3 February 2024 – Troyes
Miles driven today = 81
Total Miles to date = 409
Conditions for today’s drive were pretty vile if the truth be told with persistent drizzle for the main part. We headed initially for Chalons-en-Champagne where we made our first French diesel stop. €1.779 a litre equates roughly to £1.52 so very similar to what we are currently paying at home give or take a couple of pennies. While driving through the town Lisa spotted that Chalon is home to the National Centre of Circus Arts and they have numerous street performance festivals there throughout the year.
We picked up the arrow straight D977 / D677 which, apart from one minor detour for a road closure, had us steaming into Troyes by 11:30am.
While we had a quick lunch in the van the weather took a turn for the better so we strolled into town to see what we could find. And what an absolute gem of a place Troyes turns out to be.
The town is absolutely packed with timbered buildings, most of which date back to the 16th Century. And I’m not just talking about a few which have survived in one or two small areas. There are hundreds of them! If I can harp back to our own wonky-housed medieval town in Suffolk it’s a bit like Lavenham on steroids.
There are lots of fabulous little back alleys to explore and even the main shopping street retail outlets are set into buildings which are more than 400 years old.
The oldest part of the city is situated on an island created between the Seine and a canal. Once again they appear to be a bit tardy with getting their Christmas decs taken down here.
There are lots of other fabulous old buildings to explore here. The Basilica of St Urbaine was founded by Pope Urbain IV who was born in Troyes in 1185.
The Hotel Dieu le Comte is relatively modern. It was originally built as a hospital in 1702.
This is the magnificent Town Hall.
The Church of St Jean Au Marche is one of the oldest churches in Troyes. It was rebuilt in the 13th and 14th Centuries on the site of a much older building. In 1420 it was chosen as the venue of the wedding of Henry V of England and Catherine of France.
After yesterday’s aborted attempt to visit an art gallery we were rather more successful today. The former Bishop’s Palace houses a Modern Art Museum. Only one floor is currently open so we got in half price for €3.50 each which was a bargain for what we did manage to see.
The first gallery had an extensive exhibition of Cubism.
There was an interesting display of African sculptures most of which were collected during the second half of the 19th Century.
There were examples of work by household names such as Matisse and Gaugin and also this piece by Picasso.
Early 20th Century paintings of Parisienne scenes.
And also some of London from a similar period with familiar subjects of Big Ben and Hyde Park.
I was particularly taken by this painting by Edouard Villard of a woman working in a World War 1 munitions factory.
Final stop before we sauntered back to the van was the Cathedral of St Pierre & St Paul, which is where the Knights Templar were formed circa 1128.
The Cathedral boasts one of the largest areas of narrative stained glass windows in the whole of France.
Examples in the Nave date from the 15th and 16th Centuries but the ones in the chancel go back as far as the 13th Century.
The motorhome aire here is about a 30 minute walk from the historic centre of town. It’s pleasantly leafy and the €15 charge includes hook up so we are making the most of that to recharge a few batteries. Troyes are playing Bordeaux in a Ligue 2 game this evening and we can hear the drums and PA announcements but once all that finishes I reckon we should be in for a fairly quiet night.
Troyes might just be my new favourite French town. I just love how atmospheric all those old buildings are. The only grumble I would have is that, much like Reims and Arras, there is far too much dog mess on the pavements. It’s difficult to take in everything that’s above and around you when you are currently worried about getting poo on your plimsols.
We move on again in the morning. We were considering having a look at Dijon to see whether it cuts the mustard (sorry). But after 3 consecutive town days I think we might just seek out something a little more relaxing and bucolic instead as we continue our southwards amble.
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