To the southwest of Paris, at the gateway to Normandy and the Loire Valley, the Eure-et-Loir offers such a variety of landscapes, a richly diverse heritage and a huge range of leisure options that it alone accounts for 5 unexpected and incredibly varied tourist destinations :
- a cathedral city : Chartres
- two rivers, two valleys : the Eure Valley and the Upper Loir Valley
- two regions, two homelands : La Beauce and Le Perche
This region, loved by a number of great authors, has a rich cultural and historical heritage, with the châteaux in Anet, Châteaudun, Maintenon and Nogent-le-Rotrou. Along with its cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage site, Chartres is also the city of stained-glass windows and music.
For lovers of the great outdoors, the climate and countryside are perfect for aerial sports, riding, hunting and golf.
For gourmets there is no shortage of quality eating places in historical buildings, offering excellent cuisine and wonderful surroundings.
The Eure-et-Loir is France's largest cereal-producing département and has a diverse industrial base, with perfumery and cosmetics, pharmacy and para-chemistry, the motor industry and electronics.
Unexpected and incredibly varied,
the Eure-et-Loir wishes you a pleasant stay in a place where you'll find a new approach to life.
Chartres, the cathedral city
Chartres is dominated by the Cathedral of Notre Dame, a UNESCO World Heritage site and the most complete and best preserved of all the gothic cathedrals. This majestic bible of stone and glass was built in the 12th and 13th centuries and has a unique collection of stained-glass windows. The International Stained-glass Window Centre and the master glassmakers who work there have made Chartres the world capital of stained glass. The city's attraction also stems from the lower town, the mediaeval quarter where narrow streets, humpback bridges and wash houses line the banks of the Eure, while the shopping district has all manner of shops, a flower market and some excellent restaurants. Whether you come for the International Organ Festival or simply want to find out what's at La Maison Picassiette, Chartres remains an essential part of any cultural visit of the area.
CDT 28
La Beauce : Country folk, Countryside
The landscape of the cereal-growing area of La Beauce is one of subtle variations, where an ocean of wheat floats on the endless horizon. La Beauce is all about land, land fashioned by man, in the middle of which stand windmills with sails outstretched and farms huddled round square courtyards like fortresses. The region is summed up so well at La Maison de la Beauce in Orgères-en-Beauce, or by the Fougeron family at the Château de Villeprévost, where the trial of the 300 outlaws of the Orgères Burners took place ! Where the water table meets the surface flows the Conie, both a river and a marsh and a swathe of green running through the middle of this vast plain. It exudes a wonderfully rich array of plant and animal life, such as sedge, a reed formerly used to thatch roofs. At the confluence of the two arms of the Conie, the former Benedictine priory of Nottonville Abbey stands among the wheat fields.
CDT 28
Le Perche
Le Perche is a Regional Nature Park, and has remained totally unspoiled. Here, nature is in charge, or almost! It's a landscape of bocage, lakes and forests where Percheron horses, man's faithful companion and an emblem of the region, are still bred. Nogent-le-Rotrou, the capital of Le Perche, is dominated by the silhouette of the Château Saint Jean, a fortress which overlooks the Huisne valley and once defended the County of Le Perche. Travelling the « quiet back roads of Le Perche », by foot, on horseback or by bicycle, you will see an amazing view of the château in La Ferté-Vidame, the domain of the Duke of Saint Simon, memorialist of Louis XIV. You can also see the Château de Frazé and manor houses and abbeys like the one at Thiron-Gardais. There is a multitude of hidden treasures, from our modest rural heritage to churches with frescoes like the Chapelle de Réveillon and the Chapelle de Frétigny, which come alive with music during the Le Perche Spring Concert season.
CDT 28
The Eure Valley, Valley of Mistresses
The Eure valley is a journey through History, recounting the story of Kings' mistresses through the ages. Madame de Maintenon, the secret wife of Louis XIV, improved the Château de Maintenon and laid out the gardens which provide a view of the unfinished aqueduct, designed to take the waters of the Eure to Versailles. Diane of Poitiers, the mistress of King Henry II, commissioned the great Renaissance architect Philibert de l'Orme to build the Château d'Anet. And it was the Orléans Family who had the Royal Chapel in Dreux built. Along the road there are peaceful villages like Gallardon and Nogent-le-Roi, and, more unexpected, the subtle perfumes of the mediaeval garden at Bois Richeux. A mixture of aromatic plants, spices and herbs grow around the seigniorial residence.
The Upper Loir Valley, a valley of peace
From its sources not far from Illiers-Combray, the Loir meanders gently along. It was the area around this little town that inspired Marcel Proust to write «In Search of Lost Time». Aunt Léonie's house is full of reminders of the author's holidays here. In the fortified township of Bonneval, the Loir flows into ditches in front of the ramparts, a refreshing place to explore on foot or by electric boat. It continues peacefully down to Châteaudun, which has one of the area's largest castles, its keep standing more than 60 m above the river! This is the amazing setting for a spectacular exhibition on food and gastronomy in the Middle Ages. The Loir finally leaves the Département of Eure-et-Loir after Montigny-le-Gannelon, where the private château of the Montmorency Laval family, still the family home, overlooks the river.
Marne
( 51 )
An holyday rental for 200 €
A trip low price
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Tarn
( 81 )
From the Montagne Noire, the southern tip of the Massif Central, to the wide, tranquil plains of the Agout and Tarn rivers, and from the rugged unspoilt Ségala region to the rounded hills of the Vaurais, gateway to the sprawling plains of the Lauragais, the Tarn offers an enormou...
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Destination:
Eure et Loir
