Tour The Quaint French Village That Was Abandoned 40 Years Ago After Charles De Gaulle Airport Opened Nearby

Welcome to Goussainville, the abandoned French town 12 miles north of Paris.

By 1973, many of the 144 families living in the area had abandoned the town. Only a handful remain today.

Source: REUTERS

Parts of the town still look gorgeous and pastoral, like this 19th century manor, making it obvious why families chose to live here in the first place.

Source: REUTERS

Yet for the most part, the city has fallen into disarray. So why did the residents abandon the town 40 years ago?

Source: REUTERS

In 1972, Roissy's Charles de Gaulle Airport officially opened. Goussainville was in its direct flight path.

Source: REUTERS

Which meant planes would fly over the town all the time. Residents began moving away, unable to stand the noise.

Source: REUTERS

Here, a commercial airliner flies over the 14th century Eglise St. Pierre et St. Paul Church (it's one of the only buildings that has remained in good shape since it's classified as an historic monument).

Source: REUTERS

As if the noise wasn't enough, in 1973, the supersonic Tupolev Tu-144 crashed in Goussainville during the Paris Air Show, killing all six people on board and eight others on the ground.

Source: TIME

That was enough to convince those still living in the village to leave their homes without selling them and move away from Goussainville.

Source: REUTERS

Today, the ruins of the town show what life for residents was like before the Charles de Gaulle airport. This former cafe was called "Au Paradis" (in Heaven).

Source: REUTERS

A street that would have been bustling stands empty in the town.

Source: REUTERS

A lock and a chain secures one of the access gates to a house in Goussainville — perhaps the resident plans to return someday.

Source: REUTERS