Question 1

Le Pecq on Your Own

Accepted Answer

An independent day from Le Pecq has two easy shapes: walk up to Saint-Germain-en-Laye for the château and its long terrace over the Seine, or take the RER A into central Paris. Either way, leave a wide margin for the trip back. Up to Saint-Germain: The château, rebuilt by Francis I from 1539, keeps the Gothic chapel of Saint Louis, first mentioned in 1238. It houses the Musée d'Archéologie nationale, and the grounds around it can be entered freely every day. The Grande Terrasse: André Le Nôtre laid out this stone terrace, 2.4 km long, between 1669 and 1673, and it looks over the Seine valley toward Paris; on a clear day you can pick out La Défense. Le Pecq's own heritage: Information panels stand beside the town's notable buildings. Look for the Pavillon Sully, the only surviving pavilion of Henri IV's Château Neuf, and the church of Saint-Wandrille, built from 1739 to 1745. Paris by RER: Trains from Le Vésinet–Le Pecq reach Châtelet–Les Halles in central Paris in about 25 minutes, with a train about every 10 minutes at off-peak daytime hours. Mind your bags: Thieves and pickpockets work on the Paris Métro and the RER lines, so carry your bag across your body and keep your passport and cards apart. Getting back on time: All-aboard is usually about 30 minutes before sailing, and your ship posts the exact time. A ship will not wait for passengers touring on their own. Carry ID: In France you must be able to prove your identity when asked, on the spot or within four hours at a police station.

Question 2

Getting Around

Accepted Answer

Le Pecq has no railway station of its own, but two RER A stations serve it: Le Vésinet–Le Pecq on the right bank and Saint-Germain-en-Laye up the hill on the left bank. Local buses serve Le Pecq and the neighboring towns. At Le Vésinet–Le Pecq, turn left after the ticket gates for the elevators, which serve passengers with reduced mobility and strollers. Saint-Germain-en-Laye's RER station stands on Place Charles de Gaulle, the square shared with the château and the parish church, and a bus station is next to it. From Saint-Germain, the RER takes about 30 minutes to Châtelet in central Paris. Bus lines of two local networks stop at Le Vésinet–Le Pecq and run through Le Pecq to the neighboring towns.

Question 3

Tipping in France

Accepted Answer

French law requires the cost of service to be included in restaurant prices, so a tip is not expected, and the currency is the euro. A tip is a thank-you for service that was out of the ordinary. Service is always included in the bill. Most French people who do tip simply round the bill up to the next multiple of five euros.

Question 4

Culture and Local Life

Accepted Answer

Le Pecq belongs to the stretch of the Seine that drew the Impressionists, and in 2002 it joined eight neighboring riverside towns to create the Pays des Impressionnistes label. Painters, musicians and a filmmaker have all left their mark on the town. Maurice de Vlaminck painted the town in works such as La Seine, le Pecq of 1906. The filmmaker and actor Jacques Tati was born in Le Pecq on October 9, 1908. The Romantic composer Félicien David is buried in the town cemetery, below the terraces of Saint-Germain, in a mausoleum raised by national subscription in 1893. Two painted panels given to the parish of Saint-Wandrille in 1866 are now attributed to Giovanni Bellini and have been on deposit at the Louvre since 1980. Saint-Germain-en-Laye's market is held on Place du Marché Neuf on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

Question 5

A Brief History

Accepted Answer

Le Pecq's history is tied to the royal château on the hill above it and to the Seine crossing below. Kings landed here by galley on their way to Saint-Germain, and in 1837 the first passenger railway from Paris ended at its riverbank. A gift to monks, 704: The first record of Le Pecq dates from 704, when the Merovingian king Childebert III gave the land to the abbey of Fontenelle. Royal gardens, 1595: Henri IV took 18 to 20 arpents of land from the village to extend the gardens of his Château Neuf down to the Seine, and in return he freed the inhabitants from the taille tax until the Revolution. The royal galley: Louis XIII and Louis XIV traveled from the Louvre to Saint-Germain with their court aboard a royal galley that put in at Le Pecq. A king's birthplace, 1638: Louis XIV was born at the Château Neuf in 1638. Later the exiled James II of England lived at the château of Saint-Germain for 13 years and is buried in the parish church of Saint-Germain-en-Laye. The railway, 1837: The line from Paris, opened to the public on August 26, 1837, was the first in France built purely for passengers. Its locomotives could not climb the Saint-Germain hill, so the terminus stood at the port of Le Pecq on the right bank, and travelers continued uphill by carriage until an extension opened in 1847. Le Vésinet, 1875: Part of Le Pecq was detached in 1875 to help form the new town of Le Vésinet. Treaty of Saint-Germain, 1919: The treaty ending the war between the Allies and Austria was signed at the château on September 10, 1919. The war years: A Royal Air Force raid struck Le Pecq hard on March 3, 1942, and the Le Pecq bridge was targeted in an air raid on June 5, 1944, on the eve of the Normandy landings. To learn more ashore: The Musée d'Archéologie nationale is in the château itself, on Place Charles de Gaulle in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, and visitors under 26 do not pay.

Question 6

Le Pecq with Children

Accepted Answer

With children, a Le Pecq day works best close to the river and the Saint-Germain hill: a park with animals, a walk along the terrace, and Alexandre Dumas's château in the next town. The RER into Paris is easy with older children. Younger children: Parc Corbière, by the river, is a green space with a small menagerie. It doubles as a flood meadow, so it closes when the Seine is high. School age: Dumas had Monte-Cristo built in 1844 on the hillside at Le Port-Marly, in the next town. The Renaissance-style house stands in a garden of ponds, caves and waterfalls. It is closed on Mondays and from November to February opens only on weekend afternoons, and hours change with the season, so check before you go. Teenagers: Walk the Grande Terrasse for the view toward Paris, or take the RER into the city.

Question 7

Accessibility

Accepted Answer

The Saint-Germain hillside rises several dozen meters above the Seine, which is why the first railway stopped at the bottom, so the walk up from the river is a real climb. The RER is the easier way to reach the upper town and central Paris. Le Vésinet–Le Pecq RER station has elevators for passengers with reduced mobility, reached by turning left after the ticket gates. Entry to the Musée d'Archéologie nationale is free for holders of a French disability card, and for a companion when the card says one is needed. The sidewalks on the Pont Georges-Pompidou are shared with cyclists.

Le Pecq

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