Happy TravellerWelcome to Saint-Cloud, a picturesque commune located in the western suburbs of Paris, France. With a population of 30,012, Saint-Cloud is one of France’s wealthiest towns, boasting the second-highest average household income of communities with 10,000 to 50,000 households. The town is named after Clodoald, grandson of Clovis, who is said to have sought refuge in a hamlet on the Seine near Paris, then named Novigentum. After he was canonized, the village where his tomb was located took the name of Sanctus Clodoaldus.
One of the main attractions in Saint-Cloud is the Parc de Saint-Cloud’s Pavillon de Breteuil, which is home to the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (IBWM). The park also contains the ruins of the Château de Saint-Cloud, built in 1572 and destroyed by fire in 1870 during the Franco-Prussian War. The château was the residence of several French rulers and served as the main country residence of the cadet Orléans line until the French Revolution. The palace was also the site of the coup détat led by Napoleon Bonaparte that overthrew the French Directory in 1799.
Saint-Cloud is also famous for the Saint-Cloud porcelain produced there from 1693 to 1766. The main landmarks are the park of the demolished Château de Saint-Cloud and the Pavillon de Breteuil. The Saint-Cloud Racecourse, a racetrack for Thoroughbred flat racing, was built by Edmond Blanc in 1901 and hosts a number of important races, including the annual Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud.
On the Avenue de Longchamp is a bronze statue commissioned by the Airclub of France representing the Greek mythological figure Icarus, in honor of Alberto Santos-Dumont. Inaugurated on October 19, 1913, it sits on a square near the old Aerostation of Saint-Cloud, where Santos-Dumont performed his experiments with heavier-than-air aircraft. Santos-Dumont was also responsible for the construction of the world’s first hangar. A replica has occupied the hangar’s site in Saint-Cloud since 1952 after the original was destroyed for its bronze during the Nazi military occupation.
Saint-Cloud is served by two stations on the Transilien La Défense and Paris-Saint-Lazare suburban rail lines: Le Val dOr and Saint-Cloud. The town is also served by tramway Line T2, which runs alongside the Seine. Central Saint-Cloud, known as le village (the village), is also served by the Métro station Boulogne–Pont de Saint-Cloud (Line 10), just across the Seine on the Boulogne-Billancourt side of the Pont de Saint-Cloud.
Saint-Cloud has been home to many notable personalities throughout history, including Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, Élisabeth Charlotte dOrléans, Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, Princess Marie Bonaparte, Gilbert Norman, Jean-Claude Killy, Gérard Manset, Hervé Guibert, and Lino Ventura.
Come and experience the charm and beauty of Saint-Cloud, a hidden gem just a stone’s throw away from the bustling city of Paris.
