For a stay in Boissey-Le-Châtel, Château de Tilly, the parish church of Saint-Jean L'Evangéliste and an easy walk offer three distinct points of interest. The château and church lead into architectural and art history; the route also provides a concrete time frame for getting outdoors. First decide whether your focus is on the historical details or whether you’d like to set aside a fixed block of time for the walk.

Château and fortifications

Château de Tilly is protected as a listed Monument historique. The protected area includes the château grounds themselves, including the ground of the vanished moats, as well as the façades and roofs of the outbuildings. The dovecote, turrets and curtain walls of the former fortifications are also among the protected features. Curtain walls are the sections of wall between the towers of a fortification; the term helps put the site in context not only as a château building, but also in terms of its former defensive structures.

The rectangular brick château was built around 1530–1535 by Claude Le Roux, an adviser to the Parliament of Normandy and lord of the estate. Round towers define the building, along with a tall rear tower featuring a belvedere and a staircase to Rihour. A belvedere is an elevated viewpoint. Together with the staircase, this feature gives the tower a distinctive architectural profile, while the construction date and rectangular ground plan place the château in its historical context.

Church and works of art spanning several centuries

The parish church of Saint-Jean L'Evangéliste has an elongated ground plan with a single nave. Its nave dates from the first quarter of the 19th century. This building history can be distinguished chronologically from several works of art dating from earlier centuries. The church thus brings together information about its architecture and individual sacred objects, although they do not all date from the same period.

The main altarpiece dates from the 17th century, is made of wood and is protected as a movable monument. Its bas-relief depicts the Descent of the Holy Spirit; the altarpiece also includes statues of Saint John the Evangelist and Saint Gilles. In the nave is a protected wooden statue of Saint Sebastian from the 16th century. The church also contains a statue of Saint Austreberthe from the late 15th or early 16th century and a statue of Saint Barbara.

The works of art mentioned here date from the late 15th or early 16th century through to the 17th century, in contrast to the 19th-century nave. This provides a concrete chronological comparison between the building’s history and its older furnishings, helping to put the site in context.

Walk by Château de Tilly

The walking route “Boissey en passant par le château de Tilly” is classified as easy. It is 7.1 km long, has an estimated duration of 2 hours and 15 minutes, and passes by Château de Tilly. The starting point is Place de la Mairie in Boissey-le-Châtel. The distance and estimated duration give the walk a clear place in your day’s plans if you’d like to set aside time for outdoor exercise.

The estimated 2 hours and 15 minutes is a planning guide for the route itself. Check the current route information before setting out, as route details and information about the starting point may change.

Discover more destinations: Saint-Philbert-sur-Risle, Saint-Aubin-Le-Vertueux, Bourneville, Saint-Mards-De-Fresne, Fourges, Bus-Saint-Rémy, Surville, Champigny-la-Futelaye.

For the regional travel overview: Eure.