Nanterre Travel Guide

 GUYON Says:  The Mont Valerien sheltered at the end of the Middle Age several hermits and was until the Revolution a location devoted to the faith.During the 18e Century, there was a calvary which attracted the people of Paris who wish to make a pilgrimage the time of one Sunday.Around... 

 GUYON Says:  This is one of the rare monument of Nanterre. It is located beside the cathedral and though it is a well it is called a fountain.Saint Genevieve was a young citizen of Nanterre born in 420. Her mother critized her because she was always in church instead to be at home. God... 

 GUYON Says:  This bronze Bell was set up in the park of Mont valerien, in 2004, in memory of the resistants killed in the fortress during WW II.The names of each of them is written on the bell. 

 GUYON Says:  In the city center, there is a large and beautiful garden : the parc des Anciennes Mairies. So called because the 2 initial city halls were there.This garden is located in the former Nanterre college. It had been inaugurated in 1642 by the Queen Anne of Austria (read the tip... 

 GUYON Says:  La Defense is a business area divided between Nanterre, Puteau and Courbevoie.The Grande Arche is in Nanterre. The architecte is a Danish man whose project has been chosen though he was unknown and had previously built only a church.A ministry is sheltered in the building... 

 Maillekeukeul Says:  The strange veil, dotted with pretty big holes, and some strange glass walls that make you zigzaging if you want to enjoy the other view offered by La Defense, over Nanterre itself... 

 Maillekeukeul Says:  I have tried and taken an "artistic" photograph... It's not such a success, but it makes it easier to see that the inner part of the Arch is covered with windows ... 

 Maillekeukeul Says:  I've never been able to guess why there was this sort of veil built between the pillars of the Arch... Still, it's a permanent part of the whole building... 

 Maillekeukeul Says:  From time to time, some sculptures are popping up on the "Parvis de La Défense" (the square fronting the Arch) and you never know if they are to stay permanently or if they will decide, one of these days, to leave and let La Defense be a "pure" business area, without any... 

 Maillekeukeul Says:  This man with binoculars is a sculpture (you had already guessed, Okayyyyy !!!). It bends his back so that it might see the top of the Arch... You'd better do some workout before trying to imitate him, if you don't want your spine to break !! 

 Maillekeukeul Says:  This is the typical place where loads of people gather, between 12 AM and 2 PM, to eat a sandwich or some vegetables bought in the mall "Les Quatre Temps", a few meters away from the Arch... Of course, you'd better do this in summer : because, when it's cold, and as it is a... 

 Maillekeukeul Says:  When you walk up the stairs towards the Arch, when coming from Paris, the first thing you see is this strange piece of an overtagged wall ... I don't know if tags have been added by some people living in the neighborhood or if it was originally tagged and meant something...... 

 Maillekeukeul Says:  I'm not sure that all travelers visiting La Defense know that the city behind the Arch (when watching it from the Paris side, of course) is Nanterre. And the first thing they will see of Nanterre is... its cemetary !!!! 

 Maillekeukeul Says:  Years ago, I was an intern at the 28th floor of the shining tower of this building. I stayed in this bank for 6 months and they even proposed me a contract !!! But, working in La Defense, from my point of view, is sharpely synonymous of despair and uniformity (in the metro,...