Auvers-sur-Oise
Village On The Oise Where Vincent Van Gogh Spent His Last Seventy Days In 1890 And Painted Some Seventy Works; He And His Brother Theo Are Buried In Its Cemetery · Auvers-sur-Oise, Ile-de-France
Auvers-sur-Oise is a quiet village strung along the Oise valley about 30 km north of Paris, and for most visitors it means one thing: Vincent van Gogh spent the last seventy days of his life here in 1890 and painted some seventy works before he died of a gunshot wound in July of that year. He rented a tiny attic room at the Auberge Ravoux, which can be seen on short timed visits in season. Around the village you can stand where he set up his easel, before the church he painted, in the wheatfields on the plateau above and at the simple graves where he lies beside his brother Theo. Panels with reproductions of the paintings mark many of the spots. Other artists came too, Daubigny, Cézanne and Pissarro among them, and their houses and the Château d'Auvers add to the day. Be honest about scale: the sites are small, the room is almost bare, and it is a half-day from Paris for people who love Van Gogh rather than a destination in its own right. Winter is quiet, with several sites closed, confirm.
Auvers-sur-Oise, Val-d'Oise, Auvers-sur-Oise, Ile-de-France, France
The village, the church exterior, the cemetery, the wheatfields and the painting panels can be seen at any reasonable time, but the indoor sites are seasonal. The Van Gogh room at the Auberge Ravoux is usually open from around March to November, closed on some weekdays, often Mondays and Tuesdays, and closed in winter, confirm; visits are in small groups at set times, so booking ahead is wise on weekends. The Château d'Auvers with its impressionist show, the Daubigny house and studio, the Dr Gachet house and the absinthe museum each keep their own spring to autumn seasons and weekly closing days, and several are open only on weekends or afternoons for part of the year, confirm each one. The church is usually open by day for visits outside services. The tourist office in the village has maps of the painting spots and current opening times. In winter most indoor sites close, cafés reduce their hours and the village is very quiet, though the walk to the graves still works. Trains from Paris usually need a change at Pontoise or Valmondois, and a direct weekend train from Paris has run in the spring and summer season in some years, confirm.