Paris_ City Guide (Lonely Planet, 7th Edition) - Lonely Planet [281]
Northwest is the Maison-Atelier de Daubigny ( 01 34 48 03 03; 61 rue Daubigny; adult/under 12yr €5/free; 2-6.30pm Thu-Sun Easter–early Nov), the house studio of artist Charles-François Daubigny (1818–78), who began the practice of painting en plein air (outside), pre-empting the impressionists. He decorated the walls of his studio from top to bottom with help from painters Camille Corot (1796–1875) and Honoré Daumier (1808–79), and the result is stunning. To learn more about the forays and frolics of Daubigny, his friends and pupils, visit the small Musée Daubigny ( 01 30 36 80 20; rue de la Sansonne; adult/under 18yr €4/free; 2-6pm Wed-Fri, 10.30am-1pm & 2-6pm Sat & Sun Apr-Oct, 2-5pm Wed-Fri, 10.30am-1pm & 2-6pm Sat & Sun Nov & mid-Jan–Mar), above the tourist office in the delightful Manoir des Colombières.
Heading west is the sprawling 17th-century Château d’Auvers ( 01 34 48 48 45; www.chateau-auvers.fr; rue de Léry; adult/6-18yr €11.50/7.50; 10.30am-6pm Tue-Fri & 10.30am-6.30pm Sat & Sun Apr-Sep, 10.30am-4.30pm Tue-Fri & 10.30am-5.30pm Sat & Sun Oct-Dec & mid-Jan–Mar), whose inspired, enormously informative audiovisual presentation on Van Gogh and other impressionists who found their way to Auvers is essential for anyone wanting to truly immerse themselves in the Van Gogh era. En route nip into the Musée de l’Absinthe ( 01 30 36 83 26; 44 rue Callé; adult/15-18yr/under 15yr €4.50/3.80/free; 1.30-6pm Wed-Fri, 11am-6pm Sat & Sun mid-Jun–mid-Sep, 11am-6pm Sat & Sun mid-Sep–Nov & Mar–mid-Jun) to discover the history of the liqueur that possibly contributed to Van Gogh’s downfall (below).
Finally, there’s the Église Notre Dame (rue Daubigny; 9.30am-6pm), subject of Van Gogh’s L’Église d’Auvers (1890), and the cemetery (Chemin des Vallées) where he and his brother Théo are buried.
Chateau aside, practically everywhere is shut in winter.
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ABSINTHE: SPIRIT OF THE AGE
In its heyday absinthe was akin to the marijuana of the 1960s or the cocaine of the ’80s. But until it became the drink of choice among artists, artistes and the underclasses (and thus gained in notoriety), absinthe had been a bourgeois favourite, sipped quietly and innocuously in cafés around the land. It was only when the creative world discovered the wormwood-based liqueur and its hallucinogenic qualities that it took off, and everyone from Paul Verlaine, Arthur Rimbaud, Oscar Wilde, Édouard Manet, Edgar Degas, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and, of course, Vincent Van Gogh wrote about it, painted it and/or drank it. Whether or not it was the fée verte (green fairy), as absinthe was known during the belle époque, that pushed Van Gogh off the edge is not known; some say he was so poor he couldn’t even afford this relatively cheap libation and instead sometimes ate paint containing lead, which may have driven him mad.
More than anything else, the easy availability and low cost of the spirit led to widespread alcoholism and in 1915, having just entered into war against Germany and its allies, France found it prudent to ban the drink altogether. Incredibly, it wasn’t until 1998 that absinthe became legal again in France (and the EU).
Try it for €3.70 a 2cL shot at Auvers’ Café de la Paix (opposite).
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INFORMATION
Post Office (place de la Mairie)
Tourist Office ( 01 30 36 10 06; www-auvers-sur-oise.com, in French; rue de la Sansonne; 9.30am-12.30pm & 2-6pm Tue-Sun Apr-Oct, to 5pm or 5.30pm Nov-Mar) Ask for its excellent free brochure, Parcours des Peintres de la Vallée de l’Oise, which maps out the spots where Van Gogh, Daubigny and others painted. Mid-March to October it runs guided Van Gogh tours around the village, departing at 3pm on Sunday (€5.50).
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EATING & SLEEPING
There’s a Moroccan place opposite the station, Thai at the chateau end of the village and a cr