Évreux is the capital of the Eure department in Normandy, a medium-sized city on the river Iton about an hour and a half west of Paris. It has had a turbulent history, sacked by Vikings, burned during the Hundred Years' War and heavily bombed in 1940 and 1944, but it has kept a fine Gothic cathedral, Notre-Dame d'Évreux, whose stained glass is among the best in Normandy. The former bishop's palace beside it now houses the city museum, with Gallo-Roman finds from the area.
The countryside around Évreux is classic Normandy: rolling farmland, hedgerows, half-timbered farmhouses and small valleys with rivers that wander towards the Seine. The Iton runs through the city, and a pleasant riverside walk follows it through the centre. To the east lies the Eure valley, and beyond it the Seine with its chalk cliffs and the gardens of Giverny.
As a start and finish, Évreux works well. The city has plenty of restaurants, cafés and bakeries, and Norman food is rich and satisfying: cream, butter, apples, cider, calvados and cheeses like Camembert, Pont-l'Évêque and Livarot. A simple lunch of a galette or a plate of local cheese and bread with a bowl of cider is a fine reward.
The riding around Évreux is gentle, with roads winding through farmland and small valleys. Surfaces are generally good, and traffic is light away from the main routes. Fuel is readily available in the city. From here, rides lead south towards the Loire, west into the heart of Normandy, or east along the Seine.