Discover houdan

Topic	Sciences and discovery
Departure	HOUDAN (78)
Details	Houdan is a commune of the district of Yvelines, in the Ile-de-france area, 25 km in the South-West of Mantes-la-jolie.

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The houdanais country welcomes you

Houdanais is an area that preserved its iheriatge and its natural environment…

Escape for a few hours, a weekend or a longer stay. You will discover a quiet, beautiful and green area at the door of Paris.

Accommodation nearby

The dungeon of Houdan

During the begining of the 12nd century that Amaury III de Montfort made build the tower and the first enclosure.

The Tower which was 42m diameter, disappeared today. Thanks to its geographical location, at the border between Ile de France and Normandy, the tower was a surveyplace of the roads Dreux-Paris and Mantes-Chartres.
For the “invaders” Anglo-Norman and Angevins those roads were the only way to the French kingdom.

Remarkable cylindrical construction of 15 m diameter, it is confined of four halfround turrets. From its 25 m high (missing 2 or 3 m of crenellation), a splendid panorama extends 10 km around.

Accommodation nearby

Saint-Jacques and Saint-Christophe church

St-Jacques-le-Majeur church was built at the 13rd century and rebuilt at the end of 15th century by the people of Houdan.

The church received in 1510 the name of St-Christophe. Its construction starts in Gothic style and continues in Renaissance style. The church was classified by the Commission of the Historic buildings since 1840.

A mural going back to 1582 represents the pilgrimage of Houdanais in Notre-Dame-de-Montserrat in Spain. The date let thinking that this pilgrimage was organised because of the plague around Houdan.