Dreux: Old Town and Royal Chapel

Begin on Place Métézeau at the Church of Saint Peter, where five centuries of stained glass fill a Flamboyant Gothic nave stretching 79 metres — look for the 15th-century saints in the choir and the polychrome organ case from 1614. Steps away, the 35-metre Belfry blends late Gothic and early Renaissance stonework across its three floors, with a 3.5-ton bronze bell that has been silent since Armistice Day 1918. Wander the surrounding old town through narrow cobbled lanes lined with half-timbered houses and carved stone doorways dating to the 15th and 16th centuries. The day culminates at the Royal Chapel of Saint Louis on the hill above, the active burial site of the House of Orléans, where stained glass designed by Ingres and Delacroix was produced by the Manufacture de Sèvres using a colour formula now lost forever. The Royal Chapel is open April through October only and closed on Tuesdays; the Belfry requires advance reservation through the tourist office.