Eure region France

Travelled:160km
Stay:Beauvais-aire, free parking, free service point N49.424271 E2.080190
Visited:Dreux, Anet, Gaillon

Our first stop today was in Dreux. Its most famous sight is the Chapelle Royale. This was built in 1816 by the duchesse of Orleans on the site of the mass grave her ancestors were thrown in to when a mob of the French Revolution desecrated the crypt they had been previously buried in. Unfortunately we were a day late to visit it as it closed from the 1st Oct! So we walked around the centre of town's shopping district, admiring some of the original buildings. 

We then drove through the forest to Anet where we stopped to look at the castle. Built in 1547 for Diane de Poitiers, mistress of King Henri II. Since then a few alterations have been done and then it faced destruction during the French Revolution. It wasn't until 1840 that restorations began by 5 generations of the same family. Visits where only from 2pm so on the road we continued. 

Next was Gaillon, which also has a castle to visit. This Early Renaissance structure was built in 1500's with much Italian influence. In the late 1700's it was vandalized, emptied and sold. It served as a penitentiary in the early 1800's then sold to a farmer!

  Again we didn't want to wait until 2.30pm for the next visit, so we had lunch in the carpark and made our way to Les Andelys. As we made our approach we noticed the white cliffs along the Seine River and the Chateau Gaillard overlooking the valley. It was built for Richard the Lionheart, King of England in 1167 but in 1204 it was captured by the King of France, ending the rule of the descendants of William the Conqueror in Normandy.

 There is never a lack of historical monuments in every town we visit!
We reach Beauvais in the late afternoon and this marks the end of our journey for 2015. We will spend the next couple of days getting ready to leave.