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Views of France today – the surprising town of Dreux

Eternal and 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

     

    That the descendants of Equality Philip should rest next to the kings of France was inconceivable, for he had voted the execution of Louis XVI (please click on the next link). 

     

    So his widow chose this hilltop as site for the family tombs. It is with this view and its story that our visit begins.  

     

     

    • Those dukes were competent, ambiguous and tragic
    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
    Gothic church
    Nineteeth-century architectures

     

     

    •  We go on through lovely countryside to a medal-winning farm for goat cheese
    "We bring in the hay"

     

     

    • Festivities that are convivial and intimate

    Communion of band and public

       

       

      • Contemporary surprise

       

      Faced with the challenge of mass immigration at an exceptionally early date, Dreux horrified most of the country when the extreme Right wing gained control of City Hall (in the 1980's). Successors cut down high-rises, created three cultural centers, voted a budget for festivities to unify newcomers and local people -- and quietly posted this photo in the Office of Tourism.

      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.

       

      • As at Chantilly, we can arrange a meeting with municipal authorities.
      • We illustrate the visit with works of art, some of which appear on these pages

       

       

      • Costs: please CLICK

      º  Mausoleum entry fee

      º  Farm fee for guided visit and tasting

      º  Country déjeuner 

       

      º Transportation: by car or bus, so as to visit the countryside and return when we wish. Or else, by train (about one hour from the Montparnasse station).

       

       

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

       

       


      Unexpected Paris guided tours