Abbaye Notre-Dame de Livry

Livry-Gargan

In 1186, Guillaume IV de Garlande founded an abbey on the edge of the forest of Bondy, notably for the repose of the soul of his dead son, with the support of gifts from King Philip Augustus. The house followed the Rule of Saint Augustine, founded on charity and hospitality towards travellers venturing into this forest of fearsome reputation, long held to be a den of brigands. Yet it was in the Grand Siècle that Livry entered literary legend: in 1624, Christophe de Coulanges, aged only 17, received the abbey in commendam from Louis XIII. For sixty-three years, this "Bien Bon" of a steward set the house to rights and welcomed there his niece, the Marquise de Sévigné. The most celebrated letter-writer in France wrote some of her finest letters here, praising a beauty "beyond all comparison", the avenues of the park, the nightingales and the solitudes of the neighbouring forest. Her Lenten stays and her walks there became proverbial, to the point that the town gave her name to the Lac de Sévigné, the last sheet of water on the estate. Sold as national property at the Revolution, the abbey then passed through several hands, including those of Admiral Jacob, Louis-Philippe's Minister of the Navy, before its last remains disappeared in the 1960s. Today's walker follows in the marquise's footsteps between the Parc de la Mairie and the lake, sole witnesses to one of the great sites of literary memory in Île-de-France.

Getting there : Parc de la Mairie and Lac de Sévigné, free access from the Place François-Mitterrand and the former RN3 (Boulevard Roger-Salengro); RER B station Sevran-Livry then bus or 20 min on foot. Coordinates set on the Parc de la Mairie (approximate location of the abbey estate).

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound