Malmaison — a little-visited gem outside Paris

by Jack & Yvonne Prevo, McKinney, TX

On a 10-day trip to Paris, France, in May ’08, we spent a day outside of Paris that included a visit to Château de Malmaison in Rueil and a nice meal at Le Restaurant de la Fournaise in Chatou.

Touring the château

Château de Malmaison (www.chateau-malmaison.fr, in French only) was a country home of Napoléon and Joséphine, purchased by her before her husband became emperor and crowned her empress in 1804. Napoléon later divorced Joséphine, as she was unable to provide a male heir, and she resided at Malmaison until her death in 1814.

The estate then passed on to various royal families until a wealthy philanthropist purchased it and donated it to the state, which opened Malmaison as a public museum in 1906.

To get there, take the RER from the Charles de Gaulle-Étoile station and get off at the Rueil-Malmaison station — about a 30-minute trip.

When we arrived, the area outside of the station was rather deserted, but we found a bus driver on his break and showed him the château’s address hoping that he could tell us how to get there. He pointed to a line of taxis and we took his advice.

We had an interesting ride of about 20 minutes through the pretty town to its outskirts, where the château is located.

Malmaison is a little jewel box filled with furniture, sculpture, portraits, porcelain and other personal treasures. It’s small, but it is elegant and beautifully decorated. Most of the extensive grounds have returned to their natural state, but there are a few rose and flower gardens.

There were only a handful of visitors on the day we were there, which was nice after the hustle and bustle of Paris. Admission is E5 ($7.40), and the château is closed on Tuesdays.

A memorable meal

When we left the château, the gatekeeper graciously called a taxi for us for the 20-minute drive to the village of Chatou, across the Seine, where the Restaurant de la Maison Fournaise (phone 01 30 71 41 91, www.restaurant-fournaise.fr) is located.

This restaurant is where Pierre-Auguste Renoir painted his famous masterpiece “Luncheon of the Boating Party” in 1881. The building was restored a few years ago and today serves as a restaurant and museum.

We did not have reservations, but we were accommodated with a nice table by the balcony railing overlooking the Seine. The other diners appeared to be locals.

We do not speak French, nor did our waiter speak English, and there was no English menu, but we persevered and were rewarded with a delicious meal. We spent about E90 ($134) for appetizers, entrées, desserts and two glasses of Champagne.

This was a lovely experience on a beautiful day that we will always remember.

Friendly locals

It was a 30-minute stroll back to the RER station. Along the way we stopped two other pedestrians to ask directions and received good advice cordially.

We want to heartily agree with Richard Berner, who wrote (June ’08, pg. 6) that after seven trips to France he is still looking for the snooty, rude French people that everyone talks about. This was our seventh trip to France also and we have yet to encounter any unpleasantness. We have always been treated with courtesy and respect.