Yvelines () is a department in the western part of the Île-de-France region in Northern France. In 2023, it had a population of 1,485,086.
It gained the communes of Châteaufort and Toussus-le-Noble from the adjacent department of Essonne in 1969.
The departmental capital, Versailles, which grew up around Louis XIV's château, was also the French capital for more than a century under the Ancien Régime and again between 1871 and 1879 during the early years of the Third Republic. Since then the château has continued to welcome the French Parliament when it is called upon to sit in a congressional sitting (with both houses sitting together) in order to enact constitutional changes or to listen to a formal declaration by the President.
Geography
Situation
Yvelines is bordered by the departments of Val-d'Oise on the north, Hauts-de-Seine on the east, Essonne on the southeast, Eure-et-Loir on the southwest and Eure on the west.
The eastern part of the department, as well as its northern part along the Seine, is part of the Paris metropolitan area, but the rest of the department is rural, much of it covered by the Forest of Rambouillet (also known as the Forest of Yveline, from which the name of the department is derived).
Two regional parks can be found in Yvelines: Haute Vallée de Chevreuse Regional Natural Park and part of Vexin Français Park. Yvelines is home to one of France's best known golf courses, La Tuilerie-Bignon, in the village of Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche.
Principal towns
Besides Versailles (the prefecture and most populous commune) and the subprefectures of Mantes-la-Jolie, Rambouillet, and Saint-Germain-en-Laye, important cities include Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, Poissy, Les Mureaux, Houilles, Plaisir, Sartrouville, Chatou, Le Chesnay, and the new agglomeration community of Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines. As of 2023, there are 24 communes with more than 20,000 inhabitants. The 10 most populous communes are:
{| class=wikitable
! Commune
! Population (2023)
|-
| Versailles
| style="text-align: center;" | 84,095
|-
| Sartrouville
| style="text-align: center;" | 52,763
|-
| Saint-Germain-en-Laye
| style="text-align: center;" | 45,931
|-
| Mantes-la-Jolie
| style="text-align: center;" | 43,526
|-
| Poissy
| style="text-align: center;" | 40,983
|-
| Conflans-Sainte-Honorine
| style="text-align: center;" | 36,958
|-
| Trappes
| style="text-align: center;" | 34,689
|-
| Les Mureaux
| style="text-align: center;" | 34,632
|-
| Houilles
| style="text-align: center;" | 33,983
|-
| Montigny-le-Bretonneux
| style="text-align: center;" | 32,465
|}
Demographics
In French, a man from the Yvelines is called Yvelinois (plural Yvelinois); a woman is Yvelinoise (plural Yvelinoises).
Population development since 1876
Population data refer to the department in its geography as of January 2025.
Place of birth of residents
Tourism
Palaces and châteaux
- Palace of Versailles
- Château de Breteuil
- Château du Haut-Buc
- Château de Dampierre
- Château de Jouy-en-Josas
- Château de Maisons
- Château de Rambouillet
- Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye
- Château of Thoiry
- Château de Vaux-sur-Seine
- Château de Mauvières
- Château du Pont
- Château de Villette
- Château de Millemont
Museums
- Museum of National Antiques (Saint-Germain-en-Laye)
- Museum of River and Canal Craft (Conflans-Sainte-Honorine)
- Horse-drawn Coach Museum (Versailles)
- Toy Museum (Poissy)
- Sheep Museum (Rambouillet)
- Cloth Museum of Jouy (Jouy-en-Josas)
- National Barn Museum of Port-Royal (Magny-les-Hameaux)
- International Museum of Naive Art
- Musée Lambinet (Versailles)
- Musée de la Grenouillère (Croissy-sur-Seine)
- Musée Fournaise (Chatou)
Artists' and writers' houses
