Loches

Understand

Located at the heart of the Loire Valley, land of many castles, the charming town of Loches is classed as one of the most beautiful sites in France ("Plus Beaux Détours de France") and a "Town of Art and History". This citadel town, whose story goes back a thousand years, has an amazing medieval castle within its walls. With its paved streets, Tuffeau stone façades and intertwined roofs, it's a delightful place to stroll around.

See

The town lies at the foot of the rocky eminence on which stands the Château de Loches, the castle of the Anjou family, surrounded by an outer wall 13 ft (4 m) thick, and consisting of the old collegiate church of St Ours, the royal lodge and the donjon.

The church of St Ours dates from the tenth century to the twelfth century; among its distinguishing features are the huge stone pyramids surmounting the nave and the beautiful carving of the west door. It contains the tomb of Agnès Sorel. The royal lodge, built by Charles VII of France and once used as the subprefecture, contains the oratory of Anne of Brittany. It was here on 11 May 1429 that Joan of Arc arrived, fresh from her historic victory at Orleans, to meet the king. The donjon includes, besides the ruined keep (12th century), the Martelet, celebrated as the prison of Lodovico Sforza, Duke of Milan, who died there in 1508, and the Tour Ronde, built by Louis XI of France and containing the famous iron cages in which state prisoners, including according to a story now discredited, the inventor Cardinal Balue, were confined.