Dreaming Of France: Dreux

This town in a rural region west of Paris promised a day trip that includes countryside hiking, historic architecture, and gourmet meals.

La chapelle royale Saint-Louis. By Renaud d’Avout. CC BY-SA 3.0.

Dreux is a located in the Eure-et-Loir department within the Centre-Val de Loire region. Sitting about 50 minutes west of Paris, it made for a perfect getaway for us, including a lovely hike along the Eure River, a stroll around Dreux’s historic city center, and then a decadent lunch at a local bistro.

The countryside

The Eure-et-Loir department is intensely rural and wooded, with a wide selection of trails for hiking and biking.

We began the morning driving north of Dreux to walk a 2-hour route (Vallée de l’Eure de Sorel-Moussel à St Georges Motel) that straddles the Eure River, as well as the neighboring Eure department.

It was a gentle circuit along a peaceful setting, that also covers part of the 25 km Voie Verte de la Vallée de l’Eure. As riders zipped by us, we regretted just a little not bringing our bikes so we could have covered even more terrain to visit some of the other local villages.

The town

We then drove about 20 minutes into the historic city center of Dreux. The tourism office has created an official walking tour of the old city’s highlights, marked by bronze symbols and panels that give bits and pieces of the history.

We only did a small improvised part of this, but still hit many of the most notable sites in about 45 minutes. The centerpiece of the town both geographically and in terms of its identity is the Dreux Bell Tower. Construction of the Belfry, which was formerly, the town hall, began in 1512 and was completed 25 years later. Its decoration was initially Gothic on the first floor but evolved into a Renaissance style on the second floor.

Le beffroi de Dreux, a former city fall in the style Louis XII in the 16th century.

The Bell Tower is the dominant feature of a surrounding plaza that stretches across the city center.