Loches

The first mini break of our French holiday was in Loches, a town we have visited before and always wanted to visit again. Nestled in the Indre-et-Loire Loches is actually a Royal City steeped in history.

Loches' history includes being fought over by the French and English in the 12th and 13th centuries, and being used as a state prison by Louis XI. Joan of Arc visited Loches in 1429 when she met Charles VII at the Royal Keep.

On our previous visit I had seen some riverside apartments, the perfect location for a stay. I was thrilled to discover they are Pierre et Vacances holiday accommodation and we booked a one bedroom apartment with beautiful riverside views which was ideal for our two night stay.

We were in the corner of this beautiful old water mill, although partly hidden by a lovely willow we had a super view of Loches.

To my absolute delight, when we awoke the next day to explore this citadel town, it's medieval castle keep and royal residence, the town was bustling as it was market day. 

It's been quite a few years since I've enjoyed wandering along French streets lined with market stalls. My home town Nuneaton has a street market twice a week, always a busy time but it's not quite the same feeling, especially as in France our coffee stop included a glass of wine!

High on the skyline of Loches is the medieval citadel and Royal keep. Fortified in the 6th century by 2km of walls it contains the Collegiale Saint-Ours dating back to the 11th century, the 15th century Royal Lodge, and a ruined fortress.

We had a lovely stroll around the outer walls. At times the walls towered above us, at others they were at road level and have been built on. There were some very ornate down pipes, I almost hoped it would rain to see the effect.

We didn't go in the chateau but we did visit the 

Collegiate Saint-Ours. The outer door arch shows signs of how ornate it had been in the past. Inside the walls were now plain but would have once been painted. It was a fairly small church with a very quiet and peaceful feel.

After our lengthy walk including the steep slopes to the church and keep we returned to the bar we visited earlier. A very different atmosphere to the busy market morning but the refreshments as good as before.

On our way through Loches I noticed an old well. A little further on there was a museum to Emmanual Lansyer, an unknown artist to me but very famous in France.

Emmanuel was born in 1835 and his father wanted him to become an architect but he pursued his love of painting. He exhibited at the Paris Salon and across Brittany and the Vendee. After his death in 1893 he left his artwork and house to the town of Loches where he is buried.

I was so surprised to see his painting of the well, it was nice to see how it used to look.

We had a great time in Loches, especially sitting on our terrace with a lovely bottle of Jules Larose Blanc de Blanc overlooking the town which looked amazing lit up.