On a gentle rise above the Seine at Poissy, set back from the road in a meadow ringed by trees, a white box floats on thin columns. Villa Savoye is perhaps the most famous house of the twentieth century, designed by Le Corbusier and his cousin Pierre Jeanneret for a wealthy family as a weekend retreat and completed in 1931. It is the purest built expression of Le Corbusier's five points of a new architecture: pilotis, a free plan, a free façade, horizontal ribbon windows and a roof garden. Since 2016 it has been part of the World Heritage site of his architectural work, along with the small gardener's lodge at the entrance, a miniature echo of the main house.
Inside, a ramp climbs gently from the ground floor to the living spaces and on to the roof terrace, so that moving through the house becomes a kind of promenade. The rooms are bright and spare, with built-in furniture and a bathroom that is almost a sculpture. The family lived in it only for a few years before the war; it then suffered damage, neglect and plans for demolition before being rescued, classified and restored by the state. Today it is a museum.
The location is convenient for a ride out of Paris. Poissy is on the western edge of the metropolis, and the roads here are busy, with traffic lights, roundabouts and suburban sprawl. Head west along the Seine valley or north into the Vexin français, a regional natural park of plateaus, valleys and villages, and the riding becomes much more pleasant, with winding country roads, old stone farms and churches. The forest of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, just south, is a large woodland with straight roads and shady paths.
Poissy itself is an old royal town, the birthplace of Saint Louis, King Louis IX, in 1214. It has a fine Gothic collegiate church where he was baptised. Saint-Germain-en-Laye, a few kilometres away, has a château with a national archaeology museum and a long terrace with views over the Seine and Paris.
Poissy, under two kilometres away, has fuel, shops and restaurants. Chambourcy and Saint-Germain-en-Laye also have plenty of options. Book or check opening times before visiting the villa, and take your time: the house rewards slow looking, especially when the light moves across the white walls.