The best road cycling routes around La Chapelle-Forainvilliers

Eure Valley :-)

The charm of Nogent le Roi.

The Moulin de Mormoulins is a watermill located on the Eure River in the hamlet of Mormoulins. This mill dates back to the 18th and 19th centuries and is a listed historical monument. You can admire the old stone building, the wooden wheel, and the canal that diverts water from the river as you pass in front of the mill. The mill is surrounded by green fields and trees, creating a peaceful and relaxing atmosphere.

Built in the 16th century and constructed from white stone from the Boncourt quarry, the church has a brown tile roof, accompanied by a bell tower and a belfry covered in slate. A small canopy, a vestibule, protects the sanctuary door, rebuilt in 1789. The bell was cast in the 17th century.

The construction of the original church of Sorel dates back to the 10th century. In 1113, this church was destroyed during the siege of the fortress of Sorel by the troops of Henry VIII of England coming from Normandy. Its identical reconstruction was unfortunately halted by a fire in 1134. The current church was rebuilt starting in the 13th century, with the chevet completed in the 15th century, and the first two bays of the nave and the northern seigneurial chapel in the 16th century. The bell tower was built in the 17th century by blinding a window. The building is constructed of flint, lime, and white stone on a sandstone base. The upper part is made of Vernon stone. The tiled roof is supported by a beautiful rafter frame whose tie beams are decorated with chimera heads, also called "howling devils." In the choir, the 19th-century altar recalls medieval sculptures. An interesting collection of stained-glass windows dating from 1850. After extensive renovations, masses have been celebrated again since 2007.

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.

Dedicated to Saint Blaise, the church of Havelu is oriented and comprises a single nave. Its construction dates back to the 16th century. The choir, older and narrower than the nave, ends in a three-sided chevet. Constructed of flint blocks, the building is erected on a sandstone base. Two-stepped buttresses rise to the cornice. The western door appears to date from the 19th century, based on a Gothic-inspired model. It consists of a pointed arch with two tori exposed by wide grooves resting on prismatic bases. A lowered arch supports the blind tympanum. A shell is carved on the lintel of the south door, now walled up. A pointed octagonal spire rises from the bell tower. The roof is slate. Inside, the roof structure is exposed and retains the original stencilled decoration on the shingles. The name of the clergyman who commissioned it can still be seen: "M[ai]stre Jehan Menere p[re]b[t]re chaplain of this place." The furnishings of Havelu church are remarkable for their uniform 18th-century decoration. A partition altarpiece is located in the choir. Signed and dated by the artist, Pierre Pilastre (1753), it features, in the center, a painting of the Resurrection, inserted between two fluted pilasters flanked by scrolls with floral and fruit motifs and topped with fire pots. At the ends, each of the two doors is surmounted by a painting, one depicting Saint Blaise, the other Saint Barbara. At the choir entrance, the triumphal arch—by the same craftsman—also survives. A work bench, a confessional, and a lectern from the same period complete this decorative ensemble. In 1998, the Sauvegarde de l'Art Français (French Art Protection Association) granted a donation of 60,000 francs to strengthen the bell tower's framework.

very beautiful view of the castle