Madeleine & Literature break
The great novelist Marcel Proust (1871-1922) made the little town of Illiers famous, describing it in fascinating detail under the name of Combray in his great work, A la Recherche du temps perdu (In Search of Lost Time).
As a boy, between the ages of six and nine, Proust came regularly to Illiers to stay with his aunt, whose house near the church has become a museum. In 1971, the literary name of Combray was added to the town's name to mark the centenary of Proust's birth!
Custom route
Custom route
11 Chartres / Illiers-Combray
Leave Chartres to head for Illiers-Combray, riding along small roads through wide fields, following in the footsteps of famed author Marcel Proust and his landmark novel, In Search of Lost Time. This writer was greatly inspired by the little town of Illiers-Combray, re-christened Combray in his fiction, which evokes the church, the Pré Catelan Garden and the Maison de Tante Léonie, named after a character, but in fact his real aunt and uncle’s house, now a museum that plunges you back into a fitting Belle Epoque atmosphere.
12 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.