- Maurice Denis's house, the Musée départemental Maurice Denis (Saint-Germain-en-Laye)
- André Derain's house (Chambourcy)
- Alexandre Dumas père's Château de Monte-Cristo (Port-Marly)
- Maurice Ravel's house/museum (Montfort-l'Amaury)
- Jean-Claude Richard's family estate (Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche)
- Elsa Triolet-Aragon's house (Saint-Arnoult-en-Yvelines)
- Ivan Turgenev House (Bougival)
- Émile Zola's house (Médan)
Parks and gardens
- Chèvreloup Arboretum (Rocquencourt)
- Marly Estate (Marly-le-Roi)
- Vaux-sur-Seine Castle Garden (Vaux-sur-Seine)
- The King's Vegetable Garden (Versailles)
- Outdoor and entertainment base of Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (Trappes)
<gallery>
File:Versailles chateau.jpg|Palace and Gardens of Versailles
File:The Grand Trianon Castle in Summer.JPG|The Grand Trianon
File:Le hameau de la Reine (Versailles) (8040177482).jpg|The Hameau de la Reine
File:Venus of Brassempouy.jpg|The Venus of Brassempouy from the collection of the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye
File:Jumeauville lavoir01.jpg|Lavoir of Jumeauville
</gallery>
Politics
In both local and national elections, the department generally supports centre-right political candidates. Michel Rocard, who served as Prime Minister of France from 1988 to 1991 under President François Mitterrand, was an MP for the department in the Socialist Party. The president of the Departmental Council is Pierre Bédier, first elected in 2014.
Presidential elections 2nd round
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!colspan="2"|Election!!Winning candidate!!Party!!%!!2nd place candidate!!Party!!%
|-
|style="background-color: " |
| 2022
| Emmanuel Macron
| LREM
| 71.05
| Marine Le Pen
| FN
| 28.95
|-
|style="background-color: " |
| 2017
| Emmanuel Macron
| LREM
| 77.15
| Marine Le Pen
| FN
| 22.85
|-
|style="background-color: " |
| 2012
| Nicolas Sarkozy
| UMP
| 54.30
| François Hollande
| PS
| 45.70
|-
|style="background-color: " |
| 2007
| Nicolas Sarkozy
| UMP
| 58.71
| Ségolène Royal
| PS
| 41.29
|-
|style="background-color: " |
| 2002
| Jacques Chirac
| RPR
| 60.64
| Lionel Jospin
| PS
| 39.36
|}
Members of the National Assembly
In the 2024 legislative election, Yvelines elected the following representatives to the National Assembly:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!colspan="2"|Constituency!!Member!!Party
|-
|style="background-color: " |
| Yvelines's 1st constituency
| Charles Rodwell
| RE
|-
|style="background-color: " |
| Yvelines's 2nd constituency
| Anne Bergantz
| MoDem
|-
|style="background-color: " |
| Yvelines's 3rd constituency
| Béatrice Piron
| RE
|-
|style="background-color: " |
| Yvelines's 4th constituency
| Marie Lebec
| RE
|-
|style="background-color: " |
| Yvelines's 5th constituency
| Yaël Braun-Pivet
| RE
|-
|style="background-color: " |
| Yvelines's 6th constituency
| Natalia Pouzyreff
| RE
|-
|style="background-color: " |
| Yvelines's 7th constituency
| Aurélien Rousseau
| PP
|-
|style="background-color: " |
| Yvelines's 8th constituency
| Benjamin Lucas
| G.s.
|-
|style="background-color: " |
| Yvelines's 9th constituency
| Dieynaba Diop
| PS
|-
|style="background-color: " |
| Yvelines's 10th constituency
| Aurore Bergé
| RE
|-
|style="background-color: " |
| Yvelines's 11th constituency
| William Martinet
| LFI
|-
|style="background-color: " |
| Yvelines's 12th constituency
| Karl Olive
| RE
|}
Senators
In the Senate, Yvelines is represented by:
- Toine Bourrat (DVD), since 2020
- Marta de Cidrac (LR), since 2017
- Gérard Larcher (LR), since 2007 (President of the Senate since 2014)
- Michel Laugier (UDI), since 2017
- Martin Lévrier (REM), since 2017
- Sophie Primas (LR), since 2011
See also
- Cantons of the Yvelines department
- Communes of the Yvelines department
- Arrondissements of the Yvelines department