In The Footsteps of Van Gogh, Auvers-sur-Oise, France

I myself am quite absorbed in that immense plain with wheat fields up as far as the hills, boundless as the ocean, delicate yellow, delicate soft green, the delicate purple of a tilled and weeded piece of ground …

Vincent Van Gogh spent the last few months of his life in the village of Auvers-sur-Oise just outside Paris. In that short time, he completed over 70 paintings, many of them depicting scenes in the village and surrounding fields. Today the village styles itself ‘Village d’Artistes’ and is a popular day trip from the capital.

We visited earlier this year and spent a few hours exploring, following most of the ‘Chemin des Peintres’ (Painters’ Pathway) which takes in a number of sights associated with Van Gogh and fellow artists such as Daubigny. It should make an interesting Monday Walk for Jo, I think.

We’ll start at the station, where we arrived after a slightly tortuous Sunday service journey from the city centre. The underpass there set the tone for the rest of the walk. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).