My Meudon: Explore the Town Just Outside Paris

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My Meudon: Explore the Town Just Outside Paris

I am an American who has lived in France for many years as a naturalized citizen. I would like to tell you about my hometown called Meudon– situated 15 minutes on the RER C train southwest of the Eiffel Tower and 15 minutes northeast of the Chateau of Versailles. My motivation for this essay was initiated when I attended a concert last year at the house formerly owned by the organist Marcel Dupré. I will describe the concert in more detail below, but the elegance and beauty of the music, the architecture, the educated audience inspired an intense nostalgia for something I had never known, but can still be discerned in this suburb of Paris: Civilization.

Meudon has played a bit part in the history of art, music and literature, and this history lingers on in daily life. The local museum has produced a number videos, including this one, that lists the artistic personages who have passed through Meudon.

The plaque at Wagner’s house

The first was Rabelais, who because of his literary power and historical importance, is considered one of the great writers of literature and among the creators of modern European writing. His literary legacy is such that today, the word Rabelaisian has been coined as an adjective inspired by his work and life. In 1547, he became a curate at Meudon, where he lived up to three months before his death in Paris in April 1553. We find his name often in Meudon, including the name of a high school.

The widow of Molière, the French Shakespeare, bought a house in Meudon (she lived there 1676-1700), that is now the home of the same art and history museum.

The great sculptor Auguste Rodin had a house in Meudon. The museum at his house in Paris is wonderful and well known, hence the crowds; but the house in Meudon is also a museum (Musée Rodin-Meudon) where you can commune with the master (he is buried there) and his works almost alone.

The innovative 20th century writer Louis-Ferdinand Céline settled in Meudon after his return to France from exilea fter the war (he was tried in absentia for collaboration and antisemitic writings). Céline died on July 1, 1961 of a ruptured aneurysm and was buried in a small cemetery in Meudon near his house. See this interview that took place in the Meudon house.

The German composer Wagner spent a few months living in Meudon in 1841 writing The Flying Dutchman. The plaque in front of his house quotes him: “Sa misère est extrême et il connaît, à Meudon, les mois les plus cruels de son existence.” My translation is: “At Meudon his misery was the most extreme he had known, the months were the cruelest in his existence.”

Renaud was bored in Meudon

What I find amusing is that almost 180 years later the aging French rocker Renaud had a similar experience.  From Paris Match we learn “Si j’ai pu dire que je m’emmerdais à Meudon, ce n’est pas la faute de Romane, ni celle de la ville, ni de la maison ou même de ma rue, qu’on a prétendue être sinistre, mais tout simplement de la mienne!” My translation is: “If I said that I was in the s*** living in Meudon, it was not Romane’s [his wife] fault, neither the city’s fault, nor the house, nor even my street, which was said to be sinister [it is next to the cemetery where Céline is buried], but it was all just me!” For Wagner it was the critics and lack of money.

Marcel Dupré was in the line of great organists of the Paris church Saint Sulpice. One of my favorite pieces of organ music is Toccata from Symphony No. 5 composed by Charles-Marie Widor, one of Dupré’s teachers. I attended the concert at Dupré’s Meudon house, now owned by a retired pharmacist who also owns the local crêperie. It is a lovely house and you can see the organ in the picture I took that evening. The granddaughter of Dupré was there and made a little speech. She described watching her grandfather compose at this organ a memorial after the death of her mother– his daughter. She also told of us of the visit of Sergei Rachmaninoff after the revolution. All of this added to the performances by the attractive young people made for a wonderful evening.

Physically Meudon is hilly with a forest and wonderful parks. On one hill was a grand chateau that was destroyed by fire in the 19th century. Later an astronomical observatory was built on the site. While the observatory is obsolete, Meudon is the location for astronomical research of the CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique). Now this site is a park called the Observatoire with a magnificent view of Paris. Many town events are held there including a day of running races for all ages in the spring. Not far from there is another park called the Potager du Dauphin (Vegetable garden of the prince the son of Louis XIV).

My daughter is somewhere in this stampede at the Observatoire

Of course France is still known for its food. Very close to our apartment is a covered market. Shopping regularly while seeing the same merchants one becomes known, especially if he is one of the rare Americans.

The covered market a couple of minutes walk from my apartment

The fishmonger who offers oysters on Sunday morning with a glass of white wine. I must bring my own Tabasco sauce because the French eat oysters with shallots in vinegar.

