Montesson is home to almost 15,000 people in the Yvelines department.
Tucked against one of the meanders of the Seine, it spans a 400-hectare plain just 15km from Paris. In fact, the district of La Défense and the Eiffel Tower can be seen from the town. A Protected Agricultural Zone, Montesson produces high-quality crops, particularly lettuce, with its market gardeners supplying 5% of the national production and 40% of that in Île-de-France!
Montesson, awarded the Marianne d'Or for Sustainable Development, has long been a pioneer in environmental conservation and biodiversity preservation, with numerous initiatives such as an arboretum and the planting of a forest according to the Miyawaki method. Rich in land resources, Montesson is also a town of water, with its scenic Seine riverbanks, and of air, thanks to its aeronautical history.
The Romanian Traian Vuia designed the very first flying machine that did not require a catapult, and in 1906 he successfully tested it on the Montesson plain.
Among the celebrities who were either born or lived in Montesson are Perrette Dufour, wet nurse to Louis XIV; the boxer Marcel Cerdan; and Fernand, Jackie and Michel Sardou. The town also celebrates its local culinary tradition, pâté à la Carmen, with a major annual festival in which "Miss Montesson" is chosen to represent the town at various events.
