"A castle and horse racing a lovely history" Maisons-Laffitte by gwened

a wonderful castle right next to city center in a beautiful upscale town in my dept of residency Yvelines 78, not far from St Germain en Laye or Versailles.
The castle was done by architect Mansart as well as the gardens and was called by Charles Perrault as one of the most beautiful in France.

It was René de Longueil, President of the parliament of Paris ,and superintendant of finances, that ordered it built in 1651. He wanted to host the king Louis XIV while he came to hunt in the forest of Saint-Germain-en-Laye.

Le château de Maisons a connu des propriétaires et des hôtes prestigieux, qu'ils furent rois ou princes, empereurs ou maréchaux mais aussi écrivains ou penseurs tels que Voltaire, Madame de Staël ou Benjamin Constant

main street in town leading to all

The racecourse or hippodrome de Maisons-Laffitte is the oldest racecourse in the Paris region. The castle and the domaine was purchased in 1818 by banker Jacques Laffitte.

The races were organised by his son Charles ,and the grandson the Prince de la Moskowa ,which brought buyers. While the park rented to Joseph Oller,he opens the racecourse permanently in 1878.

It is now the second biggest center of race horse training in France, and its the longest straight line racing in Europe as well as with Newmarket ,measuring more than 2 000 meters. Many races are held here now of importance such as the Prix Robert Papin

front of church Saint Nicolas

a wonderful church done by Mansart on order of Longueil, the finance minister. It kept up the services even during the French revolution. nice to see off main street

• Pros:lovely town with a nice castle and racecourse
• Cons:none to me
• In a nutshell:The town with a castle a horse and a history of France