le mont-valérien french memorial to resistance martyrs

We had walked right around the fort at Mont Valerien (mavbe 2-3km) and enjoyed the views and the explanatory panels but this was a stunning finale . Very good explanations in English . Apparently you can visit more on a guided tour but the visitor centre was shut and there wasn't any timetable that we could see .

Fortunately my guide was very knowledgeable on WWII and the French Resistance. The entire monument is an honorable dedication to those French Resistance members that gave their time, energy, and often their lives for France.Very moving memorial, I highly recommended visiting the nearby American Cemetery and heading back into the city for the L'Arc de Triomphe to give the full effect.

Morning visit before the nearby horse racing. Caught the bus from La Defense to the Mont Valerien stop; then a walk. Need to go around the fort to get to the entrance . Eternal flame and many memorials. Could get cold as the highest point in Paris I understand

This is not the happiest place on earth, it is not as well kept as the US military cemetery next door and not much visited but, for people who want to be reminded of the horrors of war and occupation, this is the place to go for a quick visit. Plenty of parking.

This massive memorial is just around the corner from the Suresnes American Cemetery and Memorial and is more than worth a visit. (Just walk around the corner to the left as you're looking at the entrance to the Cemetery and head up the hill. The giant iron double-barred cross of Lorraine will be to your right and the welcome building for the start of the guided tours is to the left of the cross as you're looking at it, tucked in at the base of the wall onto which the cross is mounted.) We knew nothing about Mont-Valérian and were very lucky to pick up a brochure on the French memorial at the American cemetery and discover we just had time to make the last tour on a Sunday afternoon. Entrance is only possible with a guide and the free tour takes approximately 1h 40minutes. It involves walking, much of which takes place on a hill which is often windy and can be cold in the winter, so dress accordingly. Our guide did not speak English, so I had to translate for my husband, but this memorial is worth checking ahead to see if an English guide can be arranged. (They have a web site with contact info, including email.) Our guide said that, aside from French, Germans constitute the next most frequent visitors, so there is more of a need for German than English. It's a shame, because this Memorial is unforgettable. The location is on a fort/hill. Hermits were drawn to the hill since the 10th century and the fortress portion of which has been in existence since the time of Louis-Phillipe. (An active French military base remains on the summit.) During WWII, the fort was quickly taken by the Germans and became an execution site for Resistance fighters and other "hostages" who were rounded up either because of ties to Resistance members or to satisfy HItler's order that "50-100" persons should be executed for every German soldier killed in Paris. Communists, Jews and immigrants were frequently selected to round out these numbers. The Memorial seeks to trace the path of these executed men from arrest through execution by firing squad to burial. You enter into the hill through one of the metal doors at the base of the huge cross of Lorraine then proceed out onto the hillside and walk up a path pass old casements and rails for transporting arms to a display of memorabilia in a former stable. There you see gut-wrenching final letters from the condemned to their families and loved-ones along with Vichy and Nazi propaganda, photos and copies of execution notices posted on Paris walls, etc. From this little museum, you walk a few paces to an ancient chapel where the men were held for 1-8 hours while waiting to be taken to their executions. Final words scratched in the walls are preserved under plexiglass. Several wooden coffins (really transport boxes, as they were re-used after dumping the bodies in mass graves or cremating them at Père Lachaise) are displayed here along with several bullet-ridden posts to which the men were tied. Next, you are led to the clearing where the condemned faced a firing squad of 10 German soldiers. Squads were chosen at random and taken to eat and "drink a lot" prior to being informed of their task for the day. 1009 men were murdered at this spot. It is now marked by a French flag and a stone placed their on the instruction of Gen. De Gaulle. The tour winds up at the Memorial inside the hill where 16 coffins of individuals representing dead from all France and French territories are displayed along with a memorial place above the buried ashes from 6 deportation camps. Each 18 July, the sitting French president makes a pilgrimage trip to Mont-Valérien where, with a big ceremony, he signs the livre d'or (golden book) containing De Gaulle's call to arms. The book is displayed in the Memorial in front of the coffins. It is easy to get to Suresnes/Mont-Valérien by L train from Gare St-Lazare in Paris. It's about a 30 minute ride. To your left out of the train station (heading uphill), rue du Calvaire turns into ave du Professeur Léon Bernard, the road on which the Memorial lies. (The American Cemetery is to your right at the point where this road intersects with bd Washington.)

У мемориала горит "вечный огонь". Тишина, покой, чистота в воскресенье утром. И только бегуны встречаются на пути :)

Un cadre verdoyant pour un lieu chargé d'histoire. Un incontournable. La visite comprend la clairière où les résistants ont été fusillés pendant la seconde guerre mondiale. Lieu chargé d'émotions.

Le 18 juin chaque année, une cérémonie y est organisée et à laquelle participe le président de la République. Cette année 2014, après avoir dérogé par deux à cette règle, il fut présent et cette cérémonie fut très émouvante.

Vous serez à plus de 120 mètres d'altitude. Faites le tour grâce à la promenade qui ceinture le fort et dominerez Paris avec vue sur la Tour Eiffel, le Sacré Coeur... La Défense... le mémorial de la résistance et pour nos amis américains, le cimetière dans lequel reposent plusieurs centaines de combattants de 14-18. Tout près, la splendide architecture de l'école de plein air bâtie en 1936 pour scolariser des enfants respirant difficilement.

Dans un cadre verdoyant magnifique,sur la colline de Suresnes 92,parfaitement entretenu,un hommage aux morts américains de la derniere guerre,témoignage poignant pour nos générations et les suivantesMérite un petit détour;train,tram T2,et bus à proximité

Parc très vert, et calme. Vue superbe qui surplombe Paris et le Bois de Boulogne. Parfait pour un footing au lever du soleil

Il faut avoir visiter une fois dans sa vie ce lieux qui rend hommage à nos résistants lors de la dernière guerre afin de ne pas oublier ces gens héroïques. Puis après ce recueillement vous pouvez profiter d'une agréable ballade autour du mont avec toute la famille, une vue superbe vous y attend !!

Le lieu est rempli dhistoire. Cest a visiter. La vue de psris est magnifique. Surtout quand il fait beau.

Je conseil à tous ceux qui réside, passe par Suresnes et Rueil Malmaison, de venir au moins une fois voir le Mémorial de la France Combattante érigé à la demande du Général de Gaulle en 1961. Pas seulement l'extérieur, mais surtout le parcours du souvenir avec la chapelle où les résistants et otages passèrent leurs ultimes moments avant d'être fusillé dans la clairière toute proche. Un cloche en bronze porte sur ses flancs le nom des martyres de notre liberté, dont le groupe Manouchian, célèbre par l'affiche rouge. Le Mémorial c'est aussi le cercueil qui attend le dernier Compagnon de la libération dans la crypte aux portes de bronze. Ensuite vous pourrez flâner au parc du mont-Valérien et voir les chevaux et poneys au dessus du cimetière paysager de Nanterre. Avant de peut-être vous à l'American cemetery et sur la Terrasse du Fécheray où l'on a une belle vue sur le bois de Boulogne et Paris.