Argenteuil (French: [aʁʒɑ̃tœj] ) is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 12.3 km (7.6 mi) from the center of Paris. Argenteuil is a sub-prefecture of the Val-d'Oise department, the seat of the arrondissement of Argenteuil. Argenteuil is part of the Métropole du Grand Paris.
Argenteuil is the fourth most populous commune in the suburbs of Paris (after Boulogne-Billancourt, Saint-Denis, and Montreuil) and the most populous one in the Val-d'Oise department, although it is not its prefecture, which is shared between the communes of Cergy and Pontoise.
Argenteuil shares borders with communes in 3 departements others than Val d'Oise : the Yvelines, Hauts-de-Seine, and Seine-Saint-Denis departements.
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Name
The name Argenteuil is recorded for the first time in a royal charter of 697 as Argentoialum, from a Latin/Gaulish root argento meaning "silver", "silvery", "shiny", perhaps in reference to the gleaming surface of the river Seine, on the banks of which Argenteuil is located, and from a Gaulish language suffix -ialo meaning "clearing, glade" or "place of".
History
Argenteuil was founded as a convent in the 7th century (see Pierre Abélard and the Convent of Argenteuil). The monastery that arose from the convent was later destroyed during the French Revolution.
Formerly a rural escape for Parisians, Argenteuil is now a suburb of Paris. Claude Monet lived there with his family in a rented house from 1871 to 1878, and was joined at times by some of the most famous painters of the day, including Édouard Manet, Alfred Sisley, and Auguste Renoir. Because of their work there, Argenteuil has been called "the single most important site for the birth of Impressionism." The house that Monet rented, located at 21 Boulevard Karl Marx, is since 2022 a Monet museum. Numerous paintings of the period depict scenes of Argenteuil and its surroundings, including the house in which Monet lived, in his work The Artist's House at Argenteuil.
Other prominent painters such as Gustave Caillebotte also lived and painted near there.
The Hotel de Ville was completed in 1994.
Transport
Argenteuil is served by two stations on the Transilien Paris-Saint-Lazare suburban rail line, which are Argenteuil and Val d'Argenteuil.
Since redeveloped by STIF and SNCF, Argenteuil has been equipped with the new Paris-Saint-Lazare-Ermont-Eaubonne line. The new line was launched in 2006, adding the Paris-Saint Lazare / Cormeilles-en-Parisis - Pontoise / Mantes-la-Jolie service to Paris for about ten minutes.
Education
As of 2016, the commune's schools have over 12,000 students. The commune has:
30 public preschools (maternelles) and one private elementary school with a preschool
26 public and 2 private elementary schools
11 junior high schools (collèges) - 10 public and 1 private
6 senior high schools/sixth-form colleges:
Lycée Georges Braque
Lycée Cognacq-Jay
Lycée Julie-Victoire Daubié
Lycée Jean Jaurès
Lycée Fernand et Nadia Léger
Ecole nationale des professions de l'automobile (private)
Paris 13 University serves as the area university.
The Conservatoire à rayonnement départemental de Musique, Danse et Théâtre is located in Argenteuil. André Bon is one of its former students.
Social Housing
In June 2025, the demolition and reconstruction of the "Château" social housing building in the Val-Notre-Dame district is part of a vast urban renewal project.
Population
Twin towns – sister cities
Argenteuil is twinned with:
Alessandria, Italy
Dessau-Roßlau, Germany
Hunedoara, Romania
West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, United Kingdom
Fátima, Portugal
Notable people
Héloïse (c. 1100/01 – 1163/64), nun, philosopher and writer
Charles Longuet (1839–1903), journalist and socialist activist
Claude Monet (1840–1926), painter, lived and worked here in 1871–1878
Georges Braque (1882–1963), painter, sculptor and co-founder of cubism
Sidney Duteil (born 1955), musician and television host
Ingrid Chauvin (born 1971), actress
Thomas Henry (born 1994), professional footballer
Florent Mothe (born 1981), singer and actor
Franck Béria (born 1983), retired professional footballer and functionary
Ibrahim Gary (born 1985), karateka
Fabien Ateba (born 1991), basketball player
Kevin Mayer (born 1992), athlete, Olympic medalist
Cécile Pelous, philanthropist and designer
Laurina Fazer (born 2003), footballer for France
Famous paintings of Argenteuil
By Claude Monet:
Autumn at Argenteuil, Regatta at Argenteuil, Red Boats, Argenteuil, The Bridge at Argenteuil, The Port at Argenteuil, The Seine at Argenteuil, The Artist's House at Argenteuil, View of Argenteuil-Snow, Bords de la Seine a Argenteuil, and Snow at Argenteuil.
And Train in snow at Argenteuil.
By other painters:
Argenteuil and Seine near Argenteuil by Édouard Manet, Regatta at Argenteuil by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and The Bridge in Argenteuil by Gustave Caillebotte.