Skip to content. Skip to navigation. This document is split into several sections for easy navigation Western suburbs Inner suburbs Outer suburbs Outer western suburbs. The proximity of the business districts, airports, train stations and major arteries of Paris, locations of the major international schools, homes for families who are looking for a house with a garden, make the west of Paris beyond Versailles and out as far as Mantes la Jolie an extremely popular area.
Buses from the international schools have regular routes around these areas to pick up and return pupils. Where to look For those who like a more city suburb location then Paris can offer. The choice still remains to the areas west and south of Paris. These 'inner' towns or suburbs comprise la 'petite couronne' or 'proche banlieue'. They have good metro, bus and commuter train services. The principal department is Yvelines 78 and it is host to a very large expatriate Anglophone community, because of the proximity of the international schools.
The area is bounded in the north by Maisons Laffitte and in the south by Le Chesnay. Versailles is the departmental town and was the home of the last of the French kings at the Palais de Versailles up until the Revolution in Yvelines has the advantage of closeness to the city of Paris but access to beautiful green countryside, unspoilt forest and woodland and it is little wonder it was chosen by the then royalty as the place to live. Your first steps to establishing yourself in Yvelines start with a visit to the main Prefecture for the Department which is situated not far from the Palais, described as a chateau.
A description of the most popular towns and villages follows. The principal reasons being proximity to an international school a good reliable commuter service into Paris and reasonable quality of life for the family in rented or purchased accommodation.
Carrieres sur Seine The town of Carrieres borders the Seine up to the Bezon's bridge It shares a station with Houilles but due to its location is not high on the list for families coming to live around the capital. Germain en Laye triangle. Chatou marks the other end of the main thoroughfare from the Le Pecq bridge to the Chatou bridge.
