The commune has developed on the left bank of the Seine forming a loop south of the forest of Vexin. On an active communication axis inhabited since the Gallo-Roman era, Mantes took its rise from the early Middle Ages with the creation of a port between Paris and Rouen.
A strategic crossroads and therefore sensitive, Mantes now has a castle and remarkable religious buildings. The kings of France were not insensible, and while staying in the city, Henry IV wrote to his mistress Gabrielle d'Estrees: "I am at Mantes, my pretty one," giving her future name to the city. The sovereign established there the government of the country from to One of his predecessors, Philippe Auguste, had died in Mantes in Over the centuries, the territory of Mantes develops towards the south, and the city remains economically active, while maintaining a residential aspect, along the Seine, that the painters of the nineteenth century will immortalize.
During the same period, however, industries were established, and the population was booming: nearly 5, inhabitants after the Revolution, 8, in , and 13, in the aftermath of the Second World War. The result is a number of redevelopment plans and a city policy to revive these neighborhoods. Having preserved an important historical and natural heritage, offering cultural and sporting infrastructures of first importance, Mantes-la-Jolie deserves a visit or even a stay.
Before visiting the city itself, why not take advantage of the many green spaces that are conducive to walking, sporting or leisure activities in the city, especially on the outskirts of the urbanized part of its territory.
La Butte Verte, on the edge of the RN 13, is a parcel of forest managed as a sports course with various playgrounds, football pitches and a kart track. A former quarry, the lake of Gassicourt is an hectare lake.
