48 hours in Chartres, on the paths of Péguy and Proust

The Marian pilgrimage, which brings together the faithful from all over the world, takes place over three days at Pentecost. In Christian tradition, as with Santiago de Compostela, which includes Chartres on one of its routes, the pilgrimage is undertaken on foot.its fame was further enhanced by Charles Péguy, who walked to Chartres from Paris, following a vow he had made the previous year for his ailing son. The two spires that rise proudly above the city, framing the famous rose window, attract thousands of pilgrims, and therefore tourists, who discover the city on this occasion, and not only in the nave with its magnificent "Chartres blue" stained-glass windows and on the large esplanade.

Péguy in Chartres, Proust in Illiers... Just 30 km from Chartres, you'll find Illiers-Combray, the only commune in France with a fictitious name. It was in fact at the home of his Aunt Elisabeth, renamed Léonie in Du côté de chez Swann, and his Uncle Jules, now Octave, that little Marcel spent some of his summer vacations.around 1880, Marcel spent a few summer holidays in Illiers, which was to become Combray in his work, a major site in À la recherche du temps perdu in the ongoing quest for childhood innocence and primal emotions. This is how the famous sensory reminiscence of "Aunt Léonie's madeleines" provokes an intense emotional charge in the author.

in Illiers today, however, the evocation of Proust, to put it trivially, doesn't run in the streets. You'd expect this giant of world literature to be the focus of year-round activity, a tourist attraction to capitalize on his renown. Illiers is a quiet village, with a small church in the center, a few shops and, fortunately for admirers, a Marcel Proust museum in the aunt's house and an itinerary through the village, a statue of "P'tit Loup", Marcel's childhood nickname given to him by his aunt. - a statue of "P'tit Loup", Marcel's childhood nickname given by his mother, on a bench in front of the church, the work of sculptor Ybah - and the famous Pré Catelan garden walk, on the banks of the Loir, which was actually created by Uncle Jules around 1850. As for the famous madeleines, although it's not hard to imagine that each craftsman might make a different personal recipe, there's very little in the way of promotion. at the tourist office, we're told we can find madeleines "at Rapid Market and Intermarché".

Yet this little stroll through Beauce is not in vain for gourmet readers. On the one hand, the Proustian evocations are enough to make you want to reread Swann, and on the other, if you push a little to the south-west, you'll discover Brou, a village of similar size with 3,000 inhabitants, but much more active and well-stocked with shops, especially on Wednesdays for its remarkable market which occupies the whole center and attracts the whole region. To complete the loop, you'll return to Chartres via Dangeau, with its listed 12th-century church and beautiful inn.