Saint-Germain-en-Laye

Saint-Germain-en-Laye, town in northern France, in Yvelines department, near Paris. Saint-Germain-en-Laye is a chic and exclusive suburb of Paris, lying near the Forêt de Saint-Germain, on the river Seine west of the city. The town was once a favoured royal retreat, and the impressive château and its extensive landscaped gardens make it a popular tourist destination today. The terrace, constructed for Louis XIV in 1673, offers excellent views over Paris and the Seine. Louis VI built the original château, known as the Château Vieux, in the 12th century. It was used until the 16th-century construction in the town of the Château Neuf by Henry II, the Château Neuf becoming one of the main seats of the French court until the completion of the Palace of Versailles in 1682. Louis XIV was born in the Château Neuf in 1638.

Much of the Château Neuf was ruined in the 18th century, and the restored Château Vieux is now occupied by the Musée des Antiquités Nationales, notable for its prehistoric and Roman collections, especially its full-size replica of the cave paintings of Lascaux. Saint-Germain-en-Laye saw the signing of many historic treaties, including the 1919 treaty regarding the dismemberment of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Population (1990) 39,926.