What Orleans is like, the city of Joan of Arc

Orleans It is one of the oldest cities in France, which for the traveler is a guarantee of history, well-preserved cultural heritage and opportunities to discover the savoir vivre .

It is located On the banks of Loire river, right at the northernmost point of its course and, therefore, the closest to Paris.

This information makes us imagine that its port has always been very active, which partly justifies the wealth of the city.

This location on the way to Paris means that trains from Madrid and Barcelona stop at the station. Orleans-Les Aubrays, doing Orleans one of the best places to start a business route through the Loire Valley, declared area Heritage awarded by the Unesco 

Un walk through the historic center of Orleans It is the best way to enter the atmosphere of the French departmental capitals, where modern ways of life seem to combine very well with respect for heritage.

Joan of Arc in Orleans

Here you can walk through straight streets with arcades flanked by sturdy 19th century bourgeois mansions - where there are shops so well presented that you would like to take everything - as well as through narrow alleys with a medieval layout.

In these you will find houses with half-timbered walls full of artists' workshops and small shops selling the most unusual objects.

It's a delight enjoy the historic charm of Orleans on which, from the first moment, the constant presence of the figure of Joan of Arc.

This is one of the fundamental characters in the history of France, and constantly appears on any tour of this central part of the Loire Valley.

En Orleans, an equestrian monument dominates the spacious martroi square; There is also the house in which she lived and there is a chapel dedicated to her in the Sainte Croix Cathedral.

Here one of the transcendental events in the life of the French heroine took place.

Orleans was besieged by English troops and was about to surrender, when it arrived Joan of Arc With his comrades, he managed to lift the siege and, in the long run, put an end to what could have been the total conquest of France by the English.

As history takes many turns, there is now a monument in memory of the English soldiers who died in France during the World War I right next to the chapel in the cathedral that is dedicated to Joan of Arc.

You have to pass by the cathedral again and again to see it up close, and then move away to see its two square towers standing out above the roofs.

Nearby there are two places worth highlighting: on the one hand, the Museum of Fine Arts , In the Holy Cross Square, one of the most complete in France (with works by Velázquez, Gauguin y Picasso in their catalog).

And on the other hand, the Groslot Hotel, pure Renaissance architecture that can be discovered (free entry) except when there are official ceremonies.

From the cathedral you have to walk slowly towards the Loire, letting yourself be carried away by the labyrinth of alleys that seem to lead nowhere.

La Republic Square, dominated by an airy bell tower, is one of the few large spaces in the area.

As soon as the weather is good, the bars take their tables out onto the street and, at dusk, the neighborhood takes on that unreal atmosphere where you can enjoy the wonder of having a drink or dinner with the modern comforts. in a scenario that seems to have not changed for six or eight centuries.

And, a little further, appears the Loire, wide and majestic.

It normally flows calmly, well channeled as it passes through Orleans, but we must not forget that it is the last wild river in France, perhaps in Europe.

You have to cross the bridge to enjoy the view of the city roofs from the other side.

On the other shore arises the new city, born only in the 20th century, which shows that Orleans, rich in history, is more alive than ever.