Gometz-le-Châtel () is a commune in the

Essonne Essonne () is a department in the southern part of the Île-de-France region in Northern France. It is named after the river Essonne. In 2019, it had a population of 1,301,659, across 194 communes.department of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. It is a southern suburb of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, 25 km from the center of Paris.

Geography

This village is near

Les Ulis Les Ulis () is a Communes of France, commune in the Essonne Departments of France, department, from the Kilometre zero, centre of Paris, France. A planned community, it comprises outer suburbs (banlieues) built in the 1970s on the southwestern ...

Bures-sur-Yvette Bures-sur-Yvette (, "Bures-on- Yvette") is a commune in the Essonne department in the Île-de-France region in Northern France. It is a southern Parisian outer suburb in the Vallée de Chevreuse, with a population of 9,254 as of 2021. Geograp ...

, Gif-sur-Yvette and Gometz-la-Ville, along the old road from

Chartres Chartres () is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Eure-et-Loir Departments of France, department in the Centre-Val de Loire Regions of France, region in France. It is located about southwest of Paris. At the 2019 census, there were 1 ...

, crossing the

Hurepoix Hurepoix () is an area of the Île-de-France, to the southwest of Paris, situated between the departments of Yvelines, Hauts-de-Seine and Essonne. It was an old province of the French Kingdom and the main city was Dourdan. Geography This area is ...

Climate

Gometz-le-Châtel has an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Cfb''). The average annual temperature in Gometz-le-Châtel is . The average annual rainfall is with December as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in July, at around , and lowest in January, at around . The highest temperature ever recorded in Gometz-le-Châtel was on 25 July 2019; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 16 January 1985.

History

* This is a very old village, known since 1068. * A train line was built between

via Gallardon, at the beginning of the 20th century, with a station at Gometz-le-Châtel. It was used from 1931 to 1939, but there is no traffic nowadays. Paris RER, B line, can be used to go there by train Bures-sur-Yvette (Paris RER) or La Hacquinière (Paris RER). * An experimental

Aérotrain The Aérotrain was an experimental Tracked Air Cushion Vehicle (TACV), or hovertrain, developed in France from 1965 to 1977 under the engineering leadership of Jean Bertin (1917–1975) – and intended to bring the French rail network to the ...

was built, from Gometz-le-Châtel to

Limours Limours, often referred to as ''Limours-en-Hurepoix'' () is a communes of France, commune the Essonne Departments of France, department in Île-de-France in northern France. Geography Limours is located from Paris. Population Inhabitants of Li ...

, for a trial, from 1966 to 1977, a creation of

Jean Bertin Jean Henri Bertin (5 September 1917 – 21 December 1975) was a French scientist, engineer and inventor. He was born in Druyes-les-Belles-Fontaines and died in Neuilly-sur-Seine. He is best known as the lead engineer for the French experime ...

(railway engineer). This experiment was replaced by the

TGV The TGV (; , , 'high-speed train') is France's intercity high-speed rail service. With commercial operating speeds of up to on the newer lines, the TGV was conceived at the same period as other technological projects such as the Ariane 1 rocke ...

, operating currently.

Population

Inhabitants of Gometz-le-Châtel are called ''Castelgometziens'' in French.

Places to see

* Saint-Clair's Church built during the 10th Century. * Viaduc des Fauvette * La Fontaine Miraculeuse

Personalities