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Views of France today – the surprising town of Dreux

Eternal & contemporary
A presence that often hovers over venerable towns in France

 

Once a bastion protecting the Paris region from Norman attack, today this small town (pop. 30 000) is fascinating for its royal burial site and festivities in June and December. 

 

Add an exceptional goat-cheese farm, bucolic countryside, a Gothic church, and architecture from many epochs...

 

This is eternal France... with a modern surprise.

 

 
    • A mausoleum overlooks the town

     

     

    View from Chapelle Royale, where members of the Bourbons' junior branch rest

    The wife of guillotined Equality Philip chose this hilltop for the family graves. The view and the story begin our visit.

     

     

    • Those dukes were competent and tragic

     

    •More

    Philip, Louis XIV's brother
    Louis-Philippe, France's last king

    A single outburst against the Sun King...

     

     

    Overthrown...

     

     

    •  Their chapel's funerary art – emotion and dignity
    The Royal Chapel is one of the most important sites for Romantic sculpture.

     

     

    • The setting of daily life – vestiges from many epochs

     

     

     

    • We go on through lovely countryside to a medal-winning farm for goat cheese

     

    •More

    "We bring in the hay"

     

     

    •  Festivities that are convivial and intimate

     

    Communion of band and public

       

       

      • Contemporary surprise

       

      Faced at an exceptionally early date with the challenge of mass immigration, Dreux cut down high-rises, created three cultural centers and voted a specific budget to unify newcomers and local people. 

      Notice the painted wall.

       

      •This cultural center has never been tagged, because youths painted it as kids.

       

      •During the riots of 2005 a curfew was not deemed necessary.

       

       
      Two Africans stride through town in this photo the Dreux Office of Tourism supplied.

      •As at Chantilly, we can arrange a meeting with municipal authorities.

      • We illustrate the visit with copies of works of art, some of which appear on these pages

       

       

          • Costs: please CLICK.  Remember the mausoleum entry fee, the guided visit to the farm and the country lunch.  

           

           

           

          Credits: Farm / photo found at the farm; band / Robert Adams; street / Dreux Office of Tourism; other photos / Claude Abron

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