Art,  France,  Monday walks

In the footsteps of Van Gogh

November 11, 2025 / 42 Comments

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, in a letter to his mother and sister, July 1890

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.

In the station underpass

A small park almost opposite the station has the tourist office, where we picked up a useful map, and several sculptures, among them one of Van Gogh.

In the Parc Van Gogh

L’Auberge Ravoux

Just east of the park is the Auberge Ravoux, where Van Gogh lived while in Auvers. Dating back to 1876, it has preserved its 19th century décor and atmosphere. I hadn’t done my research well enough to realise that it’s possible to see the room where he stayed, and where he (probably) committed suicide, on a group tour. According to the inn’s website:

Out of superstition, “the suicide room,” a crucial space in the painter’s world, has never been rented again. This haven of peace, where “there is nothing to see… but everything to feel,” has remained untouched since 1890. Empty, it contains no relics to touch, but one can still connect with history.

Although we couldn’t see his room, we were able to pop inside the door to see the dining room set for lunch, with the table at the back that he always occupied. And outside a table was similarly laid, with a glass of wine already poured.

L’Auberge Ravoux

In recent years some have questioned whether he did indeed shoot himself; however that was the accepted cause of death at the time. Because he had died at his own hand the artist wasn’t permitted a funeral service in the village church, so that was held here at the inn.

Next door to the inn an attractive old house had a front garden appropriately planted with sunflowers, although I couldn’t find any direct link between this building and Van Gogh.

House with sunflowers

La Maison Rose

From here we climbed a road named for another famous artist who once lived here, the Rue Daubigny. This led past La Maison Rose, Charles-Francois Daubigny’s former home. Next to it is the barn he converted to serve as a studio. Today it is in use as a retreat and studio for present-day artists while the house hosts concerts and events.

La Maison Rose

Sente du Montier

A short distance up this road a footpath, Sente du Montier, branches off to the right, leading towards the fields above the village. We followed it uphill through woodland to emerge by a stone cross, the village Calvaire or Calvary.

Sente du Montier

The path then follows a ridge above the village, with fields on either side. This is where Van Gogh painted one of his most famous later works, Champ de blé aux corbeaux, Wheatfield with Crows. A sign marks the approximate spot of this field.

Downloaded from Wikimedia, in the public domain

Sente du Montier

Another path turns off here, leading back down to the village and its church. But there is good reason to continue for a while along the Sente du Montier. It leads to the cemetery, a peaceful spot among the fields. Here Vincent Van Gogh was buried and later, next to him, his devoted brother Theo.

Graves of Vincent and Theo Van Gogh
The village church

Having paid our respects we followed the Avenue du Cimetière down to the church, the Église Notre-Dame-de-l’Assomption. This is another peaceful spot; we found only a few other tourists here (as indeed we had on much of the walk). The church also formed the subject of one of Van Gogh’s later paintings, L’église d’Auvers-sur-Oise, vue du chevet (The Church in Auvers-sur-Oise, view from the Chevet).

Downloaded from Wikimedia, in the public domain

The church was built mainly in the late 12th and early 13th centuries. I found it very atmospheric, and especially liked the stained-glass windows. There was an art exhibition with modern paintings hung between the arches either side of the nave, one reminding us very much (we assumed deliberately) of Munch’s The Scream.

L’Église Notre-Dame-de-l’Assomption

From the church it was only a few metres down a side road to the main one running through the village centre. We detoured for lunch in one of several restaurants. We had a good meal, although if we’d known to book ahead we could have eaten in the Auberge Ravoux.

Vignoble Val d’Oise

We then retraced our steps along the main road back past the station to a small patch of garden with an area of vines near the railway tracks. This commemorates the region’s wine producing history, with a sculpture of Bacchus in honour of Le Pressoir Auversois, a local association aimed at promoting knowledge and appreciation of winemaking.

A sign here shows another Van Gogh painting, Vue d’Auvers (vigne et maisons), that is, View of Auvers (vines and houses). However this wasn’t actually painted at this spot, as it apparently shows houses to the west of the village.

Bacchus and sign with painting

We finished our explorations of Auvers with a stop on the banks of the Oise. On this sunny Sunday there were plenty of locals out enjoying swimming, boating and picnicking there. But we had time for just a few photos before we had to catch our train back to Paris.

Views of the Oise

There is a lot more we could have done here if we’d had more time, including visiting Dr Gachet’s house, a museum devoted to Daubigny and (rather intriguingly) another to the history of absinthe. We’ll try to go back one day and book lunch at the Auberge Ravoux and a tour of Van Gogh’s room there.

  • This article is also featured on GPSmyCity. To download this article for offline reading or create a self-guided walking tour to visit the attractions highlighted in this article, go to Walking Tours and Articles in Auvers-sur-Oise.

I visited Auvers-sur-Oise in September 2025

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