| General Location of VENABLES - FRANCE: |
| The village of Venables is about 1 hour from Paris by car or train. The village is North-West of Paris and actually lies along the Seine River which flows through the center of Paris and on out to the English Channel (La Manche in French). |
| If you are going to Venables - FRANCE, here are some travel tips on getting there: |
| I have traveled to Venables by train and by car and found it to be far easier to visit the small towns of Normandy such as Venables if you rent a car. There was a very small train station in Venables but it was closed because the town was so small (about 900 inhabitants) and not many people got off at this station. The nearest train station to Venables is the Gaillon-Aubevoye station which is about 10 minutes from Venables by car. I have walked to Venables from this station but only because it was a nice summer day and I had no baggage. Driving in France is as easy as it is here in the U.S., they even have Shell and BP gas stations to fill up the car and take all the regular credit cards at these and all the other stations. Don't try to drive through Paris city streets however if your not used to chaos on the road, there are no divider lines and everyone just goes in the direction they want. |
| It is best to make your car rental reservations in advance while in the United States. I have used both Budget and EuroDollar many times and found that you get a much better price if you reserve and get a price quote before arriving in France. The car rental agencies will charge you hundreds (literally) of Francs more if you just arrive at the airport and try to rent a car or if you try to reserve the car while in France. All of these car rental agencies are located in the airport terminal so it's pretty easy to get around. |
| Driving Directions to VENABLES from Paris - Charles de Gaulle Airport |
| If you take a car from the airport, you will have to drive by Paris on your way out to Venables. The Peripherique is the mini-highway which circles Paris. From the Paris Charles de Gaulle airport, you take the A1 autoroute toward Paris, get onto the Peripherique going in the direction of A13 - Autoroute de Normandie and when you come to it, take the A13 Normandie Autoroute exit which will take you out toward Venables. The A13 has a couple of peage (toll) points on your way out to Venables, so have some 20, 10, and 5 Franc coins so you can drive through the easy coin-basket lanes (just toss the correct amount of coins in the hole). |
| While there is no Venables exit form the Autoroute, there are a couple of nearby village exits. The nearest exit is the Heudebouville exit which is just after the Gaillon exit. After exiting the Heudebouville exit, turn right onto National route N15. You'll go along through the small village of Heudebouville and just after the row of small shops there is a small road on the left-hand side with a sign that points toward Venables and the larger town past Venables called Les Andelys. The village of Venables is just a half-mile or so down this road. The town doesn't have much in it: a single stop light, a small grocery store and bar, a church, a small school and the City Hall. As you come into town, you will pass the cemetery on the left. the cemetery is notable because it has some English soldiers buried there who fought to defend the village from the invading Germans in 1940. |
| When you come to the stop light, the road forks, the right direction goes toward Les Andelys, the left goes toward the church and City Hall (La Mairie). To go to La Marie, take the left fork and just past a couple of houses on the left before the church is the building with a parking lot in front with the sign "La Marie" If you arrive during the week, there should be someone at the city hall to greet you. |
| Taking the Train from Paris - Charles de Gaulle Airport |
| When you arrive at the Charles de Gaulle Aiport, look for the signs that point you in the direction of the RER train station. The RER is the Paris suburbs train network and will take you into Paris to the Gare du Nord train station. The ticket will cost about around $10. Previously you had to yake a short bus ride to the RER station, but now the station is directly in the airport terminal. The train ride is about 35 minutes to downtown Paris. |
| The train that goes out toward Venables leaves from the Gare St. Lazare station. This is located to the West of the Gare du Nord station about five city blocks away. While I have walked to the other station, it is not fun to haul all your luggage through the Moulin Rouge district that you must pass through to get to the other station. You can take the Metro over to Gare St. Lazare, howvere there is no direct Metro line that takes you from Gare du Nord to Gare St. Lazare. So if you feel a bit confused by the Metro system or don't want to haul your luggage through he commuter railway system, just exit the Gare du Nord station and take a taxi over to Gare St. Lazare (about a 5 minute drive - cost varies on season). If you don't mind taking the Metro, you will want to locate the signs which direct you to the Paris Metro station which is in Gare du Nord station but at a different floor level. Find one of the Metro system maps (they are everywhere mounted on the walls) and trace the route from Gare du Nord to Gare St. Lazare. You will need to change trains 2 times to get over to Gare St. Lazare. If you want more details, email me. One Metro ticket buys you a single ride of unlimited distance |
| When you arrive at the Gare St. Lazare train station, you will need to obtain a ticket going to Aubevoye-Gaillon, which is the station nearest Venables. If you don't have a EurRail Pass (in which case you can just pick a train from the posted schedules and board it), locate the ticket counter which is near the center of the station's main depot plaza. The train ride from Paris to Gaillon is about 45 minutes to 1 hour depending on whether you get aboard the train that stops at every town along the way or the express which only stops at main towns. The Aubevoye-Gaillon station is on the edge of the towns of Aubevoye and Gaillon, with nothing really significant near the station, so if you don't have someone picking you up at the station, you will need to go into the bar across the street from the station and call a taxi to come pick you up and take you to a hotel in Gaillon. There are no hotels in Venables, just a couple of small seasonal bed and breakfast houses. |
| An alternative plan is that you could get off at the Vernon station which is a town about 10 miles before Gaillon. Vernon is a good stop because it is just across the Seine River from Giverny, the hometown of the famous impressionist painter Claude Monet. You could get off at Vernon (the station is just blocks from downtown Vernon) and stay at one of the nice hotels in this town and then visit the Monet house, museum, and flower gardens before you go on to Venables. |
| The Mayor of VENABLES and the A.C.S.V.: |
| If you plan on visiting venables, you should send a letter (English is fine) as soon as you can to the Mayor of Venables, Jean-Marie Drouet, telling him that you are coming to visit the village and I'm sure he will be anxiously awaiting your arrival with a welcoming reception. Jean-Marie, his wife Monique and all of their family have become very dear friends of mine. I sure you will really enjoy meeting them and the rest of the people of Venables. |
| You can also write to the Mayor asking for more info on the Venables family as they have built a very large database of the Venables families of the world. |
| Send your letter addressed to: |
| Monsieur Le Maire, Jean-Marie Drouet Mairie de Venables Place de la Lib�ration 27940 VENABLES FRANCE |
| Here is the Mayor's Office phone number, but you'll probably get someone who doesn't speak English so only call them if you feel comfortable speaking French. |
| Tel : +33 02.32.53.41.45 |
|
The village of Venables has a cultural association called the A.C.S.V. (Association Culturel et Sportive de
Venables) which is responsible for the planning of the Venables Conventions and also in greeting Venables
families who visit the town. The President of the A.C.S.V. is Patrick Lequette who you
most likely will also meet if you
go to visit. Here is his contact information as well as the contact
information for the Robbert de Groot who maintains the Village of Venables
website at http://venables.free.fr/
Patrick Lequette email: [email protected] phone: 33 (2) 32.53.43.11
Robbert de Groot email: [email protected] |
Maps of Venables and Normandie(click on these images for large-scale versions) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Venables Page is produced by
|
| These pages are compiled and maintained by: Sloan S. Venables |
| All Contents of this Website are Copyright © 1995-2004 Sloan S. Venables. No Reproduction Without Prior Consent. |
