Viry-Châtillon is a town in Essonne, in the Île-de-France region, 20 km south of Paris.
The commune was born from the merger in 1790 of the farming village of Viry-sur-Orge and the village of Châtillon-sur-Seine, located on the left bank of the river.
Until the 19th century, the fertile lands were owned by seigneuries and then large families, then the rise of railway traffic and the industrialization of the Paris region accelerated the urbanization of the city, in the form of subdivisions and workers' First, and from the 1960s onwards by the construction of large ensembles. If there were only 2500 inhabitants at the end of the First World War, there were 9500 at the Liberation and now a little more than 31 000.
Meanwhile, Viry-Châtillon had its hour of glory when the first official airfield in France was built there in 1909, baptized Port-France by the government. It was equipped with a track of 4 km and frequent meetings attracting thousands of spectators were organized there. Used during the war 14-18 by the allied units of the air, it was abandoned in 1919, too often flooded by the Seine...
Although crossed by the highway A6 and the N7, Viry-Châtillon has preserved a heritage worthy of interest, the heart of town being redeveloped after the Liberation while many cultural and leisure facilities, especially around the lake that runs along the Seine, Have been created over decades. More than 50 hectares of parks and gardens, some of which include protected areas for their biodiversity add to the attractiveness of the city.
The municipality has designed heritage circuits that allow to discover the history and the remarkable sites of Viry-Châtillon.
The first is devoted to the former Port-Aviation aerodrome, although it does not remain as such as the officers' mess built in 1909. Before welcoming the Air Force officers during the First World War, It was a two storey restaurant with panoramic terrace. It was then a hotel and then an industrial unit. It was bought by the city in 1983.
The other courses are marked out with buildings and parks.
Among the must-see are the Domaine du Piédefer, a property dating from the 17th century for its oldest parts, which was then rest house and then private high school. The city bought and restored the whole in 1992. Part of the buildings houses cultural facilities (media library, exhibition hall). It is necessary to linger in the garden, equipped with an orangery and a parterre in the French accompanied by a jet of water typical of the nineteenth century. Also worth seeing is the Nymphaeum, a room adorned with shells and rockeries, in an Italian Baroque style (17th century).
The church of Saint-Denis, with a fortified bell tower dating from the twelfth century, seems to dominate the "old Viry". However, the building was only completed in the 18th century after numerous modifications. In the Middle Ages, the church was used as a shelter during troubled times.
The Church of Notre-Dame des Cités, built in 1969 (the roof of which is on a slope and the choir below), is still in the religious domain. The chapel of Sainte-Bernadette (1960, enlarged in 1982)) And the Church of the Holy Spirit, built in two phases (1933, 1964), with its concrete bell tower but a red brick facade.
The Maison-Dieu (eighteenth century), a former religious dispensary, an eighteenth-century washhouse (Choiseul street), and the Choiseul pavilion, which consists of a main house 17th century, two entrance pavilions and a large park.
Do not forget the town hall, former castle of La Tournelle then the castle Lacroix (18th century), acquired by the city in 1943, to which wings were added in 1973, Villa Pierre l'Ermite (18th), pavilion Gothic, unique vestige of the Castle of Viry or the castle of the Marches (XVIIth and XVIIIth centuries), now conservatory of music.
The designed routes also capture the city's economic and industrial past, as well as its present, such as the Renault Sport headquarters and the Gordini factory.
But the most amazing in the heart of the Parisian crown is the number of parks and green spaces that dot these urban walks... Such as the garden of biodiversity which is a showcase of the ecological richness (fauna and flora) of the commune, the Park Duparchy, which borders the Barley, or even the family gardens, the "citizen forest" and the arboretum of the Pre to the oxen.
Leblanc Park, which has a green theater, is also worth a visit: there is a stone-sandstone bench with a Phrygian cap on the old royal road from Versailles to Corbeil.
Finally, the lakes bordering the Seine, born from the extraction of alluvial sand, have been laid out: nautical base, sports fields and jogging courses... The whole offers 100 hectares to the city-dwellers eager for nature and leisure.
Maps and information about the heritage discovery routes designed by the city on +33 1 69 12 62 12.
For those who would like to consider hiking (on foot or even mountain bike) at the start or including Viry-Châtillon, contact the +33 1 64 97 36 91.
For the sporty ones, the municipal skating rink is open from mid-September to the end of April (information: +33 1 69 05 42 45), and all year round you can enjoy the swimming pool which offers an outdoor pool in summer +33 1 69 57 52 10).
To enjoy the lakes (where canoeing, rowing and even sailing are practiced), join the nautical base to +33 1 69 44 63 30.
Finally, there is the mini-golf that can entertain young and old in July and August. Information on +33 1 69 05 93 35.
In February and March, the festival of the Conte offers appointments for all public (tales but also exhibitions and films).
In April, over a week, Ludivry offers workshops, meetings and animations on the theme of playing in all its forms (leisure or pedagogy), from the most traditional to the most contemporary (multimedia).
In another register, a market takes place on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays morning Place des Martyrs-de-Chateaubriant.
