Medieval and Renaissance off the beaten track.
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| Logis Royal (Royal Apartments). |
The small town of Loches in the Touraine Loire Valley is packed with history. The medieval kings of France and England lived here, Joan of Arc was here, the sorrowing Anne of Bretagne and the lovely Agnes Sorel. You won't see a modern building in the old centre of town. We'll visit the Royal Apartments and the oldest castle keep in France, full of fascinating and unique graffiti and resonating with the sense of past lives.
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| Cheese truck in the market. |
This is a place where history genuinely changed because it was here that Joan convinced the young King to go to Reims to be crowned. This legitimised his authority and he turned into long reigning and quite good King -- who spent much time at Loches, where he had installed his remarkable mistress. I will take you to 'meet' her and I'll talk about the status of mistresses in medieval France (hint -- we have a quite wrong idea of their position these days).
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| Graffiti stags, probably 16C, on a staircase tower in the old castle complex. |
The graffiti in two of the towers on the citadel are absolutely unique and I will tell you the astounding stories of their creation!
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| View from one of the towers in the old castle complex. |
Itinerary
*Meet outside the Tourist Office in Loches.
*Walk through the market if it is Wednesday or Saturday.
*Walk up to the Royal Citadel.
*Visit the Church of Saint Ours and 'meet' Agnes Sorel.
*Visit the Royal Apartments.
*Walk to the other end of the Citadel and visit the Donjon (including at least one graffitied tower, and go underground to the troglodyte caves.
*Walk down to the old centre of town and stop off to see a pair of forgotten (and disputed) Caravaggios.
*I will leave you in the old centre of town.
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| Hauling fresh produce from the market to a restaurant. |
Duration: 2 hours 30 minutes.
View of St Ours.
This tour is easy to customise and extend with lunch in a typical local restaurant and/or a wine tasting. Email me for a price.
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| Logis Royal (Royal Apartments). |
This is a walking tour. There are a number of sets of stairs on the walk including several spiral staircases. The streets up to the citadel are sloping and paved with sett stones.
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| Donjon (castle keep). |
Price: €200 for a group of up to 4 people. Admission tickets are not included in the price.
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| Carved acrobat over the main entrance of Saint Ours. |
Booking: email admin@tourtheloire.com at least one day before you wish to take the tour. Tours can be conducted on any day of the week, throughout the year, at a time to suit you.
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| Every October there is an archaeological dig in the old part of town. |
About the Guide: I am Susan Walter. I specialise in story telling, the weaving together of this fact and that, this character and their relationship with another. It is a technique which brings alive the history of what is sometimes just stones to look at, but those stones may lead to something wonderfully evocative and provide a better understanding of the past. Much of the history of the Loire Valley is about important characters which you will have heard of, but there is a great deal of hidden history too -- characters who have been forgotten in modern times, motivations for deeds which seem inexplicable can become clear, how different life was then, but also how similar. If you want to know who would graffiti a royal chapel and why, and why it isn't who most guides will tell you it is, then take a tour with me. If you want to know about the history of bathing and personal hygiene, and how that isn't quite what you think it is, then take a tour with me. If you want to meet fascinating characters from history who really made a difference, often women, then take a tour with me.
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| Duelling soldiers graffiti. |
English speaking, born and raised in Australia, I lived for 12 years in England, where I worked for the National Trust in their Historic Buildings Conservation Department, and now in the UNESCO World Heritage Listed Loire Valley for more than a decade. I am an active heritage and nature conservation professional with experience of working with conservators and curators to care for historic objects and buildings, and with ecologists caring for our natural environment. Deeply embedded in the local scene I speak quite good French and enjoy life in a small village near some fabulous chateaux and lovely countryside. I'm always happy to talk about life in France and am friends with many wine makers and local food producers. I love to cook and to eat and will make sure you have an authentic dining experience while you are in the Loire Valley. Interested in the quirky and little known local histories, and I can't wait to pass them on to you.
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| Locally grown vegetables at the market. |