Barjouville: Church, Trails and the Eure Valley

Barjouville offers several concrete points of interest to help you plan your trip: cultural heritage and the townscape sit alongside walking and cycling routes. This lets you decide whether architectural history, the connection to the Way of St James, or outdoor activity should be the focus of your stay.

Historic Centre and Protected Heritage

Barjouville’s older centre lies in the Eure Valley. In its oldest part, earthen walls and an area shaped by agriculture are part of the townscape. If you are interested in a place’s character, its construction methods and rural identity offer a different perspective from the church’s dated architectural features.

The remains of the Prestrière de Moineaux are also partly protected as a historic monument; they were listed on 27 June 1994. This differs in both subject and date from the protection afforded to the statue in the church. You can therefore encounter different aspects of the local heritage: architectural remains and a protected cultural object.

Église Saint-Jacques and the Way of St James

The Église Saint-Jacques preserves architectural features from the 12th and 13th centuries. These include a 12th-century nave and Romanesque openings. The bell dates from 1598 and is among the oldest in the département. The medieval building features and the dated bell offer two different points of interest when exploring the history of the architecture.

The church is also a stop for walkers on the Way of St James to Santiago de Compostela. The Église Saint-Jacques-le-Majeur houses a statue of Saint James, carved from wood and painted in polychrome. The statue has been protected as a cultural object since 21 July 2011. Alongside the architecture, the pilgrimage connection and a specific work of art are also part of Barjouville’s cultural heritage.

Walks and La Prairie

The Plan-Vert area of Le Coudray, Luisant, Morancez and Barjouville has a dense network of paths and footbridges. It makes for varied walks and circular routes through natural areas, away from traffic. Within this network, you can distinguish between the trails in the Plan-Vert area and a specific circular route near La Prairie.

La Prairie is laid out around a pond for walkers, people exercising and anglers. The circular route is recognised by the Comité Départemental de Randonnée Pédestre d’Eure-et-Loir and marked in yellow. It crosses a branch of the Eure over an old stone bridge. The pond, trail markings and bridge give this route distinctive features to help you decide whether to include it in your excursion plans.

Cycling Route and Choosing Your Trails

The 18-kilometre cycling route “Au fil de l'Eure et des étangs – Boucle vélo n°2” is linked to Barjouville. It follows the Véloscénie to Fontenay-sur-Eure and its ponds. The route is signposted with green-and-white signs and blue markers bearing the number 2.

When choosing between cycling and walking, the mode of travel and the stated trail markings are clear ways to tell the routes apart: the cycling route is listed as 18 kilometres long, while the La Prairie circular route is marked in yellow. Check the markings and route details locally; signs and trail conditions may change.

Discover more destinations: Brou, Boncourt, Mainvilliers, Auneau, Sainte-Gemme-Moronval, Pontgouin, Boissy-Lès-Perche, Houx.

For the overview of the wider area: Eure-Et-Loir.