The town of Meudon is built on the hills and valleys of the Seine. The forest of Meudon lies for the most part to the west of the town.
The north-west part of Meudon, overlooking the Seine, is known as Bellevue ("beautiful view").
The neighboring communes are: Sèvres (North-west), Boulogne-Billancourt (North); Issy-les-Moulineaux (northeast), Clamart (east and southeast), Vélizy (south and southwest) and Chaville (west).
The town includes several districts: Meudon-sur-Seine, Val Fleury, Meudon-Centre, Bellevue and Meudon-la-Forêt.
At Meudon, the argile plastique clay was extensively mined in the 19th century. The first fossil of the European diatryma Gastornis parisiensis was discovered in these deposits by Gaston Planté.
Archaeological sites show that Meudon has been populated since Neolithic times.
The Gauls called the area Mol-Dum (sand dune), and the Romans Latinized the name as Moldunum.
The handsome Galliera Institutions, on the hill of Fleury, were founded by the duchess of Galliera for the care of aged persons and orphans. The buildings were completed in 1885.
The old castle of Meudon was rebuilt in Renaissance style in the mid-sixteenth century. It was bought by Louis XIV as a residence for his son Louis, the Dauphin under whom Meudon became a center of aristocratic life. After the death of the Dauphin in 1711, the château was neglected, emptied in the Revolutionary sales, and finally burned in 1871 at the close of the Franco-Prussian War, while it was occupied by Prussian soldiers. A branch of the Paris Observatory was founded on the ruins in 1877. The Meudon town hall is about 43 m (141.08 ft) in altitude above that of Paris and the climb from there to the observatory offers some rewarding views of Paris.
Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot, the inventor of the 'world's first automobile', is reported to have carried out some early trials at Meudon in the early 1770s.
Chalais-Meudon was important in the pioneering of aviation, initially balloons and airships, but also the early heavier-than-air machines. A Corps d'Aérostatiers under the command of Jean-Marie-Joseph Coutelle was established in 1794, its balloons being used at the Battle of Fleurus. 'Hangar Y' (at 48°47′52″N 2°13′59″E / 48.7977°N 2.233°E / 48.7977; 2.233) was built in 1880 at the request of the military engineer Captain Charles Renard (1847–1905), for the construction of balloons and airships. The building is 70 m (230 ft) long, 24 m (79 ft) wide and around 26 m (85 ft) high. The airship La France, designed by Renard and Arthur Krebs, was built in Hangar Y in 1884 and was the first airship which was controllable during flight and which could return to its starting point.1
Although a choice residential district, access to the railway (RER) and the Seine river have made Meudon a manufacturing center since the 1840s. Metal products and military explosives have been continuously produced there since then.
In addition to the Observatory, what is today ONERA, a national aerospace research institute and wind tunnel has been present since the military opened its aerostatic (lighter-than-air) field in the Chalais park in 1877. From 1921 to 1981 the Air Museum was located here until it moved to Le Bourget Airport.
The French National Centre for Scientific Research has a campus in Bellevue.
Meudon is well served by public transport operated jointly by the SNCF and the RATP.
Meudon is served by line C of the RER by Meudon – Val Fleury station.
Meudon is also served by the Transilien Line N through Meudon station and Bellevue station.
Meudon is served along the Seine by two stations on the T2 tramway line: Meudon-sur-Seine and Brimborion. This line links the Porte de Versailles in the south to the Pont de Bezons in the north, serving the La Défense business district.
The T6 tramway line runs from Châtillon to Viroflay. Meudon is served by Georges Millandy and Meudon la Forêt stations.
Meudon is served by twelve lines of the RATP bus network, that have numerous stops in the city:
The area was once served by the Bellevue funicular, a model of which is in the local Museum of Art and History.
Public schools:
Private schools:
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in France
Meudon is twinned with:12
The Imperial Cedar (Cèdre Impérial), attracted the attention of Empress Eugénie and Queen Victoria.13 As of March 2021, the tree is in good condition, but it is threatened by real estate speculation. Another real estate project is planned for the historic park of the Napoleon III villa built by Charles Schacher. Both projects are controversial and have aroused local opposition.
Ville de Meudon, Aviation, Archdeacon and Wright No 3 Archived 1 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine http://www.carnetdevol.org/aerostation/aviation.htm ↩
Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Meudon, EHESS (in French). http://cassini.ehess.fr/fr/html/fiche.php?select_resultat=22356 ↩
Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/4515315?geo=COM-92048#ancre-POP_T1 ↩
"Écoles maternelles." Meudon. p. 1–2. Retrieved on 7 September 2016. http://www.meudon.fr/etablissements/ecoles-maternelles-1395.html ↩
"Écoles maternelles." Meudon. p. 1. Retrieved on 7 September 2016. http://www.meudon.fr/etablissements/ecoles-maternelles-1395.html ↩
"Écoles élémentaires." Meudon. p. 1. Retrieved on 7 September 2016. http://www.meudon.fr/etablissements/ecoles-elementaires-1394.html ↩
"Collèges et lycées." Meudon. Retrieved on 7 September 2016. http://www.meudon.fr/jeunes/colleges-et-lycees-460.html ↩
"Écoles maternelles." Meudon. p. 2. Retrieved on 7 September 2016. http://www.meudon.fr/etablissements/ecoles-maternelles-1395.html ↩
"Jumelages". meudon.fr (in French). Meudon. Retrieved 19 November 2019. https://www.meudon.fr/decouvrir-meudon/jumelages-3284.html ↩
History of the Imperial Cedar of Meudon http://phonebookoftheworld.com/imperialcedar/ ↩
l'Association pour la Sauvegarde de l'Orgue de Marcel Dupré Archived 3 April 2011 at the Wayback Machine http://www.marceldupre.org/index.html ↩
"At home: Artists in Conversation | Celia Paul on Gwen John". YouTube. 12 January 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-ZahMymu9w ↩