When I was in Paris last year to visit my son, I had no plan except to be with him and soak in the heritage, history and beauty of Paris. It was a very short 10-12 days trip just to see him settled in his Masters course. I ended up exploring the city alone as my son had his exams in January. Though I tried to plan my daily outings but I never stuck to my plan.

One fine morning, I decided to go for a morning walk near Seine, perhaps explore Latin quarters in the morning sun. There was this lingering wish of visiting Van Gogh’ grave which is in Auvers Sur Oise, where he spent last few months of his life and ending up fatally wounding himself. So as I passed the SNCF counter of the metro station, I noticed a lady staff and I decided to ask her for the route.

The French people seem to have gained an ill-reputation of not being helpful to English speaking tourists, but my experience has been absolutely contrary. Perhaps, they get rightfully annoyed if they cannot comprehend a vague question asked with a rude demeanor. Anyways, this lady not only explained me the route, the number of trains I need to change and how long will it take to reach, she also drew me a route-map. When I asked her the round trip ticket cost, she said it was just 5 euros and it would take one and a half hour to reach. Having commuted much longer distances all my life, this seemed doable. So I decided to visit the quaint little town/village which was once the first artists commune in France.

Here a few clicks of that journey and the place. The village doesn’t celebrate Van Gogh but rather mourns his tragic passing. The whole village is an immersive walk-through as we see famous places and spots painted by him with his paintings right in front of them. You feel his presence there at every step.

Here is what I wrote about it:

It was my first visit to a small town on the outskirts of Paris. I went in search of the resting place of Van Gogh and his brother Theo.The whole place still feels like the last chapter of Van Gogh’s life.

It is amazing how his legacy and other artists legacy is preserved in a much nuanced manner. It felt like walking through his works thanks to the trails which recreated the paths the artist took till his last day.

The cemetery is very close to the open fields which he feverishly painted. The town seems to celebrate as well as mourn the two brothers. The graves are at the back with other graves, nothing leads to them – you just find them.

Auvers-sur-Oise is a picturesque beautiful place with open book shelves, art galleries along the path, a good old charming second hands books shop which has books dating back to antiquity, lovely mediatheque – library for the town folks where many kids were reading books during their holidays. People are friendly and helpful. Their politeness is truly endearing. The famous inn where he lived and died is closed in winter months but there is so much more to see, walk around to discover the buildings and scenes he painted. It will be one of the most memorable solo trips for me. Winter and the history of the place made landscapes more magical.

It takes rare courage to be a Van Gogh or Theo. Their letters and quotes are placed everywhere to show their love, spirit and passion.

#vangogh #theo #arthistory #auverssuroise #artheritage #cemeteriesofinstagram #cemetery