La Ferté-Alais

La Ferté-Alais (French pronunciation: [la fɛʁte alɛ] ) is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France. It is 52 km (32 mi) south of Paris. It used to be a fortress closing the access to the French royal estate from the Essonne valley, then became an industrial village with sand and stones. Its airfield (actually in Cerny), hosts a world-famous air show for vintage World War I and WWII aircraft and a museum of such aircraft.

La Ferté-Alais
View from the east, looking over the town towards the airfield
Location of La Ferté-Alais
La Ferté-Alais
La Ferté-Alais
Coordinates: 48°28′54″N 2°20′53″E
CountryFrance
RegionÎle-de-France
DepartmentEssonne
ArrondissementÉtampes
CantonMennecy
Government
  Mayor (20202026) Mariannick Morvan
Area
1
4.55 km2 (1.76 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)
3,649
  Density800/km2 (2,100/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
  Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
91232 /91590
Elevation53–142 m (174–466 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

It even has the aircraft (still airworthy) that Louis Blériot used to cross the English Channel in 1909.

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