Illiers-Combray: Holiday apartments and holiday homes

Illiers-Combray has been awarded the “Petite Cité de Caractère®” designation. The townscape and its places to visit range from Marcel Proust’s Combray to a medieval church, historic gardens and signposted long-distance trails.

Culture and remembrance

The Maison de Tante Léonie is recognised as a Musée de France, Monument historique, Maison d’écrivain and Maison des Illustres, and is open to the public. It preserves the house in Illiers-Combray where Marcel Proust spent his childhood holidays between 1877 and 1880, and which inspired the fictional house of Aunt Léonie in Combray in his imagination. The Musée Marcel Proust – Maison de Tante Léonie preserves manuscripts, photographs, paintings, personal belongings, early editions and documents relating to Marcel Proust’s life and work.

The Proust trails in Illiers-Combray extend a visit to the Maison de Tante Léonie and offer insights into the author’s life, his working methods, his sources of inspiration and the aesthetic themes of his work. The Parc de Swann is open to everyone and offers a peaceful natural setting in which visitors can immerse themselves in Marcel Proust’s world.

History

The Église Saint-Jacques was classified as a historic monument on 13 April 1907. It was rebuilt from 1453 onwards after being destroyed by the English during the Hundred Years’ War (1336–1453). The nave is spanned by a fully painted wooden barrel vault of around 1,000 m² dating from the 15th century; it was painted with distemper in 1865 and restored in 1974.

Gardens and estates

The Jardin Médiéval was opened to the public and includes a so-called therapeutic cloister garden with aromatic plants as well as plants that protect insects. The Pré Catelan covers 7,000 m² and was created by Jules Amiot in 1870. In Marcel Proust’s “Swann’s Way”, this garden becomes the “Parc de Tansonville”.

The Pré Catelan includes the “Serpentine” stream, rare trees, a kiosk, a kouba serving as an oriental tomb building, a grotto and the Pavillon des Archers. It formerly served as accommodation for the gardener and had a clock at that time. The Domaine de la Citadelle, built in the 19th century, comprises a landscaped park and historic outbuildings that bear witness to former everyday life and the running of such an estate.

Getting around

The Véloscénie passes through Illiers-Combray and connects Paris with Mont-Saint-Michel via a 434-kilometre cycle route. The section of the Véloscénie from Illiers-Combray to Thiron-Gardais is 25 kilometres long; the section between Chartres and Illiers-Combray covers 33 kilometres.

The circular route “À la Recherche du Combray de Marcel Proust” begins at the tourist office at 5 Rue Henri Germond, is approximately 3.44 kilometres long and takes around one hour. The GR 655, the Camino de Santiago route from Brussels to Santiago de Compostela, also passes through the Illiers-Combray area.

The Piscine Municipale de Montjouvin is a heated outdoor swimming pool with a large pool featuring a diving board, a small pool with a slide and a toddlers’ pool; it is open during the summer season.

Connections

In connection with Illiers-Combray, the railway connection runs via the Chartres–Courtalain TER line.

Discover more places

Sainville, Rouvres, Coudray-au-Perche, Anet, Ardelu, Barjouville, Courtalain, Morainville

To the higher-level travel overview: Eure-Et-Loir.