Please provide any information on Auvers--how near it is to Paris, how to get to, good accommodations.<BR><BR>Prefer personal experiences rather than websites.<BR><BR>Thanks!

It'Auvers-sur-Oise, about a 20-minute RER ride out of Paris. There would be no need to look for accommodations there, as you can easily visit it in a day and go back to Paris.<BR><BR>Apart from the Van Gogh brothers' graves, there is the church in Auvers which features in one of VanGogh's paintings, the home/tavern where he lived while in Auvers, and a ch&acirc;teau with an extraordinary exhibit on the Impressionist movement.

We went to Avers sur Oise the end of July, 2001. We took the train (not sure if Lazare or du Nord without checking records at home). We changed trains at Pontoise for the short ride to Avers. Avers is a lovely small town. We saw the room where Van Gogh died, but since the tour was in French and the room is empty of furniture because the original is long gone, it was only four walls and a floor. We did have a stranger do a bit of interpreting for us (thank goodness for the kindness of strangers). There is a small tourist center, an absinthe museum (fee) that was interesting for a quick walk through, the cemetery where he and his brother are buried, and the chateaux with a computerized show. It was my impression that the more you already know about the Impressionists, the less you will enjoy the chateaux; if you know nothing, there is a wealth of information. I especially enjoyed (despite the heat) walking the town, stopping at the church on the way to the cemetery, and the return walk (via tourist center map) through the cornfields back to town. There were crows in the field, just as in his paintings. Every spot he has painted in town has a corresponding sign with the painting; a very nice touch. We wanted to see Van Gogh's doctor's home; but the heat and distance of the walk did us in. The studio of Doubigney is also open to the public. Pontoise is where Pissarro painted, but again we ran out of time to see anything other than the train station; it would be worth a look. For the return from Avers to Pontoise we took the bus; an interesting meander through the countryside. I believe the schedule came from the tourist office. After reading my own post, it seems I need to go back and hit the spots we missed!

A lot of the information you want is factual, so to say you don't want web sites may be to your disadvantage as that town has a very good one with most of the information you want, including excellent maps and a walking tour.<BR><BR>It is fairly easy to get to if you know your way around the RER/train system fairly well. You do not have to take a regular SNCF trains from gare Lazare or Nord or wherever -- the easiest method is to simply take the RER train from Invalides up to Pontoise and then transfer to the small lightrail train to Auvers. When you buy your ticket at Invalides, as for the special Auvers ticket deal where you get the RT train ticket plus entry to the chateau for a big discount. <BR>

I know a lot about Impressionism and that historic time period and still enjoyed the chateau very much. I'd never seen anything quite like it, they have an excellent audiovisual presentation going through the chateau and touch on art and other historic facts of the time period. The French do those things very well, in my experience.

In St. Remy de Provence is the asylum he stayed at in the prolific years 1889-1890. The grounds of the asylum are replete with sites of his paintings.<BR><BR>It will be interesting to visit Auvers. Again, thanks for all the information..

I have been a big fan of the Impressionists since I was a teenager, have been to innumerable special exhibits and museums, read quite a few books about them, and generally followed that movement for many years, and I though the exhibit at the ch&acirc;teau was absolutely wonderful. I think it's a marvelous place for both initiates and long-time admirers of the Impressionists.

have to agree that the chateau is worth whatever effort it takes to get to it, it was the museum that gave my husband a new appreciation for the artists and their work, it's been a couple of years and he still remarks how much he enjoyed our afternoon at the chateau, hope you find the time for a visit there. Deborah

St Cirq - what's the easiest way to get from Auvers sur Oise to the Ile des Impressionistes?? Via train, I mean.

Thnaks,
MaryC

I know you didn't want websites, but you may want to read this: <BR>An article about Van Gogh and sites near Paris (including Auvers) related to his life<BR>www.bparis.com/newsletter1464/newsletter_show.htm?doc_id=16614&amp;attrib_id=270 0<BR>

Mary: I just checked the RATP website, and it looks like a nightmare by train: The route they recommend involves going back into Paris and takes 2 hours! I'll have to do some more checking on this. There's got to be an easier way~!<BR>

Good Lord, StCirq, I might as well bicycle back &amp; forth!! : ) Well, I can always do without Auvers-sur-Oise and just do the Maison Fournaise.