Coordinates: 48°35′19″N 1°34′46″E / 48.5886111111°N 1.57944444444°E
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Commune of Maintenon |
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 Château de Maintenon in the town center |
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| Location | |
 
Maintenon
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| Administration | |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Region | Centre |
| Department | Eure-et-Loir |
| Arrondissement | Chartres |
| Canton | Maintenon |
| Intercommunality | Terrasses et Vallées de Maintenon |
| Mayor | Michel Bellanger (2001–2008) |
| Statistics | |
| Elevation | 97–166 m (320–540 ft) (avg. 120 m/390 ft) |
| Land area1 | 11.44 km2 (4.42 sq mi) |
| Population2 | 4,440 (1999) |
| - Density | 388 /km2 (1,000 /sq mi) |
| Miscellaneous | |
| INSEE/Postal code | 28227/ 28130 |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
| 2 Population sans doubles comptes: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once. | |
Maintenon is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located 63.5 km (39.5 mi). (39.5 miles) southwest of the center of Paris.
Maintenon, together with the neighbouring commune of Pierres, form an urban area of 7,131 inhabitants (1999 census). This urban area is a satellite town of Paris.
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Maintenon is known for its picturesque Château de Maintenon, first home to the family d’Angennes, Marquis de Maintenon, later home of Madame de Maintenon, morganatic second wife of King Louis XIV.
Another tourist attraction are the ruins of the aqueduct of Maintenon, built by Louis XIV to carry water from the Eure River to the gardens of the Palace of Versailles.
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The arms of Maintenon are blazoned : |
Maintenon is served by Maintenon SNCF station on the Transilien Paris – Montparnasse suburban rail line and on regional rail lines.
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Maintenon is a city in Eure-et-Loir.
Train from Paris Montparnasse on the line to Chartres.
The exquisite Château de Maintenon, which once belonged to Louis XIV's second wife, who became known as Madame de Maintenon. A "bite-sized" chateau for those who don't want to spend a day walking round visiting a vast edifice.
It's a bit of a hike into town from the railway station (although there are occasional local buses) and the chateau is not an "A-list" site so there is no tourist industry built around it. However, there are enough bars and restaurants in town to satisfy all but the most demanding traveller.
Pay to go into the Chateau. It has the most fabulous, really spectacular portrait gallery, including paintings of the family from recent times. Unlike the big chateaux, this one is small enough to enjoy without getting bogged down with 'too much information'. The written guide is useful but there really is so much to look at and inspect. The history of the place is fascinating, (given this is a very small town) and the gardens are fabulous too. From the courtyard the small, formal lawned gardens take you to the lakes....and beyond the lake is the fantastic aquaduct, used to take water to Versailles palace.
From the chateau, it's an easy drive to Nogent le Roi, another small town with an impressive array of medieval buildings, a chateau, small public park and magnificent church. This one, with the sun shining through it's glorious windows, inspired me more than the magnificent edifice at Chartres.
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