When we were planning our visit to the Loire region this year we tried to find the campsite that would be a perfect base for visiting some nearby cities. We found a campsite in between two cities that we knew by name; Tours and Orléans and that we would like to visit! If you want to read my blog about Orléans, check it out here. But when we were arrived at our destination we found out there was another city in the neighborhood. One that we hadn’t known before; Blois. And we were actually quite surprised that we didn't know this city before because it is a beautiful city and it has a wonderful atmosphere. I was even more surprised when I saw the 16! other Worldmappin pins showing 16 other people have published a blog about Blois on Hive before. If you want to see the experience of Hiver number 17 in Blois, then read on!
Blois
Blois is a city in central France, in the Loir-et-Cher department of the Centre-Val de Loire region. It isn't a very large city with around 45,000 inhabitants. The city dates back to at least the 9th century, but it even has older roots from Roman times. As we were very close to Blois, and we really liked the atmosphere, we've visited it a couple of times during the week.
We arrived from across the bridge. We stopped to take a picture of the city before we crossed the bridge that takes you right into the city center of Blois.
Here is a shot of the bridge and Blois taken from the other side. I took this photo another day when we made a cycling tour in the region.
The first time we visited Blois we parked near the castle. The castle is really impressive. We didn't visit the castle itself because we wanted to make a walk through the old center. When we were looking at the castle a horse and carriage passed us by. They transport tourists through the city, but I liked the view of the old transport in front of an even older castle.
On our way to the tourist information center we walke past the side of the castle. That side had a beautifully decorated portal that gave access to a courtyard.
But our plan was to make a tour through the city, so we went on to the tourist information center. Over there we bought a map for 2 euro which has a couple of different walks through the city. The routes are indicated by markers in the pavement. The city center is the start of the four routes. We decided to follow the route of the 'Fleur de Lis', a lily. This flower is a symbol of the French monarchy. Blois was a royal residence for several French kings.
We started in a street with a lot of traditional half-timbered craftsmen’s houses around the Quartier des Arts.
The following is something I've seen before in old French city centers; a connecting between two buildings. I always find it intriguing what this was used for in the past. Probably someone that owned two houses, one on each side of the street.
The tour then brought us to the Saint-Louis Cathedral. In the 10th century there was already a church on this spot, but a hurricane destroyed most of it in 1678. In then was rebuilt in a gothic style.
The stained-glass windows of the cathedral are really nice. Many original windows were lost during World War II. In 2000, new ones by Dutch artist Jan Dibbets (Hey, there is a Dutch link!) were installed. I like this picture because of the light that fell on the ornaments.
After visiting the cathedral we walked in the gardens of the former bishop’s palace, which is now the town hall of Blois. It's a lovely spot where you have a beautiful view over the area including the river Loire.
Also here is a nice statue of Jeanne d'Arc, the French heroine! If you want to read more about her, you should check out my recent blog from our visit to Orléans.
Just a window I came across during our walk. It looked a bit like a prison cell. It drew my attention.
In the middle of the city you have the Denis Papin staircase. Denis Papin was the inventor of the steam engine. When you enter the city by car via the bridge you get to see these colorful stairs.
When we were there the stairs were decorated with lemons, but I've read that these decorations are temporary. They change the theme every now and then for festivals or events.
When we finished our round, we came across another church; the St. Vincent de Paul. This one was totally different than the cathedral we visited earlier. A completely different façade and a bit smaller. The church was severely damaged during the French Revolution in 1793. The building was later restored by architect Jules de la Morandière.
What surprised me from the inside of the church was the ceiling. it's not often that you see this color on ceilings in churches.
Also the Madonna statue was interesting. It looks like a painting, but the statue is actually inside this sort of chapel. I had never seen a statue presented like this before.
On our way back to the parking garage I spotted this panel in a lawn with a nice quote; Qui décide de ce qui est beau? Which translates to: Who decides what is beautiful? I found it a striking quote, especially because we just loved how beautiful Blois is.
Apart from beautiful it also had a great atmosphere. It wasn't even that touristic (at least not when we were there and there were quite a lot of pleasant little terraces where we grabbed a coffee. We even returned to Blois, just to have dinner on a terrace in the center as well.
To close this blog about Blois, I'm sharing a panoramic photo I took on the last day. If you ever are in the neighborhood of Blois, I would advice you to pay a visit. You won't regret it!
Thanks for reading my blog!
Friendlymoose
I'm an amateur photographer with a love for indoor gardening, craft beer, and cycling. As the owner of the Cycling Community and the creator of the Topcomment initiative, I focus on fostering engagement and bringing like-minded people together.
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