Loches Travel Guide

 Mique Says:  Every time you pas a gate of an earlier defense wall, you go back in time even more. When you've passed the citadel gate, this is the scene you'll see. The road to the left will get you to the church and the castle, The way ahead will lead to the keep. This is a place where... 

 hquittner Says:  The west end of the church is preceded by a 11C bell-tower and a narthex (or porch) as was customary at the time the church was built (12C). The main door is under the narthex , which itself is square with ribbed groin vaulting. The door is capped by a series of archivolts... 

 hquittner Says:  As one views the church from the South, it appears to have four steeples in a row, the outer two being taller. Indeed the tower on the left (west) is the bell-towe and is 11C with a newer top. The one on the far right is the crossing tower (12C). The two shorter ones are... 

 hquittner Says:  The castle has two wings linked end to end. The older one is taller (north ,15C), was created for Charles VII and used primarily to house his mistress Agnes Sorel. The newer wing (south, 16C) was built for Charles VIII and Louis XII. The rooms are sparsely furnished and... 

 hquittner Says:  A tour is offered of the Keep and the attached Martelet during which its somber rooms and torture instruments are on view. The keep is 11C built by Fulk Nerra of Angers fame. It has buttressed walls that are 9 ft. thick. In one room Ludovico Sforza was kept in solitary... 

 hquittner Says:  The parking area was at the southwest end of the walled enclosure above. As we approached these ramparts, we walked into the shadow of a "Round Tower" and saw to the right the looming hulk of the 120 ft tall keep. These structures dominate the south end of the enclosure. We... 

 smirnofforiginal Says:  Have a wander, have a look.Look out for concerts held in the evenings. We didn't see the concert but we sat through part of the flutes rehearsal and it was very atmospheric... and that is why we didn't go to the concert because, according to our youngest, it was an "evil"... 

 wanderlust23 Says:  The dungeon was rather spooky, you could go underground and see where prisoners had been held for years and years. The torture chambers didn't much interest me though...There was a story of a man who had been imprisoned for something like 25 years and he was finally let out.... 

 wanderlust23 Says:  This is an Eleventh Century church at Loches. Great place we found for refuge from the pouring rain outside. 

 wanderlust23 Says:  I had no idea that this castle or town existed until the propriator at our bed and breakfast told us it was a castle not to be missed. The chateau and it's grounds include 11th century keeps, ramparts, dungeon, church and castle. Agnes Sorel, the mistress of Charles VII,... 

 Mique Says:  One of the occupants of the keep was rather religious and he had a chapel build close to his quarters. It is placed above the only entrance up the tower as to protect it and its occupants. It is on one of the upper floors and i had to get over a mesh floor in order to take... 

 Mique Says:  The keep consists of several buildings and a few cells and corridors under the ground. You can climb the main tower. Here all the floors have gone over the years but it remains so impressive. So chase that fear of heights away for a short while and climb! 

 Mique Says:  In this big room (the biggest in the castle) Jeanne d'Arc came in june 1429 to convince Charles VII to go to Reims to have himself crowned as king of France. 

 Mique Says:  This room is the first you enter when you come into the castle. The whole castle is actually build of rooms behind each other. There is no corridor or hall to connect them. You just go from one room to the other and back. This first room is where Charles de VII held council... 

 Mique Says:  This church is inside the citadel close to the castle. The building was started in the 10th century to shelter a relic. I didn't really have a good look around because i was in a hurry to visit the castle. Though when i stood on top of the keep i was surprised by this church... 

 Mique Says:  This very imposing, massive and even rather menacing building is the only entrance to the citadel with the hunting castle, the church and the keep. Don't know how old it is but late 15th , early 16th i would guess 

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 hquittner Says:  There was a rise in religiosity as 1000 AD approached and the end of the world was expected. When this did not occur, the wave continued leading to much church building. in the 11C. But flat wooden roofs lead to devastating fires and stone barrel-vaulted naves felt cramped...