Ville-d'Avray () is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the western suburbs of

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. The commune is part of the

arrondissement of Boulogne-Billancourt The arrondissement of Boulogne-Billancourt is an Arrondissements of France, arrondissement of France in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France (region), Île-de-France Regions of France, region. It has 8 Commune ...

in the

Hauts-de-Seine Hauts-de-Seine (; ) is a Departments of France, département in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region, Northern France. It covers Paris's western inner Banlieue, suburbs. It is bordered by Paris, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne to the e ...

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

. In 2019, it had a population of 11,225.

Demographics

Transport

Ville-d'Avray contains a suburban rail line station called Sèvres – Ville d'Avray station on the

Transilien Paris-Saint-Lazare Transilien Paris-Saint-Lazare is one of the sectors in the Paris Transilien suburban rail network. The trains on this sector depart from Gare Saint-Lazare in central Paris and serve the north and north-west of Île-de-France region with Transilien ...

suburban rail line. This station is an 800-meter walk from the residential area of Ville-d'Avray.

Personalities

Jean Rostand Jean Edmond Cyrus Rostand (30 October 1894, Paris – 4 September 1977, Ville-d'Avray) was a French biologist, historian of science, and philosopher. Active as an experimental biologist, Rostand became famous for his work as a science writer, as ...

was a French experimental biologist and philosopher who lived in Ville-d'Avray. He became famous for his work as a science writer, as well as a philosopher and an activist. His scientific work covered a variety of biological fields such as amphibian embryology, parthenogenesis and teratogeny, while his literary output extended into popular science, history of science and philosophy. His work in the area of cryogenics gave the idea of cryonics to

Robert Ettinger Robert Chester Wilson Ettinger (December 4, 1918 – July 23, 2011) was an American academic, known as "the father of cryonics" because of the impact of his 1962 book ''The Prospect of Immortality''. Ettinger founded the Cryonics Institute ...

. The famous beauty and Scottish courtesan

Grace Elliott Grace Dalrymple Elliott (c. 1754 – 16 May 1823) was a Scottish courtesan, writer and spy resident in Paris during the French Revolution. She was an eyewitness to events detailed in her memoirs, ''Journal of my life during the French Revo ...

died in Ville-d'Avray in May 1823. Landscape painter

Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot ( , , ; July 16, 1796 – February 22, 1875), or simply Camille Corot, is a French landscape and portrait painter as well as a printmaker in etching. He is a pivotal figure in landscape painting and his vast ...

maintained a residence in the village and used the area as a subject for several paintings including ''

Ville-d'Avray Ville-d'Avray () is a Communes of France, commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre zero, centre of Paris. The commune is part of the arrondissement of Boulogne-Billancourt in the Hauts-de-Seine Department ...

'' in 1867. Actress

Isabelle Huppert Isabelle Anne Madeleine Huppert (; born 16 March 1953) is a French actress. Described as "one of the best actresses in the world", she is known for her portrayals of cold and disdainful characters devoid of morality. She is the recipient of sev ...

spent her childhood in Ville-d'Avray. French author and musician

Boris Vian Boris Vian (; 10 March 1920 – 23 June 1959) was a French polymath: writer, poet, musician, singer, translator, critic, actor, inventor and engineer who is primarily remembered for his novels. Those published under the pseudonym Vernon Sulliva ...

was born in the town in 1920. Literary historian and critic, essayist, novelist and poet, member of the

Académie Française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

and the Académie de Saintonge,

Pierre-Henri Simon Pierre-Henri Simon (16 January 1903, Saint-Fort-sur-Gironde – 20 September 1972) was a French intellectual, literary historian, essayist, novelist, poet, and literary critic. He won the Prix Ève Delacroix in 1963 Works Essays * Destins d ...

lived in Ville d'Avray and is buried there. Famous 19th century courtesan

Valtesse de La Bigne Émilie-Louise Delabigne, known as countess Valtesse de La Bigne (1848, in Paris – 29 July 1910, in Ville-d'Avray) was a French courtesan and demi-mondaine. Though born to a working-class family in Paris, she rose through the social ranks and ...

had a second home here which was next door to the home of famous French politician

Léon Gambetta Léon Gambetta (; 2 April 1838 – 31 December 1882) was a French lawyer and republican politician who proclaimed the French Third Republic in 1870 and played a prominent role in its early government. Early life and education Born in Cahors, Ga ...

Popularity on Google Earth

The village is the location of a former technical school focused on the aerospace sector, though now associated with the University of Paris. To celebrate their ongoing commitment to

aeronautical engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: Aeronautics, aeronautical engineering and Astronautics, astronautical engineering. A ...

, a scale model of a

Dassault Mirage 2000 The Dassault Mirage 2000 is a French multirole, single-engine, fourth-generation jet fighter manufactured by Dassault Aviation. It was designed in the late 1970s as a lightweight fighter to replace the Mirage III for the French Air Force (''Arm ...

fighter jet is set out in the courtyard. Discovery of the model by users of

Google Earth Google Earth is a computer program that renders a 3D computer graphics, 3D representation of Earth based primarily on satellite imagery. The program maps the Earth by superimposition, superimposing satellite images, aerial photography, and geog ...

in the mid-2000s caused a minor stir on the Internet, and the "jet in a residential parking lot" is consistently featured on lists of satellite imagery curiosities.

Education

Primary schools in the commune: * Groupe scolaire Jean Rostand * Groupe scolaire La Ronce * Maternelle Halphen (preschool) Collège La Fontaine du Roy is within the commune. It is served by the public high school

Lycée Jean Pierre Vernant Lycée Jean Pierre Vernant is a senior high school/sixth-form college in Sèvres, Hauts-de-Seine, France, in the Paris metropolitan area. The school serves Sèvres, Chaville, Saint-Cloud, and Ville d'Avray Ville-d'Avray () is a commune in the ...

Sèvres Sèvres (, ) is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the Hauts-de-Seine department, Île-de-France region. The commune, which had a population of 23,251 as of 2018, is known for i ...

.Home page

. Retrieved on September 7, 2016. ..ui relèvent de la zone de desserte du lycée ( communes de Sèvres, Ville d’Avray, Chaville, Saint -Cloud) ../ref>

References

External links

Ville-d'Avray town council website
(in French) {{DEFAULTSORT:Villedavray Communes of Hauts-de-Seine