Argenteuil () is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero. Argenteuil is a sub-prefecture of the Val-d'Oise department, the seat of the arrondissement of Argenteuil. Argenteuil is part of the Métropole du Grand Paris.
Argenteuil is the fourth most populous commune in the suburbs of Paris (after Boulogne-Billancourt, Saint-Denis, and Montreuil) and the most populous one in the Val-d'Oise department, although it is not its prefecture, which is shared between the communes of Cergy and Pontoise.
Argenteuil shares borders with communes in 3 departements others than Val d'Oise : the Yvelines, Hauts-de-Seine, and Seine-Saint-Denis departements.
Name
The name Argenteuil is recorded for the first time in a royal
charter of 697 as
Argentoialum, from a
Latin/
Gaulish root
argento meaning "silver", "silvery", "shiny", perhaps in reference to the gleaming surface of the river
Seine, on the banks of which Argenteuil is located, and from a
Gaulish language suffix
-ialo meaning "clearing, glade" or "place of".
History
Argenteuil was founded as a
convent in the 7th century (see Pierre Abélard and the Convent of Argenteuil). The
monastery that arose from the convent was later destroyed during the French Revolution.
A rural escape for Parisians, it is now a suburb of Paris. Painters made Argenteuil famous, including Claude Monet, Eugène Delacroix, Auguste Renoir, Gustave Caillebotte, Alfred Sisley and Georges Braque.
The Hotel de Ville was completed in 1994.
Transport
Argenteuil is served by two stations on the Transilien Paris-Saint-Lazare suburban rail line, which are Argenteuil and Val d'Argenteuil.
Since redeveloped by STIF and SNCF, Argenteuil has been equipped with the new Paris-Saint-Lazare-Ermont-Eaubonne line. The new line was launched in 2006, adding the Paris-Saint Lazare / Cormeilles-en-Parisis - Pontoise / Mantes-la-Jolie service to Paris for about ten minutes.
By Bus* :
361 Gare d'Argenteuil à Gare de Pierrefitte - Stains RER;
140 Gare d'Argenteuil - Asnières-Gennevilliers - Gabriel Péri;
164 Argenteuil - Claude Monet College - Porte de Champerret;
By train* :
Gare d'Argenteuil (SNCF-J): Paris Saint-Lazare in 15 minutes and Colombes in 4 minutes
Gare Saint-Gratien (T-8): Porte Maillot in 22 minutes
Épinay Orgemont (T-8): Gare Saint-Denis in 20 minutes
Travel by car:
City centre: 10 minutes;
Paris Saint-Lazare: 25 minutes
La Défense: 20 minutes;
Colombes: 10 minutes;
la Plaine-Saint-Denis: 18 minutes;
Porte de Clichy: 15 minutes;
Education
, the commune's schools have over 12,000 students. The commune has:
[" établissements scolaires ." Argenteuil. Retrieved on 6 September 2016. "Plus de 12 000 élèves prennent le chemin de l'école tous les matins."]
-
30 public preschools ( maternelles) and one private elementary school with a preschool
[" Les maternelles ." Argenteuil. Retrieved on 6 September 2016.]
-
26 public and 2 private elementary schools
[" Liste des écoles élémentaires d'Argenteuil ." Argenteuil. Retrieved on 6 September 2016.]
-
11 junior high schools ( collèges) - 10 public and 1 private
[" Les collèges ." Argenteuil. Retrieved on 6 September 2016.]
-
6 senior high schools/sixth-form colleges:
[ Home . Argenteuil. Retrieved on 6 September 2016.]
-
Lycée Georges Braque
-
Lycée Cognacq-Jay
-
Lycée Julie-Victoire Daubié
-
Lycée Jean Jaurès
-
Lycée Fernand et Nadia Léger
-
Ecole nationale des professions de l'automobile (private)
Paris 13 University serves as the area university.[" Université Paris 13 ." Argenteuil. Retrieved on 6 September 2016.]
The Conservatoire à rayonnement départemental de Musique, Danse et Théâtre is located in Argenteuil.
Social Housing
In June 2025, the demolition and reconstruction of the "Château" social housing building in the Val-Notre-Dame district is part of a vast urban renewal project.
.
Population
Immigration
Twin towns – sister cities
Argenteuil is
Sister city with:
-
Alessandria, Italy
-
Dessau-Roßlau, Germany
-
Hunedoara, Romania
-
West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, United Kingdom
-
Fátima, Portugal
Notable people
-
Héloïse (/01 – 1163/64), nun, philosopher and writer
-
Charles Longuet (1839–1903), journalist and socialist activist
-
Claude Monet (1840–1926), painter, lived and worked here in 1871–1878
-
Georges Braque (1882–1963), painter, sculptor and co-founder of cubism
-
Sidney Duteil (born 1955), musician and television host
-
Ingrid Chauvin (born 1971), actress
-
Thomas Henry (born 1994), professional footballer
-
Florent Mothe (born 1981), singer and actor
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Franck Béria (born 1983), retired professional footballer and functionary
-
Ibrahim Gary (born 1985), karateka
-
Fabien Ateba (born 1991), basketball player
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Kevin Mayer (born 1992), athlete, Olympic medalist
-
Cécile Pelous, philanthropist and designer
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Laurina Fazer (born 2003), footballer for France
Famous paintings of Argenteuil
Autumn at Argenteuil, Regatta at Argenteuil, Red Boats, Argenteuil, The Bridge at Argenteuil, The Port at Argenteuil, The Seine at Argenteuil, View of Argenteuil-Snow, Bords de la Seine a Argenteuil, and Snow at Argenteuil.
And Train in snow at Argenteuil.
Argenteuil and Seine near Argenteuil by Édouard Manet, Regatta at Argenteuil by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and The Bridge in Argenteuil by Gustave Caillebotte.
Gallery
Claude Monet - The Seine at Argenteuil 1873.jpg|Claude Monet, The Seine at Argenteuil, 1873
Pierre-Auguste Renoir 083.jpg|Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Claude Monet Painting in His Garden at Argenteuil, 1873
Edouard Manet 058.jpg|Édouard Manet, The Seine near Argenteuil, 1874
La Seine à Argenteuil.jpg|Claude Monet, The Seine at Argenteuil, 1874
Manet, Edouard - Argenteuil, 1875.jpg|Édouard Manet, Argenteuil, 1875
Bords de la Seine a Argenteuil - Monet.jpg|Claude Monet, Bords de la Seine à Argenteuil, 1875
See also
-
Communes of the Val-d'Oise department
External links
