The retired traveller: Friday, May 20, 2022 - Loches

I have been dawdling on posting about our day spent in Loches. So it is very out of order if you are trying to follow our trip chronologically. My apologies. We have been having long days since arriving in Brittany and by the time I start to work, it's bedtime.

The city of Loches has been sitting on a rocky hilltop since the 6th century.

Loches, Royal City on the hill - the Keep on left, the royal residence on right, the church is hidden behind the royal residence

This seems to be a theme with us. Hilltops provided the best defenses against attack. As the centuries progressed fortified castles were surrounded by curtain walls and ramparts, providing protection to the town that grew up at the foot of the castle. Loches is no different. But its history as a royal residence for the king of France gave it the title of "Cité Royale"

Annotated map of the town - first mistake noted - this is the Indre River not the Loire River

The first defense was a massive keep built in the 11th century by Foulques III Nerra, Count of Anjou. Other defensive elements were added in the 12th - 16th century. Many of these elements continue to exist.

Donjon de Fulques Nerra

In the center a royal residence was built and there is a long association of this site with Agnes Sorel, a "favorite" of Charles VII. It also warrants a "Joan of Arc slept here" designation as she visited Charles VII after the victory at Orléans. It was here that she convinced Charles to go to Reims to be crowned as king of France.

Entrance to Royal Residence

After breakfast, we set out to explore the royal city. We entered by Porte Picois to which is attached the town's Hotel de Ville, the very same one granted to the city by Francis 1 in 1554, still used as the official town offices.

Lynn ready to enter Port Picois

Inside Port Picois - building with the flags is the Hotel de Ville

This is still the Hotel de Ville

Crossing through the Porte Picois puts us in the historic royal city, with typically narrow streets filled with businesses, eateries, and tourist shops.

We made our way back out of the old city to the tourist office on the Place de la Marne.

walking the old city street on our way to the tourist office

Armed with maps and an English explanation of the city sites, we crossed the Place de la Marne, admiring the 16th century Tour Saint Antoine, all that remains of a disappeared chapel. Janis checked out a restaurant on the square that could be a good candidate for dinner.

Place de la Marne, statue of the poet Alfred de Vigny who was born in Loches, Tour de St. Antoine in background

Tour de St Antoine

15th century Tour de St. Antoine - was the belfry of the chapel of St. Antoine

We exited the Porte des Cordeliers, crossing the Indre river on our way to the public gardens.

The Franciscans' Gate, named for a nearby priory

The Indre River

An unusual tree in the park

art in the park - the wolf is made out of a metal mesh

view of the church from the park

This serene setting frames views of the royal castle and the church.

the royal city from the park

the church - Collegiale de St. Ours (pronounced Sant-Oss with a long O)

the royal residence

On leaving the park, we again crossed the Indre and followed the castle ramparts, built in the 12th century by Henry II.

the old town along the River Indre

walking outside the walls of the royal city

Work to stabilize the city walls has been ongoing for years

Dave and Lynn on way to creperie

We again entered the old city and walked back to the Porte Picois where we found a creperie for lunch.

Galettes and wine

We all ordered savory galettes. Galettes are buckwheat crepes used in making savory rather than sweet crepes. Janis and I had seafood in ours, Clark had a hamburger galette, and Dave had the "Normand" with ham and cheese.

We re-entered the royal city at the Porte Royal

The Royal Gate

- a walled city within the walled city that included the royal residence from the 14th century, the church from the 12th century, and the medieval castle from the 11th century called the Keep of Fulques Nerra,

the royal residence - it's big, but not too showy

The royal residence was a favorite of the Valois kings of France at the end of the 100 years war. Three women had great influence as residents or visitors of this castle. Agnes Sorel was the favorite of Charles VII and lived here much of the time. Joan of Arc as mentioned above. And Ann of Brittany was the queen married to Charles VIII and after his death to Louis XII. She spent most of her time as queen at the royal residence in Loches.

Dave, Janis, and Clark bought tickets to visit the royal residence. Since it was not handicapped accessible, I waited outside and did some needlework. They reported back that the rooms were relatively empty and there were lots of references to Agnes Sorel. Of course this is in the time when royalty was itinerant. They had many houses and moved between them, often for political reasons. They brought all their furniture, trunks full of clothes, tapestries and rugs, and all their servants and their gear. When the king was not living in a castle, it was managed by just a few administrators, and the rooms were empty. It takes imagination to see how an empty castle becomes full of life.

view out the castle window

King Clark I is holding audience today.

We next made our way to the church which sits between the royal residence and the keep of Fulques Nerra. The Collegial Church of Saint-Ours (the name of a 5th century abbot) is most remarkable for its unique set of 2 eight-sided pyramids that cover the nave.

looking toward the altar, you can see one of the pyramidal nave towers

looking straight up at the pyramidal towers in the nave

This view of the church shows the two pyramids over the nave between the two towers.

The front of the church is very plain.

While Dave, Janis, and Clark moved to the Keep of Fulques Nerra (not handicapped accessible - think hundreds of stairs), I stopped in an art museum-café for an ice cream and some more needlework while I waited for the return of the intrepid explorers. They were gone a long time - almost 2 hours. They loudly remarked on the huge number of stairs and the large number of rooms used as prison cells for aristocratic prisoners whose servants catered to their needs while in prison.

Used mostly for a prison, some one had enough time to carve on the walls

Fulques Nerra's Donjon (Keep) seen from outside the royal walls

The tall thing in the back left is the Donjon (Keep)

Going up and down all the hills today wore out my scooter battery. Luckily it was mostly downhill to get back to our hotel for a quick rest before heading out for dinner. We made it with not much power to spare. Hopefully a half hour's worth of charge will get me to and from the restaurant.

We made reservations for dinner at Le Prosper at 7pm, a restaurant Janis had scoped out earlier in the day. We were seated at a patio table, as the night was just right, not too hot, not too cool. We ordered a 3-course menu. First course was a choice of a cheese plate or chicken terrine (terrine de volaille). We sampled each of these. The main course was a choice of fish or lamb. Again, we sampled both.

fish

leg of lamb (notice the wine Clark chose for dinner)

Dessert was a choice of ice cream with rum or some sort of raspberry dessert that was as tasty as it looked.

ice cream with rum

raspberry dessert with raspberry sorbet and a puddle of raspberry "coulis" (sauce)

Our server was a young woman who spoke English extremely well - well enough that she could joke with us as she served us. Made for an even more more delightful dinner.

Dave had seen a wine bar along one of the streets in the royal city. Sure enough, he found it and it was open. La Loire en Tonneaux (the Loire in barrels) not only serves wine by the glass, but they sell bottles. We don't have one inch to spare in our car, so Dave, Janis, and Clark had to settle for a glass of sparkling Vouvray. The owner was very chatty and interesting, talking about how Covid had affected business in Loches. They are hopeful to have lots of tourists this summer.

At La Loire en Tonneaux

Clark, Janis, Lynn

We walked home through the old town. The evening light on the buildings with streetlights glowing orange was like walking through a Van Gogh painting. A great way to end our day in Loches.