Harbour

Quai Bougival

Name: Quai Bougival
Address: Bougival, FR

2.9Bougival, France

Type: Harbour

Small visitor quay on the right bank of the Seine at Bougival, about 15 km west of Paris, between locks of Chatou and Bougival.

Guide

Approach and anchoring

Reached via the Seine between PK 52 and PK 53. Two locks frame the pool: Bougival lock downstream and Chatou lock upstream, both operated by VNF on VHF 22. Current runs 1 to 2 knots depending on flow at the Suresnes dam. Low bridges upstream impose an air draught limit of about 6 m.

Practical

Three berths along the quay, stern or side to. No water or power on the quay itself. Bakery and grocery on rue du Général Leclerc at 400 m. RER A station Rueil-Malmaison at 2 km for central Paris in 20 minutes.

Ashore

Musee de la Grenouillere at 300 m, dedicated to the floating cafe painted by Monet and Renoir in 1869. Maison de Ivan Tourgueniev at 900 m, the Russian writer's last home. Machine de Marly site and Parc de Marly at 2 km by the towpath on the left bank.

History

Bougival was a working river village of washerwomen and boatmen when the Impressionists turned it into a subject of painting. Renoir produced Le Dejeuner des canotiers nearby at Chatou in 1881, and Sisley painted the Bougival weir repeatedly between 1872 and 1876.

Story

The Machine de Marly, built 1681 to 1685 to pump Seine water 162 m up to the fountains of Versailles, stood just north of the quay. Only its foundations remain visible today.