Page 402 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - France

EXPERIENCE MORE

3 programme of contemporary GREAT VIEW
art exhibitions. A masterpiece
Thouars of Renaissance architecture, it Donjon de Niort
was completed in 1549. Climb the stairs to
! C4 ⌂ Deux-Sèvres £ @ Château d’Oiron the battlements of
EXPERIENCE Poitou and Aquitaine On a rocky outcrop surrounded hols ∑ chateau-oiron.fr fortified Porte St­Jacques,
n 32 pl St-Médard; www.
the imposing Donjon
tourisme-pays-thouar
de Niort for panoramic
"= ⌂ 10 rue du Château,
sais.fr
views across the city
Oiron # Daily ¢ Some public
and beyond. A helpful
map on the rooftop
by the River Thouet, Thousars
shows you what
features as many roofs of nor­
you’re looking out at.
thern slate as of southern red
4
tiles. In the centre stands Église
Parthenay
St­Médard. Its Romanesque
façade is a perfect example of
the Poitevin style that is typical
n 22 blvd de la Meilleraye;
bridge over the River Thouet.
of the region, although a splen­
www.tourisme-gatine.com
did Gothic rose window has
been added. Lined with half­ ! C4 ⌂ Deux-Sèvres £ @ which guards a 13th­century
Parthenay is a sleepy provincial
timbered medieval houses, town, except on Wednesdays, 5
rue du Château leads up to when France’s second­biggest
the 17th­century château, live stock market is held here. Niort
which now houses a school In the Middle Ages, the town ! C4 ⌂ Deux-Sèvres £ @
and is open to the public from was an important halt on the n 2 rue Brisson; www.
May to September. route to Santiago de niortmaraispoitevin.com
East of Thouars lies the Compostela and it is easy to
moa ted Château d’Oiron, imagine the pro cessions of Once a medieval port by the
which now hosts a rolling pilgrims in the medieval green waters of the Sèvre,
quarter. Steep and cobbled, Niort is now a prosperous
rue de la Vau­St­Jacques winds industrial town specializing in
up to the 13th­century ram­ machine tools, electronics,
parts, leading on from the chemicals and insurance.
Its closeness to the marshes
is evident in the local special­
ities that fill the stalls of the
town’s bustling Les Halles
market – eels, snails and
angelica. The last, a herb, is
used in everything from
liqueur to ice cream.
The huge 12th­century
donjon over looking the Vieux
Pont was built by Henry II
and Richard the Lionheart.
It played an important role
during the Hundred Years’
War and was later used as
a prison. The donjon is now
a museum of local arts and
crafts, and archaeology. The
Musée d’Agesci in avenue de
Limoges exhibits ceramics,
sculpture and paintings from
the 16th to 20th centuries.
Halfway to Poitiers is the
tiny town of St­Maixent­L’École.
Niort’s lively Les Halles A marvel of light and space, its
market, thronging abbey church is a Flamboyant
with visitors Gothic recon struction by
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