Official site of the tourist information office of Issy-les-Moulineaux

The figurehead of Saint-Germain Island
The Tour aux Figures is built on a hill and dominates the park of the island. Its basis is made up of reinforced concrete and its stratified glass structure rests on 35 meters deep foundations. The blind building has huge stairs that allow the viewer to walk into an imaginary garden.

The Tour aux Figures was ordered by the state to the artist In the 70’s, Dubuffet invents “les sculptures monumentées”, huge creations at the crossroads of architecture and sculpture, made of painted polyester. The Tour aux Figures was planned by 1968, ordered in 1983 and inaugurated in 1988. It is part of the Hourloupe cycle, one of the utopian universes created by the artist.

Jean Dubuffet invented the Art Brut, this”toy for the mind” that intends to embody the everyday life and to be accessible to everyone.

One among the seven museums in the world dedicated to this theme…

Gallery of history of the city

This gallery presents both Issean history and patrimony, based on a model of the town and various ancient photographs. It deals with Princes Conti's castle, the very beginning of aviation… and also presents some of the artists who inhabited and loved the city, such as Rodin, Matisse or Dubuffet.

The French Museum of the Playing Cards, former castle of the Princes Conti
The present museum was built in 1997. Its architecture is rather audacious: the very modern building is linked with the former Conti palace by a bridge of glass and steel. Inside, it takes an apparently limited subject and expands it inventively and creatively to cover the historical aspect of card games, their geographical and universal expansion and their sociological and artistic development.

The museum is as dynamic as the city itself
Various activities are available: temporary exhibitions, guided tours and conferences dedicated to adults as well as workshops, games and snacks for the children.
Groups welcomed all year long, from Tuesdays to Sundays.

You are about to discover local and national patrimony through a rather attractive guided tour. Temporary exhibitions are also open to the public on request.

Queen Margot’s former habitation Saint-Sulpice Seminary takes place on the emplacement of the former residence of Marguerite de Valois; Henri IV’s wife, known as Queen Margot. This huge domain is the only one to have kept its original size since the Ancien Regime. It was registered as a Monument Historique (historic monument) in 1996.

…nowadays École Supérieure de Théologie Catholique (Training college for the Roman Catholic priesthood) It became the property of the Saint Sulpice Community in the middle of the XVIIth century, and rest home for the priests of the community. Brought down by the French Revolution, it was then reconstituted to become nowadays the École Supérieure de Théologie Catholique.

A rich architectural patrimony La Grande Chapelle (great chapel), le Grand Bassin (great ornemental lake), le Nymphée, le bassin de Lorette, l’Enclos de la Solitude… So many testimonies of the past that you will discover during the tour.

A mystical and spiritual visit of one among the most ancient relics of issean splendor.

A state factory transferred to Issy The state tobacco factory of “le Gros Caillou” was transferred to Issy-les-Moulineaux in 1900. It used to be a steam plant first built in the XIXth century, with a huge brick chimney in the center. The chimney has today been truncated.

An amazing architecture The chimney stands in the middle of the main courtyard. The octagonal display of the buildings around it makes it the geographic and historic center of the factory. The most famous building, the one reserved to the administration was meant to represent the highness of state. It stands on the Esplanade.

Preservation of the city’s patrimony The tobacco factory closed in 1978. It was rehabilitated in offices since 1987. This project aimed at preserving this testimony of Issy-les-Moulineaux's industrial past.

A journey back into contemporary history to discover what used to be the tobacco workers’ everyday life. Most of them all still living in Issy today.

The wealth of Issean soil Limestone, sand and chalk are geological patrimony of the region. It used to be employed as construction materials in the XIXth century. The chalk for instance, was exploited for its lime, basis of the world known “Blanc de Meudon” (whitewash).

Kilometers of underground galleries Because of their humidity, these corridors burrowed under the ground were used to grow mushrooms at the beginning of the century. It was then turned into shelters for the inhabitants during World War II.

A breathtaking place This magnificent setting is equipped with a colloquia and reception room named les Montquartiers, under the ground.

An exceptional site to visit, at the crossroads of history and wonderland. An occasion to discover what is, unexpectedly, under our feet.