Life in the Paris suburbs: Yerres

As you can guess from the title of this blog post, I will be writing about one of the nicest and most beautiful suburbs of Paris. My husband and I actually stumbled upon Yerres by total accident. When we first arrived in Paris in early September of 2017, my husband and I had an extremely difficult time finding housing. It also did not help it was the beginning of the academic year so a majority of the apartments were already occupied. After two weeks of intense searching and serious apartment hunting, I finally found a nice place posted in one of the many French apartment rental websites I had bookmarked on my computer. However, this apartment was located in a town we had never even heard of called Yerres. 

Yerres is situated 23 kilometers south-east of Paris. It usually takes about 30 minutes to travel from the center of Paris if you take the RER D (green line). As a regular commuter, commuting on a daily basis can get quite tiresome but it is a great opportunity to get some reading done. However, for those interested in just exploring this charming small town as a day excursion, then 30 minutes is absolutely worth it! Especially, with the efficient French train system, it is definitely doable!

Yerres is a small lovely town and not at all touristy. The inhabitants are mainly composed of French locals and it is not common to hear English being spoken. Since it is the suburbs, a majority of the accommodation in this town are family houses, with an exception of some apartment buildings. When many of my family members and friends learn about my husband and I living in Yerres, they always express how it must suck missing out on the hustle and bustle of the Parisian lifestyle. Honestly, I absolutely adore living in Yerres because I feel like I get the best of both lives. I am in Paris all day for work and outings, but at the end of the day, I get to come to a peaceful home. 

Like many places, Yerres gets especially nice in the warmer months. One of my absolute favorite things about living in Yerres is our ample backyard. We have a very spacious green yard with countable fruit trees including apples, pears, cherries, and figs. The cherry trees just recently bore some fruit in May and we had a blast feasting from its branches. How incredible is it to have your own fruit orchard within arm's reach?! It is not just in our home, fruit trees and vegetable gardens are very common in this enchanting little town. We always get excited to go for strolls in the neighborhood because we usually end up picking fruit from all the tree branches, which are hanging over the fences onto the sidewalk. 

Another great reason for living in Yerres is being able to have cookouts. This is pretty impossible to carry out if you live in Paris, where apartments are cramped and there aren't too many spacious turfs to host barbecues. Living in Yerres has allowed us to gather with friends and host fun barbecues and entertaining nights! 

A downside of living in this small town is that there are a limited number of restaurants and shopping stores and supermarkets. There are two big chain supermarkets available for grocery shopping, and they are Intermarche and Carrefour. And thankfully, they usually they have all the products available on hand! 

Many assume life in a small town is monotonous and dull but Yerres has a couple of fun places you can check out. One of them being the popular Propriete Caillebotte. This is a lovely spot to hang out for picnics, strolling, and learning about the history of the Caillebotte home. My husband and I frequently have small picnics here and there is also a spacious green area to play badminton, soccer, or just do some yoga! There is also a big sidewalk encircling the park so you can go for pleasant walks in nature. For a small charge (4-5 Euros), you can check out the private collection of the famous Impressionist artist, Gustave Caillebotte. Many locals have raved about this collection in the Caillebotte home so it would be pretty amazing to see if you are looking to spend a day in the countryside! 

The estate also houses a few awesome sculptures like this one pictured below. 

It is rather incredible to see they have maintained the sculptures and the gardens! Adjacent to the Caillebotte home, there is also a small barn where you can see some chickens, roosters, turkeys, peacocks, and other exotic birds. 

As for dining options, there is a restaurant inside the property but I have heard it is quite expensive. There are a couple of other restaurants once you step outside of the estate. For instance, you can find a casual French cafe located right by the library, and a Chinese restaurant located down the street. Because the town is quite small, all of these places are within walking distance of each other! 

All in all, Yerres is a lovely quaint town! For those who enjoy being in nature and spending time in the countryside, then this town will make a great 1/2 day or a day excursion. Now, I am going to enjoy me some delicious croissants and sausages in my green backyard!

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