Located in the department of Val-de-Marne, the city of Charenton-le-Pont is only 7.5 kilometers from Paris. River Marne and the edge of the Bois de Vincennes, archaeological excavations show implantation of men in this territory for over 16 000 years! This is its strategic location at the confluence of the Marne and Seine which earned the town, there are several millennia, building a bridge. Emblematic of the town, he stared at the crossing of the city roads from the east. Once the old regime and especially the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Charenton-le-Pont attracts Parisian population consists of artists, workers, employees, bourgeois and aristocrats. From the second half of the twentieth century, renovation of urban space Charenton sees the destruction of some historical areas of the city in favor of the construction of major roads, shopping centers and office buildings. Today, only the historical heart of the city, the "Bourg-du-Pont" and "Old Flag" testify to the rich history of Charenton-le-Pont.
The Old Pavilion Antoine de Navarre, which now houses the town hall of Charenton-le-Pont was built in the early seventeenth century. It is classified a historical monument since 1862.
From the ancient castle of Bercy, demolished in 1861, it is still possible to admire some remains, especially two houses that face, the Little Castle Street.
Conflans The castle has also disappeared (it was demolished in the twentieth century), but Charenton-le-Pont still retains its portal, its terrace, staircase and fountain. Classified historical monument since 1976, they bear witness to the rich past of the castle which succeeded each other between the Dukes of Burgundy, the governess of Louis XIV, the Duke of Richelieu or the archbishops of Paris.
City Charenton-le-Pont also houses the old seminary of Conflans, a building with classical facade, built in 1657 but remodeled several times. The hotel housed a novitiate and a youth boarding school girls before being bought by Baron Empain in the late nineteenth. It was in 1972 that settled there the Our Lady of the Missions School. Since 2008, the library of the Architecture and Heritage replaced the Paris-Conflans school of architecture in the part of the seventeenth century.
Around these buildings, the park Seminary Conflans, a beautiful green area of almost 12,000 sqm acquired by the town in 1978, offers Charentonnais very nice wanderings.
City of culture, Charenton-le-Pont has a theater that offers a rich and varied program throughout the year. Theater, circus, music, conference, weekly, theater des Deux Rives welcomes recognized and quality entertainment artists.
The city boasts a music conservatory to enable everyone, big or small, to learn and to practice an instrument, and a library open to all.
Every Wednesday and Saturday of the year, from 8 to 13h, the Jean Jaures avenue de Charenton welcomes the market of the city.
Each year during the mid-June weekend, a large flea market, garage sales is organized by the club Charenton-le-Pont services Lions Club International. Reserved for individuals, this flea market every year brings together many enthusiasts.
Every year, in September and October, the Festi'Val Marne is positioned as the flagship event of the cultural season in Île-de-France. Disseminated on the different municipalities of the department, this festival highlights the musical artists of the moment. Rock, rap, reggae, pop or folk, acoustic or amplified, in Charenton, it was the theater of Two Banks that stand the shows.
