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Maisons-Laffitte
Commune
Château de Maisons-Laffitte
Coat of arms
Location (in red) within Paris inner and outer suburbs
Location of Maisons-Laffitte
Maisons-Laffitte Location (in red) within Paris inner and outer suburbs Show map of France Maisons-Laffitte Maisons-Laffitte (Île-de-France (region)) Show map of Île-de-France (region)
Coordinates: 48°56′49″N 2°08′44″E / 48.9469°N 2.1456°E / 48.9469; 2.1456Coordinates: 48°56′49″N 2°08′44″E / 48.9469°N 2.1456°E / 48.9469; 2.1456
Country	France
Region	Île-de-France
Department	Yvelines
Arrondissement	Saint-Germain-en-Laye
Canton	Sartrouville
Intercommunality	CA Saint Germain Boucles Seine
Government
• Mayor .mw-parser-output .nobold{font-weight:normal} (2008–2014)	Jacques Myard
Area 1	6.75 km2 (2.61 sq mi)
Population (2006)2	23,014
• Density	3,400/km2 (8,800/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	78358 /78600
Elevation	22–57 m (72–187 ft) (avg. 38 m or 125 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Maisons-Laffitte is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the north-western suburbs of Paris 18.2 km (11.3 mi) from the center.

Maisons-Laffitte is famous for the Château de Maisons-Laffitte, built by architect François Mansart in the 17th century. Maisons-Laffitte is also known for its horse racing track, the Maisons-Laffitte Racecourse, which is why the town is known as the "cité du cheval" and is compared with Newmarket in the United Kingdom.

History

Originally called Maisons-sur-Seine (meaning "Houses upon Seine"), the commune was officially renamed Maisons-Laffitte in 1882 in honor of banker Jacques Laffitte who financed the housing developments on the estate of the Château de Maisons-Laffitte.

The Château de Maisons-Laffitte has a secret passage to what once used to be part of the Château de Maisons-Laffitte but which is now a school - Collège de l'Ermitage.

Transport

Maisons-Laffitte is served by Maisons-Laffitte station on Paris RER line A and on the Transilien Paris – Saint-Lazare suburban rail line.

Notable residents

• 
  Pape-Philippe Amagou, basketball player


• 
  Grégory Baugé, cyclist


• 
  Eugène Louis Bouvier, zoologist


• 
  Jerzy Giedroyc, founder and editor of a leading Polish-émigré literary-political journal, Kultura
  


• 
  René Le Roy (1898 – 1985), classical flautist


• 
  Randy de Puniet, motorcycle racer


• 
  Odd Nerdrum, painter


• 
  Philippe Jaroussky, opera singer


• 
  Jean Cocteau, writer, filmmaker, and artist


• 
  James Winkfield, jockey, horse trainer


• 
  Anne Queffélec, pianist


• 
  Emma Watson (until the age of 5), actress


• 
  Barrett Ashley Johnson (until age of 3), composer and sculptor/painter

Education

Public schools:^[1]

• Six preschools/nurseries (maternelles): Bois-Bonnet, Clos-Lainé, Cocteau, Colbert, La Renarde, Montebello


• Four elementary schools: Jehan Alain/André Ledreux, Colbert, Le Prieuré, Mansart


• Junior high schools (collèges): Jean Cocteau and Le Prieuré


• Senior high schools/sixth-form colleges: Lycée Évariste Galois (Sartrouville) and Lycée Les Pierres Vives (Carrières sur Seine)

Private schools:^[1]

• 
  International School of France / L'Ermitage (preschool through senior high)


• Sainte-Marie (preschool and elementary)


• Ecole Montessori Internationale

See also

• Communes of the Yvelines department

References

• INSEE

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Maisons-Laffitte.

• 
  Local website (in English)


• 
  Official website (in French)


• 
  Tourist Office (multi-lingual)


• Pictures and history of Maisons-Laffitte ( French)

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