Meudon is not one for diversity; however, there is a major Portuguese community that has been established for several decades. In the 1960s after the independence of Algeria hundreds of thousands of pied-noir returned to France. A new quarter was constructed in the forest for some of these people called Meudon-la-Forêt. It is modernist, not my cup of tea, but well done. My daughter’s fourth grade class is a majority traditional French, but also there are many children from Africa. In Meudon everybody seems to get along.

Meudon is a wonderful place to live and raise a family due to the history, people, and culture here. I hope you can find your own Meudon.

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Comments

  •  Lisa Stewart
    2023-12-09 10:52:28
    Lisa Stewart
    Planning a trip to Paris in July 2024. We will be staying in Meudon. Any suggestions on hidden gems in the area that we should not miss is possible? We will obviously be doing all the normal tourist things. Just hate to miss out on something we might not know about.

    REPLY

    •  I Katz
      2024-06-18 06:23:45
      I Katz
      I covered the most notable sites in the article. The Miramar cafe near the RER station at Val Fleury has excellent quality/price food.

      REPLY

  • Simon Dalseme
    2022-02-07 12:58:46
    Simon Dalseme
    Hi, I just found your page and was wondering if you can assist me with some research I am working on for my family. Meudon has an avenue called claude Dalseme. He is a 3rd cousin and I am trying to find some history about him. I believe his father Henri may have been the mayor at some time. Any assistance would be appreciated Thank you Simon Dalseme

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    • 2023-05-17 10:15:46
      I was born in Paris 15eme and lived in Meudon as a child until age 10 1/2 years old. My father bought a house there. Previous to Meudon, we lived in Issy-les-Moulineaux. After Meudon, my father brought us to Connecticut, USA. I have a lot of sentimental feelings for Meudon. I am the daughter of Armenian immigrants who had settled in communities around Paris. I am sorry i was not able to assist you in your personal search, but keep trying! Thank you. (Miss) Jean Mangasarian

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  • Gabriel Tournay
    2021-03-10 08:38:31
    Gabriel Tournay
    Hello, I'm a 17 year old French student, I live in America now but I spent almost 8 years in Meudon. Living cost is much cheaper than Paris, at least as far as everyday life (groceries, bakery, and rent) I can't say the exact difference, but living in Meudon is definitely worth it.

    REPLY

  • Richard Temple
    2020-12-29 10:54:47
    Richard Temple
    There was a Russian émigré community at Meudon set up in the 1920s and which thrived until the 1960s or ‘70s. There was a school, a church, a monastery I think and a number of well-known Russian intellectuals and artists. I'd be glad to know if you have information about them. Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovich of Russia was another émigré at Meudon but he was a playboy and I doubt he had any connection with the people I am researching.

    REPLY

    •  I Katz
      2024-06-18 06:30:53
      I Katz
      You might find this article I wrote about the poet Marina Tsvetaeva of interest. https://www.lewrockwell.com/2022/03/ira-katz/a-chance-meeting-in-the-street-marina-tsvetaeva/

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  • sugeng sugiarto
    2019-11-14 08:09:02
    sugeng sugiarto
    next year my daughter will be studying in Meudon..can you give me the information of living cost in Meudon,since meudon very close with Paris,t is the same Living cost or Meudon bit cheaper or cheaper than paris..thank you Ira katz

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  • Larry Nichols
    2019-09-28 20:36:52
    Larry Nichols
    Thank you for sharing this with us, Ira---Meudon sounds almost like Paradise !!!

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  • Michael James
    2018-06-21 04:12:34
    Michael James
    Don't forget one of Meudon's recent more notorious/famous residents: it's Johnny! Yes, Monsieur Depp. One presumes Madame Depp still resides there. a.k.a. Vanessa Paradis.

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    • Ira Katz
      2018-06-21 05:14:13
      Ira Katz
      You are right! When I first moved to Meudon my brother looked it up on Wikipedia and the couple's residence was the main item described. I never saw them. Meudon is very close to TF1 and France Television so many journalists live here (that is why we moved here because my wife is a journalist). I have seen one French TV and film star at the Monoprix, Bruno Solo. Nothing against Mr. Solo, but he is not so glamorous. The New Zealand rugby star Dan Carter was living here when he play for Racing 92. I don't know if he is still around. But as you might presume fom the article, I am old fashioned so popular culture is not so interesting.

      REPLY