Paris - Surroundings

Thoiry, west of Paris, has a beautifully proportioned 17th C. Château with a charming interior and a vivarium. In the circular park are a zoo and the Réserve Africaine, in which large numbers of wild animals roam freely; visitors can drive through it in their cars.

Amicale Jean-Baptiste Salis features a wide variety of aircraft that have been obtained from all over the world and are now stored in a large museum hangar. Of particular note in this collection is an Antonov An-2, a Caudron G.3 and large number of Yak-11s.

A special attraction on Whitsun is an air show using many of the aircraft in the collection.

Chateau de Ferrières was completed in 1859 in the Italian Renaissance style. South of the chateau an English style garden slopes down to a beautiful lake. A wide variety of trees border the parkland, while clipped yews and statues add a note of formality to the grounds immediately around the house.

This site is marked by unusually placed concrete patches amongst the gardens. The reason for this is unclear but it may be related to the fact that the Curies first purified pitchblende ore into radium, thus potentially causing residual radiation.

At Elancourt, 10km/6mi southwest of Versailles, is a hexagonal park (area 3.5 hectares/8.5 acres; opened 1991) reproducing France in miniature. Broad roads take visitors through old peasant villages and typical French countryside, passing on the way the châteaux of the Loire, imposing medieval castles and famous cathedrals, industrial installations, nuclear power stations and, of course, the sights of Paris. An audiovisual show featuring puppets from the Musée Grévin in Paris presents some of the great events in the history of France.

The museum displays 100 authentic vehicles from the horse-drawn omnibus to vehicles from 1970s and 1980s via trams. There are also some old Metro coaches, platform buses and trolley buses.

The National Sports Museum presents the history and evolution of sports activities in France. The museum began in the early 20th century and again in 1963. Exhibits include the history of the winter and summer Olympic Games, sporting equipment, works of art, archives and books.

The National Museum of Natural History features exhibits on evolution, mineralogy, paleobotany, paleontology, and others.

Air France shuttle buses between the Invalides air terminal (Aérogare des Invalides, seventh arr.) and the airport at Orly, 40 minutes. Departures: Orly Sud, every 15 minutes; Orly Ouest, every 20 minutes.

Orlyval (RER Line B; automatic Métro) to Gare d'Antony, 29minutes to Châtelet, departures every 4-7minutes; RER Line C 2 to city center, departures every 15 minutes.

Orlyrail: trains to Gare d'Austerlitz, 35 minutes, departures every 15 ninutes.

Air France shuttle buses to Roissy/Charles de Gaulle Airport every 20 minutes.

Laiterie de la Reine et The Bergerie Nationale was built by Louis XVI. The grounds include a landscaped garden as well as two outbuildings.

This early 19th c manor house is set in terraced gardens on a hill overlooking Sèvres. The writer Balzac moved here in 1838 and lived on the grounds in a chalet he had constructed in the garden.

This ceramic museum was created by Alexandre Brongniart at the beginning of 19th C.