Conflans-Ste. Honorine.—A village by the Seine; ruins of two castles; church of twelfth and fifteenth centuries.
Pontoise.—Historic town on the Oise, formerly capital of Vexin; portions of town walls and slight remains of castle; Hôtel Dieu, rebuilt 1823-1827; two churches—(1) St. Maclou, partly twelfth, but mainly fifteenth and sixteenth centuries; (2) Notre Dame, Classic, with tomb of St. Gautier, 1146.
Cormeilles-en-Vexin.—Village with picturesque church, twelfth century and later.
Marines.—Small village, with a seventeenth-century château.
Chars.—Village on the Voisne; has church of twelfth and fourteenth centuries.
Chaumont-en-Vexin.—Very picturesquely situated little town; a few old houses, and church of Flamboyant and Classic periods; remains of eleventh-century castle.
Trie-Château.—Small town; has (1) gateway, tower, and other remains of a fifteenth-century castle; (2) interesting Hôtel de Ville of twelfth century; (3) church with richly ornamented Romanesque façade.
The Forest of St. Germain-en-Laye, through which the route goes towards Pontoise, occupies practically the whole of the area enclosed by the third loop of the Seine below Paris, and was formerly part of the immense forest of Laye, one of those which surrounded Paris in the Middle Ages, and formed a great attraction to the French monarchs on account of the excellent hunting they provided.
From the long avenue there are interesting views of Paris, with the Eiffel Tower conspicuous, and on fine sunny days it has the fantastic aspect of a city of palaces and temples.
On emerging from the forest of very indifferent trees, the road crosses the Seine, and one turns to the right at once for Conflans-Ste. Honorine, where the ruins of its two castles, with an old tower conspicuous, look out over the soft green of the willows bordering the river. The late Gothic church, with a tower of the twelfth century, contains a picture attributed to Zurbaran, a Spanish artist of the seventeenth century who was Court painter to both Philip III. and Philip IV. The association of Conflans with St. Honorine has been mentioned in connection with Graville (Section I.).