Vélizy-Villacoublay

Vélizy-Villacoublay is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the south-western suburbs of Paris 13.9 km (8.6 mi) from the center and 3.2 km (2.0 mi) east of Versailles. Its inhabitants are called Véliziens.

Vélizy-Villacoublay
Commune
The church of Saint-Denis, in Vélizy-Villacoublay
Coat of arms
Location of Vélizy-Villacoublay
Vélizy-Villacoublay
Vélizy-Villacoublay
Coordinates: 48°47′00″N 2°11′00″E
CountryFrance
RegionÎle-de-France
DepartmentYvelines
ArrondissementVersailles
CantonVersailles-2
IntercommunalityCA Versailles Grand Parc
Government
 • MayorPascal Thévenot
Area
1
9.09 km2 (3.51 sq mi)
Population
 (2017-01-01)[1]
22,036
 • Density2,400/km2 (6,300/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
78640 /78140
Elevation102–179 m (335–587 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Geography

Established on the Parisian plateau, the town of Vélizy-Villacoublay borders Meudon in the north-east, Clamart in the east, Bièvres in the south-east, Viroflay in the north-west, and Chaville in the north.

Vélizy-Villacoublay is a very urbanized town bordering the Meudon forest, which spans over 300 hectares (741 acres) of communal land.

There are six districts: Mozart, le Clos, le Mail, Louvois, la Pointe Ouest et Vélizy-le-Bas (with l'Ursine and le Bocage).

History

The word "Vélizy" comes from the Latin word villa. "Villacoublay" is formed from the same word, combined with the Gallo-Roman patronym "Escoblenus". Originally called simply Vélizy, the name of the commune became officially Vélizy-Villacoublay in 1938.

The territory was formed from three distinct manors: Vélizy, Villacoublay, and Ursine, established in the 11th century. The domains were progressively annexed into the royal estate beginning in the 12th century (Vélizy was annexed at the end of the 13th century).

The airbase in Villacoublay, Vélizy – Villacoublay Air Base, was built in 1911. In 1974 the Vélizy 2 shopping mall was opened.

The body of Diana, Princess of Wales was flown to RAF Northolt, west London, from here after her death in Paris on August 31, 1997.[2]

Main sights
  • The Saint-Denis church
  • The Saint-Jean-Baptiste church, in modern style.
  • The barracks of the Compagnies Républicaines de Sécurité (CRS).
  • l'Onde Cultural Center, finished in December 2000 and designed by the architect Claude Vasconi, which is composed of one hall with 670 seats, a multidisciplinary room of 200 seats, two large dance halls, an orchestra room, 12 studios, 4 classrooms, a recording room, and a percussion room.
Town hall

Transport

Vélizy-Villacoublay is served by no station of the Paris Métro, RER, or suburban rail network. The closest station to Vélizy-Villacoublay is Chaville–Vélizy station on Paris RER line C. This station is located in the neighboring commune of Viroflay, 1.7 km (1.1 mi) from the town center of Vélizy-Villacoublay. Starting 2014, Vélizy-Villacoublay is served by a tramway line (line T6) with 7 stations.

The town is also serviced by the A86 autoroute, the 118 national route (RN118), and the RN286.

  • Two-leveled tunnel under construction between Rueil-Malmaison and Vélizy-Villacoublay (a section of the A86)
  • Covering of the A86
  • The Veolia Transport bus line (Connex), of the RATP,

Economy

Education

Twin towns
gollark: I've got a bunch of comparison things and university websites open among my 600 random browser tabs.
gollark: I have a weird thing with overresearching random stuff in advance but then procrastinating on actually important decisions/things, so yes.
gollark: I think they have to use the same application timings and suffer similar weirdness with prediction, since most undergraduate applications go through one central system.
gollark: It's kind of stupid but cannot practically be changed now.
gollark: Anyway, universities just have to base it on predicted grades, past grades, and a "personal statement" and "reference". So you get an "offer", usually saying "if you get X grades you can go to this university", and have to hope that you match that in the exams.

See also

References
  1. "Populations légales 2017". INSEE. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  2. Walford, Charles (26 January 2012). "Historic RAF airfield used by the Queen 'to be sold to property developers in latest cuts plan'". Daily Mail. London.
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