Tourism in Eure: Gaillon Castle, “It’s a bit of our Eiffel Tour”

If in Eure, the village of Giverny and its million annual tourists who came in the footsteps of Monet and his impressionist friends is no longer to present, more downstream of the river, the Seine-Eure agglomeration also wishes to do the Soft eyes to vacationers. “Between the coast and Paris, we have a card to play, both for visitors fond of such as for business tourism,” sums up Bernard Leroy, the president of a community bringing 60 municipalities for just over 100 000 inhabitants.

He sees in it, after the economic development started around the pharmaceutical sector or the universe of luxury and the crafts for several years, a new axis to explore. And in particular by reinforcing on the one hand the image of its territory and, on the other, by creating equipment capable of hosting those who are attracted to it. This is not an easy task along the A13, both a guarantee of proximity to the Paris region, but also the surest way to cross the sector without stopping it.

Assets for green tourism

In terms of assets, the elected official nevertheless ensures having a master card whose state has just entrusted him with management for the next 99 years: the Château de Gaillon, currently in the heart of a large restoration project until 2027 up to 12.7 million euros. “It is a bit of our Eiffel Tour, an emblem on which we can rely,” enthuses Bernard Leroy, recalling that the site is the very first Renaissance style castle to have been built in France. Rich in forests and hiking trails, the Seine-Eure agglomeration also wants to surf green tourism, with the bonus of the arrangements of the Seine by bike which already drains its share of lovers of rural walks. Without forgetting the second most visited site in the department, the Biotropica zoological park located in Val-de-Reuil, and its 250,000 visitors each year.

On the business side, the opening in 2022 in Louviers of the HUB Expo & Congress on an old industrial wasteland has equipped the Seine-Eure agglomeration with a powerful tool. But, for lack of accommodation to offer them, professionals do not necessarily stay nearby. “Overall, with 5,600 beds, often distributed in lodgings or small structures, we lack establishments offering greater capacity and more comfort,” explains Delphine Buttelet, responsible for animating the single window recently created for potential investors.