Poitiers Things to Do

If you stop in the tourist offices, such as at the train station, or if you get a tourist map at many of the hotels, you may notice they have colored circuits on them.

If you don't have a map, there are some on sign boards such as on the east side of the Plaza by the Hotel d Ville (City Hall).

Walking these circuits and reading the historical markers along the way will give you a great introduction to the city and provide you with a wonderful opportunity for photos, history, shopping and leisure.

Simply locate the colored markers painted on the streets and side walks and follow. They run in full circuit, so you will always come back around to where you started.

The photo on this tip shows where the three different paths all cross in the old town center.

If you have your walking shoes on, there is a fantastic panoramic viewpoint of the city and encompassing river.

You can get there by driving over the Pont Neuf bridge, then up the hill to the Notre Dame de dunes observation point. However, I feel that the walk is both refreshing and more rewarding since you can take your time, see the small streets and old corridors.

If on foot, the best way to get there is to walk down the Grand Rue. Keep going straight at the bottom of the hill and cross the Point Joubert. Immediately there after, the driving street ends, but the pedestrian street continues. Keep going straights on the walking corridor Escalier des Dunes and climb the long stair case.

My photo here is of the Escalier des Dunes. The panorama you achieve by climbing here is the front picture on my Poitiers overview page.

As you walk along Rue Marche Notre Dame just off the Place Charles de Gaul you will see the Palais de Justice. Although it looks (and is largely medieval) the facade is actually 19th century.
The palace was originally the seat of the Counts of Poitou (the region around Poitiers) and the Dukes of Aquitaine (who would be united with the English crown when Henry III and Eleanor of Aquitaine married).
The building of today, although much restored and changed over the centuries, is an impressive monument to Poitiers important role in French and English history.

All that remains of the Norman church of the 12th century is the tower that sits somewhat incongruously between modern shop facades on the Rue Saint-Porchaire.
The rest of the church that you cannot see from the street was rebuilt in the 16th century.

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This is one of those places that I'm destined to have bad luck at. When I went for the first time in 1993 the whole building was covered in boarding and scaffolding as a restoration project was under way. When I returned in 2009 a wedding was in progress so I couldn't go in!
What I can tell you though is that it is the best church in Poitiers and one of the finest in all of France.
A mixture of Romanesque and Byzantine in style it dates from the 10th century and has a wonderful facade with it's two conical towers flanking it's sculptured facade.
Alas I cannot tell you about the interior but on my next visit....

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Not the most picturesque or spectacular cathedral in France (in fact it is overshadowed by at least 2 better churches in Poitiers) but a worthwhile building to visit nonetheless.
It was actually begun in the 12th century by King Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitane (House of Angevin).
Mainly gothic in style there are Romanesque elements to it as well. The exterior is fairly plain for a French gothic cathedral but the inerior has wonderful high columns and stained glass windows.

Head north from the Place Charles de Gaul in the centre of Poitiers, down Rue des Flageolles and you come to the fairly unremarkable Place de la Liberté.
Once the scene of bloody Guillotines during the revolution the Place now contains a quirky tourist attraction in a replica Statue of Liberty cast by Frederic Auguste Bartholdi the designer of the original that stands in New York.
It is worth seeking out if you are in town just for the novelty factor alone.

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The second oldest church in France (some websites claim it to be the oldest but there is an older one in Metz) dating from the 4th century.
The baptistery has had a somewhat chequered history suffering damage at the hands of the Visigoths in the 5th century to being abandoned during the revolution before being siezed from the church and used as a warehouse.
The church was saved from destruction in the 19th century by local petition and was finally restored in the 20th century and is an interesting little church to visit.
The frescoes inside date from the 12th-14th centuries and are worth the small entrance fee of 1 Euro 50 (half price for children) as at 2009.