Argenteuil
Argenteuil () is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. 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. 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: 30 public preschools (maternelles) and one private elementary school with a preschool 26 public and 2 private elementary schools 11 junior high schools (collèges) - 10 public and 1 private 6 senior high schools/sixth-form colleges: 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. The Conservatoire à rayonnement départemental de Musique, Danse et Théâtre is located in Argenteuil. André Bon is one of its former students. Population Immigration Twin towns – sister cities Argenteuil is twinned with: Alessandria, Italy Dessau-Roßlau, Germany Hunedoara, Romania West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, United Kingdom Notable people