The best traffic-free bike rides around Bourdonné

Place where Pompidou is buried

Saint Mary Magdalene was the first to encounter the risen Christ, and she was the first to bear witness to him before the Apostles. A woman disciple of Jesus Christ. There were no half measures for Mary Magdalene, sister of Martha and Lazarus of Bethany. Her taste for luxury and the world, her unbridled libertinism, and her defiance of convention made her despised by good people. Radically transformed by Christ, her gratitude was inexhaustible: she had found the One her heart loved, and she would follow Him wherever He went. It was she who threw herself at the feet of her Lord and perfumed them with perfume before the stunned Pharisees. The first to thus foresee the Passion and death of Jesus, she would be the first to announce His Resurrection to the doubting apostles. Fiery-tempered, she lived her last thirty years alone in a cave, secluded in contemplation of Love. This church consists of a rectangular nave and a side bell tower with a slate spire, which was raised by a floor in the 19th century. It comprises a four-bay nave with two aisles extending into side chapels. The pentagonal choir has a cul-de-four vault supported by early Gothic ribs. It is lit by two Romanesque bays.

Built at the end of the 12th century by the Counts of Montfort and listed as a Historic Monument since 1889, the Houdan Tower was used to watch for enemies and defend the territory. The Keep consists of a 15 m diameter and 21 m high tower, flanked by four turrets of the same height located at the four cardinal points. From the 16th century until the French Revolution, the Keep served as a prison, and executions took place at the foot of the Tower. The first water reservoir was installed in the tower in 1880. The second, built in 1952, is still visible. Tours are available on certain days.

Beautiful castle (private).

Nice city center with medieval architecture

The function of the bell towers in this region bordering Beauce is to monitor the possible arrival of the enemy Simple square stone tower of small structure, probably built in the 10th century and detached from the church built by Robert the Pious, the bell tower was raised in 1606 then in 1621, and topped with an ax iron slate roof. The church was rebuilt and greatly enlarged from 1556 to 1607 by Lord Joachim de Bellengreville, companion of Henri IV. The unique nave has a wooden barrel vault, as does the choir with a five-sided roof.

Saint Anne belonged to this chosen people who, in God's plans, were to give birth to the Savior of men; she was of the tribe of Judah and of the race of David. His parents, commendable by their origin, became especially famous among all their fellow citizens for the brilliance of a life full of good works and virtues. The choir of the church forms a setback from the nave. The western part, very small, dates from the 11th century while the eastern part, destroyed during the Hundred Years' War, was rebuilt in the 16th century. The sacristy was built some time later, on the north side.

Oriented east, the building follows a rectangular plan, extended by a choir. With a length of 35 meters, the building is constructed of masonry and consolidated by sandstone buttresses. The pointed vault is 13 meters high, the adjoining bell tower is around twenty meters high. The construction of the church would have been the initiative of Don Roger, abbot of the very powerful Benedictine abbey of Coulombs from 1115 to 1174. At this period, the abbey stood near Nogent-le-Roi, former fortified town located twelve kilometers on the banks of the Eure. Extended over more than 80 parishes, it had a considerable influence in the region, until the Revolution, whether from a religious, economic or social point of view. The Romanesque style that it had adopted since its original construction was remodeled in the 16th century. by the opening of high Gothic windows, around the edge of the choir. Finally, in the following century, during the wars of religion, the church suffered serious damage. When peace returned, the entrance porch was finally rebuilt in the elegant manner of the Renaissance style. In 1950, a fire destroyed the church and all its furniture; it was restored at the end of the 20th century.