Sarcelles is a town of Île-de-France, Val-d'Oise, about fifteen kilometers north of Paris. Nearly 58 000 identified therein.
Until the mid-twentieth century, vegetables and some small industrial facilities characterize the activity of the village, which has only 8000 inhabitants during the terrible winter of 1954.
That's when the city will experience a revolution, when the government decides to build a huge complex of more than 12,000 apartments. The operation lasted twenty years, from 1955 to 1975 and profoundly changed the face and the sociology of the city. Besides the "great together" (also called New Town Sarcelles-Lochères) located south of the municipal territory and separated from the rest of the city by parks and sports facilities, the city has several residential areas and historic heart, "the town".
However, if several buildings "village" worth a visit and cultural events are worth the trip, it is the implementation of the "great together" that now is famous in the locality. So much so that the media, in the 60s, invented the term "sarcellite" to denote the "evil being" assumed its inhabitants.
Discover Sarcelles is doing the splits between the monuments and buildings from some of the medieval era and the more recent features of urban architecture in that it was more "questionable" in the second part of the XXth century.
In chronological order, we must first visit in the "village", the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, listed building, built from 1115. The church was burned by the Huguenots in the sixteenth century and was restored over the centuries. The oldest part is the bell tower topped by a stone spire, surrounded by four pyramidons. The square choir of Gothic style dates from the thirteenth century. Note also its southern façade, characteristic of Gothic. Dated 1480, the central portal is decorated with fine carvings.
It continues with the current city hall, former mansion Miraville. Built in the second half of the nineteenth, it is style "historicizing" with Alsatian rating due to the origins of its first owner. First as a hotel, the mansion included in the inventory of historical monuments... became City Hall in 1963.
Heritage House, 1 rue des Pillars, still in the "village", houses the eponymous museum. This beautiful home has a lovely park. The museum is run by the association "Sarcelles and its history." Besides numerous collections evoking local history (costumes, tools, remnants of industrial activity), thematic exhibitions are regularly offered. Free admission on Mondays from 14h to 17 pm Wednesday from 10am to 12pm and from 14h to 17h, Saturday from 10am to 12pm.
also run by an association, the Naval Museum (27 boulevard de Gaulle) traces Louis XIV five centuries of history to the present. Models, photos and drawings are exhibited on 150 sqm, but the highlight of the visit is to take place in a reconstructed cockpit. Free access all year, Saturday from 14h to 18h or by appointment (tel. 33 30 January 39 92).
Remains to be discovered, not least as via public transport or car, the "great together" and its concrete bar high with 4 floors that remain characteristic of a certain architecture "utility" (he had to act quickly - even if now lasted 20 years - and rationally so that new people can quickly take possession of the premises, receiving accommodation with modern comfort with amenities).
A walk in the numerous parks and city gardens will then get away. We suggest for example the Park Meadows sub-la-Ville, undulating, with a pond and play facilities for children.
Formerly specialized in market gardening, Sarcelles is always rich in its well-stocked markets and still offering some local or regional productions.
In the "village", it takes place in the morning on Wednesday and Saturday.
However, it is the market of the "Grand ensemble", Tuesday, Friday and Sunday morning, part of which is sheltered under a hall, which is worth the detour. It is a convivial rendez-vous popular with the population, vector of social mixity, and which reflects the multicultural character of the city.
On the cultural level, Sarcelles hosts an international Biennial of engraving with international influence.
Finally, several concert halls schedule throughout the year a hundred appointments (concerts, plays or ballets...). Information at the municipal office of culture at +33 1 34 38 20 51.
