City summary: Poitiers

Press release

POITIERS – www.ot-poitiers.fr

Poitiers, a city with ancient Gaulish roots, has seen the ebb and flow of history, marked like a multi-needled chronometer by the construction of spired religious buildings. In fact, Poitiers was once known as the “town of 100 bell towers.” There are fewer towers now, but some that remain attest to the city’s age, like the 4th-century Saint-Jean baptistry and later (but still old) Romanesque architectural masterpieces. The newest wave, however, is that of students, making young people a giant part of the population that sustains a celebratory love for the contemporary arts, gastronomy and nature.


Fun Facts

  • There is a Statue of Liberty in Poitiers! In 1903, a smaller version of the famous work that Bartholdi presented to New York City was placed on Place de la Liberté to remember General Jean-Baptiste Breton, who was executed there in 1822 for plotting against Louis XVIII.

  • With more than 27,000 students in Poitiers, half of the population is younger than 30 years old.


Significant Site

Eglise Notre-Dame-la-Grande: a masterpiece of Romanesque church architecture and particularly notable for its sculpted facade


Extraordinary Exhibit

Musée Sainte-Croix: leading regional museum, with one special section devoted to the archeology covering Poitou history and another given over to Camille Claudel sculptures


Delectable Delights

  • farci poitevin: a vegetable pâté (sorrel, chard, spinach) flavored with lard and wrapped in cabbage leaves

  • Haut-Poitou wines: fresh and light, these wines come in white, red and rosé colors


Legendary Local

Joël Robuchon: chef and restaurateur with the most Michelin stars (28) of any chef in the world


Also in the Area

  • Futuroscope: a family-friendly vision of the future in a multimedia theme park, France's second most visited after Disneyland Paris

  • Abbaye de Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe: an 11th-century Romanesque architecture with an exceptional collection of equally ancient and well-preserved wall paintings


Access from Paris

  • by road: about 3 h 30 min (215 miles) via the A10 autoroute L'Aquitaine

  • by train: about 1 h 20 min by TGV from the Gare Montparnasse

For more about what to see and do in and around Poitiers, including on the “Art and History in Western France” itinerary, visit www.topfrenchcitybreaks.com.