Locksmith Châtenay-Malabry, from the Butte-Rouge to LaVallée

The centre still bears the marks of the old village: the église Saint-Germain-l’Auxerrois with its Romanesque bell tower, the 1826 wash house, the pavillon Colbert and the marché Colbert, on rue Jean-Longuet, on Friday and Sunday mornings. The town hall is on rue du Docteur-Le-Savoureux. On an old wooden door, we can replace the lock or add a security lock without changing the door. You are given the price before any work is done.

Built by the Office HBM de la Seine from 1931 onwards, the garden city covers around 70 hectares between avenue de la Division-Leclerc and the edge of the forêt de Verrières. Pink façades, flat roofs, small buildings surrounded by gardens and then taller blocks: it holds several thousand social housing units. As a tenant, you can have your door opened at any hour. To change the lock, let your landlord know and keep the invoice.

On rue de Chateaubriand, the house where the writer lived and the neighbouring arboretum open onto the wooded park of the Vallée-aux-Loups, in the Val d’Aulnay, which can also be reached via avenue Jean-Jaurès or chemin de la Justice. The area still has several old properties, such as the house of Henri de Latouche. For a house, think also of the service door or the garage door: a security lock can be fitted there just as on the front door.

On the 20 hectares of the former École centrale, the LaVallée eco-district is planned to hold 2,200 new homes, shops, offices, a primary school complex and a secondary school, around a square facing the LaVallée stop on the T10. A tree-lined walkway links it to the parc de Sceaux and the coulée verte. Lost a key in a new building? Replacing the cylinder of the front door is usually enough; duplicates can then be ordered online.