The best traffic-free bike rides around Ver-Lès-Chartres

The Plateau mill is a large water mill, equipped with two turbines producing their own electricity.

Beautiful green space in the middle of the city. Sometimes flooded in winter.

Easy and very beautiful hike following the river and pond; however, be careful at the roundabout on the way back to Lucé.

Using the power of moving water to drive a mill wheel is an ancient invention that dates back to pre-Christian times. Thanks to such a construction, human or animal muscle power could be easily replaced by a watercourse - natural or artificially created - in order to grind grain into corn, for example. There are essentially two different ways of driving watermills: either the water simply hits the blades of the water wheel from below to set it in motion; or the water is guided above the wheel and falls onto the blades; this type of construction is more efficient due to natural gravity.

Eure River Banks Park

Chartres en Lumières returns for a 21st edition, illuminating 21 sites seven evenings a week from April 13, 2024 to January 5, 2025. For the 2024 season, Chartres en Lumières includes in its program the Saint-Aignan church, which is preparing its grand return, and the façade of the Departmental Council, Place Châtelet, where the Eurelian heritage will be honored. With Chartres en Lumières, immerse yourself in a magical, colorful universe and discover, in an atypical way, the must-sees in the heart of the city of Chartres from dusk to 1 a.m. (11:30 p.m. from October 27).

Thivars is mentioned in 966 in the Chartres cartulary. In the 12th century, the church became the property of Josaphat Abbey. The current church was built in the 16th century: a date of 1545 is engraved on a cherub in the turret. It is a very high construction but very irregular, this comes from the fact that it belongs to several eras: ogival style in the windows, the entrance door is Romanesque (it may be the door of the first Romanesque church) . The choir was formerly separated from the nave by an iron grille which disappeared during the French Revolution. The ceiling has pretty paneling dating from 1645. The two side altars are dedicated: one to Notre Dame des Victoires and the other to Saint Joseph. Among the furniture we can note an interesting painting which represents Our Lord pronouncing on a coin. In 1940, two bombs fell less than 30 m from the church, destroying the stained glass windows on the south side which were replaced by grisailles in 1987. Three pretty stained glass windows light up this church: Nativity stained glass window installed by Mr Campin in 1955 Stained glass windows of the village's patron saints, Saint Radegonde and Saint Hilaire, installed in 1900 and 1987 respectively.

A medieval building has shaped the city's skyline for centuries: the cathedral's two towers reaching towards the sky can be seen from a long way away. This early example of Gothic architecture not only shaped Chartres itself, but was also a model for many other church buildings for a long time, not only in France, but also spread beyond its borders to other countries.