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wikitopx · 5 years ago

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In northern central France, Dreux is just over an hour west of Paris on the border with Normandy.

Although it’s a smallish town there’s a lot to see, like the burial chapel of the noble House of Orléans and an ornately sculpted belfry dating to the 1500s. Dreux has a peculiar mix of museums too, dealing with everything from painting to medieval wine and even the art of making combs. If you widen your radius to include Chartres and its stupendous World Heritage cathedral you’ll never be stuck for things to do. Let's explore the best things to do in Dreux.

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1. Chapelle Royale de Dreux

This chapel dates to 1816 and is the mausoleum for the House of Orléans.

It was built after the Revolution by the widow of Louis Philippe II, the Duke of Orléans who had been guillotined and was the father of the future King Louis-Philippe I. During the Reign of Terror the family crypt at Dreux’s Collégiale Saint-Étienne church had been desecrated and the bodies buried in a mass grave.

They were eventually dug up and moved to this glorious chapel, where 75 members of the House of Orleans, including Louis Philippe I, were buried. It’s a suitably regal monument, with a ring of expertly crafted recumbent tombs and stained glass windows hand-painted at the illustrious Sèvres Manufactory.

2. Belfry

At the old town hall, Dreux’s Belfry is the only building of its type in Eure-et-Loir and dates to the first decades of the 16th century. One of the men working on it was Clément Métezeau, the royal architect Louis XIII, who was very active in Dreux and also helped design the wall in La Rochelle.

What’s neat about the belfry is that it was built when the Gothic gave way to the Renaissance style: You can see a clear contrast between the sober lower floors and the upper stories, which are very ornate with delicate filigrees and mullioned windows. You can enquire at the tourist office about a guided tour.

3. A Walk around Town

Most of the center of Dreux is pedestrianized, and you can pass a carefree couple of hours milling around. On Rue Illiers, a quaint alley off Grand Rue Maurice Violette, there’s a pair of corbelled timber-framed houses, joined together by beams spanning the way.

Some buildings were opened to the public but were as valuable as a photograph, such as Hôtel-Dieu, a hospital from the 1600s and Pavilion Louis XIII from the same period. And when you see the Royal Chapel, be sure to stroll the gardens around it, which used to be part of the lost Château de Dreux, the House of Orléans’ ancestral home.

4. Musée d’Art et d’Histoire

This compact but compelling museum is in a lively 19th-century chapel and has items uncovering the region’s history, and a superb collection of art. The main event here has to be Monet’s Wisteria Study, painted in his garden at Giverny.

He is accompanied by a decent line-up of 19th and 20th-century artists like Montézin, Vlaminck and Le Sidner. The archaeological galleries have decorative pieces and architectural fragments from churches, monasteries, and châteaux.

There’s furniture from the Château De Crécy, owned by the Marquise de Pompadour, Romanesque carved capitals, a pair of Merovingian earrings and much more besides.

5. Église Saint-Pierre de Dreux

Begun in the 13th-century, this is one of those composite churches that has been adapted and extended many times. Work didn’t stop until the 1600s when the transept was completed, but the whole somehow remains uniform and harmonious. Once again Clément Métezeau joined in 1524 when he decorated the facade.

There’s some lovely ornamentation to see as well, as the organ case with polychrome sculptures from 1614, a 16th-century sculpture of Christ on the cross and a Romanesque capital from the lost Collégiale Saint-Étienne church.

6. Ecomusée des Vignerons et des Artisans Drouais

Stop by this museum in an 11th-century winemaking priory for a journey into the viticulture and artisan crafts around Dreux. Monks who cut basements from soft marl and wine will be loaded onto boats on the Eure to be transported to Paris or even England.

The museum has a reproduction of one of these 13th-century boats, known as a cabotière, as well as lots of antique winemaking instruments like a press and a 7150-liter barrel. Upstairs are tools for local trades like lacework, saddle-making, and watch-making, while outside you amble through the vineyards and authentic medieval kitchen garden.

7. Château d’Anet

This palace is from the turn of the 1550s and was ordered by King Henry II for his mistress Diane of Poitiers. The architect was Philibert de l’Orme who made his mark in Paris and the Loire Valley at the height of the Renaissance.

The property came through the Revolution unscathed but was sold off and fell into neglect before being partially demolished.

There was a big restoration in the 19th century and the château has appeared in a number of movies, like Thunderball in 1965 and The Pink Panther Strikes Again in 1976. There’s also a Byzantine-style mortuary chapel for Diane of Poitiers, which still holds her remains.

8. Hôtel de Montulé

This handsome mansion is owned by the town and has been turned into a cultural center: The Hôtel de Montulé puts on temporary art exhibitions, live demonstrations, classes, talks and fun workshops for kids in the holidays.

You will also win the architecture because the mansion dates back to the early 17th century and was designed by Jean Métezeau, the grandson of Clément. It's Louis XIII style with quoins and dormer windows.

And the galleries leave you in no doubt that Dreux has a vibrant art scene; at the time of writing there’s video art, engraving, photography and surrealist sculpture.

9. Château d’Ivry-la-Bataille

This region of France is mostly known for its graceful pleasure palaces, but in Ivry-la-Bataille are the tortured remnants of a military fortress. This castle goes back to the 900s and was in a key strategic position defending the Duchy of Normandy at the boundary between England and France.

It was torn down by the English in 1424 during the Hundred Years’ War. So it’s remarkable just how much of the structure is left, and for that, we can thank a couple of decades of excavation work.

The castle is a dramatic backdrop to a walk, enriched with information boards and stirring views of the Eure Valley.

10. Château de Maillebois

This noble château in 300 hectares of grounds was commissioned by François d’O, who was Superintendent of Finances under Henri III in the 16th century. What will strike you immediately is that it is made almost entirely of bricks, which sets it apart in this region.

The castle was built on top of defensive fortresses dating back hundreds of years, and François d’O regretted the cost of turning it into a palace. You can visit for a tour in summer, and find out about the long roll-call of subsequent owners.

One was the aviation pioneer Hubert Latham who set all sorts of early flight records and landed a plane on the grounds in 1910.

More ideals for you: Top 10 things to do in Dieppe

From : https://wikitopx.com/travel/top-10-things-to-do-in-dreux-708409.html

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