Top 5 Impressionist landscapes in Paris Region

With the rise of the train, the banks of the Seine became a festive place to enjoy boating and popular dances known as bals. Renoir was a frequent visitor to the Maison Fournaise, a famous guinguette in Chatou. This enchanting setting served as a backdrop for one of his most famous paintings: Le déjeuner des canotiers (Luncheon of the Boating Party). The place still exists. Currently closed for renovations, the Fournaise will soon reopen its doors to welcome you to its famous terrace overlooking the Seine. The setting immortalised by Renoir is just as it was!

Not far away, in Levallois-Perret, the Île de la Jatte also attracted many artists, including Alfred Sisley, Claude Monet and Vincent van Gogh. But it was Georges Seurat, inventor of the so-called divisionist technique, or pointillism, who brought this place worldwide fame with his masterpiece Un dimanche après-midi à l’Ile de la grande Jatte (A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte). A 4 km pathway will allow you to discover this charming little island and admire the views that inspired paintings.

Impressionist painter Alfred Sisley spent the last 20 years of his life in this charming little medieval town, where he painted the surroundings from every angle! A route dotted with reproductions of the artist’s paintings will guide you to the various sites that inspired him. You’ll see that the charm of this village, located an hour outside Paris, has remained intact.

For almost 20 years, the famous Impressionist artist spent his summers here at his family’s country residence. The estate and its superb 11-hectare park (accessible free of charge) bordering the Yerres River inspired more than 80 paintings! And it’s easy to imagine yourself in the painter’s shoes, as the preservation of the estate is so exceptional. The landscapes seen by Caillebotte have not changed! To find out more, you can rent a touchscreen tablet and discover the property via augmented reality. Compare the paintings painted by the artist and the setting today. A dazzling experience!

Vincent van Gogh moved to Auvers-sur-Oise in 1890. He spent the last 70 days of his life there, an extraordinarily prolific period during which he produced more than 80 paintings, before dying in tragic circumstances shrouded in mystery. Today, Auvers-sur-Oise is a real open-air museum, as traces of the famous artist’s presence are still palpable. A walking route will allow you to wander through the village and discover the many vantage points – most of them still intact – that inspired him. An outside game of “Spot the Difference”!