Illiers-Combray / Thiron-Gardais

Leaving Illiers-Combray, you cycle for a short further stretch through the wide flat fields of the Beauce Plain before the landscape changes as the first hills of the Perche area appear. You head for increasingly wooded, shaded roads. Beautiful undulating green landscapes stretch out as far as the eye can see as you enter the Parc Naturel Régional du Perche. The pretty little village of Thiron-Gardais lies at the end of this stage, so enjoy discovering all the history surrounding this iconic abbey.

🚲 Stage description and details:

You leave Illiers-Combray via a very short stretch of cycle path taking you across a stream. 

Then you ride along little country roads, up to the intersection with the D922 county road, where you need to take care. You follow a busier stretch of road for a bit more than 2km, until you reach the village of Méréglise. 

Next, continue along small roads with little traffic, including two stretches through lovely woods. 

⭐ Don’t miss:

• The Musée Marcel Proust or Maison de tante Léonie in Illiers-Combray, recreating the setting in which the writer, as a boy, spent family holidays and which featured large at the start of his literary masterpiece.
• Illiers-Combray Church and its painted wooden ceiling, typical of the wider Perche area.
• The Jardin du Pré Catelan, designed by Marcel Proust’s uncle along the lines of an English-style garden. You can visit it for fee, but note that you cannot take your bike into the grounds. 
• The church at La Croix du Perche, with another typical example of Percheron painted wooden church ceilings.
• The Château de Frazé, a defensive medieval château with dry moat, machicolations and drawbridge, and teeming with Flamboyant Gothic decorations you can appreciate from the route.
• Abbaye de Thiron-Gardais, a medieval gem in this historic village.
• Thiron-Gardais Royal and Military College and its formal French gardens, bought and restored by celebrity French cultural figure and TV presenter, Stéphane Bern, and where, on many days, you can enjoy a drink in the shade of the orangery.
• The Domaine de l’Abbaye de Thiron-Gardais and its themed gardens, offering a colourful breath of fresh air. The Domaine, open year-round, also organizes escape games.

🍴 Food and drink en route:

• Illiers-Combray: a good number of stores and a market on Friday mornings on Place Maunoury
• Frazé: restaurant / grocery and area with bike facilities behind the church 
• Thiron-Gardais: with a number of shops and establishments serving light refreshments, including several tea rooms and a snack bar on a floating barge on the lake. 

💡 Bring up Accueil Velo accredited restaurants by clicking on the 🍴 icon on the map. De-select "only show accueil velo accredited services" to view further possibilities.

🔧 Repair Service:

Consult the list of all the bike repairers along or near the route. 

🚆 Train stations nearby:

• Gare d'Illiers-Combray

💡 Also see our section on reaching the veloscenic cycle route, including conditions for taking a bicycle on board trains.