Bonneval: Holiday Apartments and Holiday Homes

Bonneval lies in the heart of the Beauce region, at the beginning of the upper Loir Valley. Bonneval’s historic townscape includes remnants of the medieval fortifications and numerous wash houses.

Location and Everyday Life

Bonneval is served by the Tours–Vendôme–Chartres–Paris TER line. The market in Bonneval is exclusively dedicated to the sale of food, regional products and flowers.

Architecture and History

The Logis des Trois Marchands was formerly a justice of the peace court; in 1965, it was classified as a historic monument. Today, the building houses the Espace Culturel Martial Taugourdeau, which hosts exhibitions by amateur and professional artists.

The 15th-century Porte Saint Roch is a semicircular gate with round towers crowned with battlements and featuring loopholes. The Tour du Roi is a former 13th-century dungeon that rises 22 metres above the ground and served as a prison; it is nicknamed La Poivrière. The Église Notre-Dame dates from the late 13th century and combines features of early Gothic architecture with Romanesque elements from the late 12th century.

Remains of the abbey church of the former Saint-Florentin Abbey, built in the 12th and 13th centuries in the Romanesque and Gothic styles, have survived. The Maison du Cheval Blanc is a large 13th-century building with the remains of a pointed-arch portal. Its south-eastern and south-western façades are integrated into Bonneval’s fortifications and feature a wooden oriel window and a corner defensive tower.

Water and Paths

At the Capitainerie, visitors can operate small electric boats themselves without a licence. Electric boat trips pass through Bonneval’s defensive moats, by jetties, bridges, wash houses, flower-filled banks, dovecotes and waterways.

The “Au fil du Loir” canoe route is 9.48 kilometres long, begins in Bonneval and ends in Saint-Maur-sur-le-Loir. From Bonneval, it passes flower-filled wash houses, fortified gates and Saint-Florentin Abbey. The “Balade dans les fossés” canoe route runs through Bonneval’s former medieval town moats.

Culture and Activities

The Musée des sapeurs-pompiers d’Eure-et-Loir presents more than two centuries of the history of firefighters from Eure-et-Loir across 1,300 m². Visitors can take a guided tour or explore the exhibition at their own pace; the museum also displays a collection of more than 1,600 firefighting objects.

The 17-kilometre “Sur la route de Trompe-Souris” cycling loop begins at the Capitainerie and follows quiet roads through green landscapes. The “La Vallée du Loir à vélo” cycling route reaches Bonneval on the Illiers-Combray–Châteaudun stage and runs along small roads marked with “Vallée du Loir V47” signs.

The “Bonneval – La Venise de Beauce” circular trail begins at Place Saint Roch, is very easy, is 2.4 kilometres long and follows the defensive moats of the medieval town. The urban escape game “Escape Game urbain” is a puzzle trail in search of the town’s lost golden bell and begins at the tourist office or at the Capitainerie.

Other Places

Other local pages: Voves, Ermenonville-La-Petite, Yèvres, Ardelu, Champagne, Courtalain, Montireau, Ouarville

To the main travel overview: Eure-Et-Loir.