure of two thirds of the town.
Nowadays, apart from a business center in the north, most of the 7,500 inhabitants of Paray-Vieille-Poste live south of the airport site in an urban center designed in a circular fashion (district known as Paray). They benefit from a preserved living environment, a vast park separating the urbanized areas from the slopes. The leisure offer, particularly cultural, is also developed and deserves attention.
If the development of the airport has led to a change in the city and the transfer of several facilities or major buildings (town hall, schools and even cemetery), in terms of heritage, a site remains protected as historical monuments. This is the commemorative pyramid dedicated to Marshal de Vaux, located in the cemetery now located northeast of the urban center. It is a funerary obelisk surrounded by a wrought iron fence. It contains at its base the heart of the marshal (1705-1788), attached to these lands received from Louis XV for services rendered. It was his daughter, the Marquise de Vaux-Borel, who erected this singular funerary monument at the end of the 18th century, then located in the fields, near the road leading to Rungis.
In terms of heritage, still to be seen, the Jesus-l'Ouvrier parish church fitted out in 1925 in an old agricultural barn which dated from 1820. The village had no place of worship since the war of 1870... With a wooden frame, the church was remodeled and restored several times, notably in the 1990s: elevation of the vault of the choir, widening of the columns by dressing in staff, addition of a porch. Note the beautifully crafted stained glass windows.
As far as culture is concerned, Paray-Vieille-Poste has major facilities, starting with the Théâtre de l'Avant-Scène which includes a room with some 400 seats and whose programming gives pride of place to theatre, concerts but strives to reach all audiences. Movie screenings are also offered there. Information on +33 1 69 38 79 83 or +33 1 60 48 80 60.
As for the town's media library, it hosts meetings, readings and exhibitions throughout the year.
In terms of sports or "nature" leisure, Gaston-Jankiewicz Park, between tracks and the city center, is a green lung of 5 hectares. It also borders a green corridor running alongside the airport infrastructure. The park has wooded areas (lindens, maples) and paths dedicated to walking. Open every day, there are playgrounds, picnic tables, a small pond and even an educational mini-farm (with chickens, sheep, etc.) and a mini-golf course. Note that an observation point has been set up for those who, as in Gilbert Bécaud's song, want to observe planes taking off... Finally, there is access to a bi-cross terrain, orienteering courses and a soccer field. Bicycles are accepted according to certain time slots. Information on +33 1 69 38 79 83.
In addition, several tennis courts are located nearby. Reservation with the club on +33 7 89 31 22 06. Finally, note that the intercommunal swimming pool is located on the edge of Athis-Mons (where the access is located): inquire at +33 1 69 57 81 00.
It remains to mention the airport: officially based in Orly, it in fact covers no less than 7 municipalities in Essonne and Val-de-Marne: 27% of its footprint is located on Paray-Vieille-Poste, the most impacted locality. With three runways, the airport welcomed more than 31 million passengers in 2019 (before the shock of the health crisis). It is mainly open to short and medium haul. All information on 0 892 56 39 50.
