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Discover Troyes with Contact Hotels

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Nestled in the heart of Champagne-Ardenne, Troyes is a city brimming with charm and history that beckons you to explore its many treasures. Begin with a stroll through the historic center, where you'll find colorful half-timbered houses and cobbled streets. Visit the magnificent Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul Cathedral or meander through one of the many museums, such as the Museum of Modern Art or the...See more

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Medievaal City of Provins
65 km

Medievaal City of Provins

Provins, UNESCO’s World Heritage List! Located 1 hour from Paris in Seine-et-Marne, discover this medieval town offering visits, historical shows & great events... to go back to the Middle Ages! Inscribed on the UNESCO’s World Heritage List on December 2001, Provins is today a wonderfully preserved medieval town. During the 12th and 13th centuries, Provins is at the height of its fame thanks to the famous Trade Fairs of Champagne. The urban structure is organised to accommodate the great number of wholesalers: the wide streets for the transfer of goods and for the stalls, the three level merchant’s houses with sumptuous vaulted low rooms... The presence of water (Durteint and Voulzie rivers) favours also the economic activities and the expansion of many trades such as the woollen cloth manufacturer, the parchment maker, butcher, etc... The impressive fortified wall was built during the 13th century and extended for 5 km (today 1,2 km), and it offers a catalogue of military architecture. Those ramparts protected the inhabitants and the tradespeople, and showed off the power of the Earls of Champagne. Exceptional monuments to visit all year round: > the superb keep of the Cesar Tower with its different rooms and a panoramic view from the top floor, > the Grange aux dîmes (tithe barn), a typical medieval house with an exhibition of merchants and craftsmen of the time to discover with an audio-guided tour available in French, English, German, Spanish and Chinese, > the Museum of Provins and the Provinois, located in one of the oldest houses of Provins, and presenting unique collections since prehistory, > the thousand-year-old and majestic Saint-Ayoul Priory, recently restored, to be visited with an audio guide, Amazing shows of chivalry and falconry, "The Legend of the Knights" and "The Eagles of the Ramparts", will take visitors into the heart of history every day from the end of March to All Saints' Day. Not forgetting the little train, the Provins Rose Garden, guided tours, rental of electric bikes, hiking, major events, and a whole region to discover to prolong the pleasure and the experience, to live with family or friends! Pass Cards formulas allow you to visit the monuments and to benefit from reduced rates for other activities. The Tourist Office team will be happy to offer you the "Visitor's Guide", a very complete brochure to enjoy your stay...

Office de tourisme Intercommunautaire 4 Chemin de Villecran 77160 Provins
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Ferra Botanica, railbike at La Ferté-Gaucher
75 km

Ferra Botanica, railbike at La Ferté-Gaucher

Live the adventure of Ferra Botanica, an electric-assisted railbike in a protected green space! Bike + Rails + Fun + Nature = Ferra Botanica! With family or friends, set off to discover an astonishing 13 km route (round trip) aboard your rail bike! Ferra Botanica is the successful marriage of bicycle and train, of Man and Nature for an experience rich in emotion! Pedal at your own pace thanks to the electric assistance, on a straight, flat route without much difficulty. Ferra Botanica is a fun outdoor activity, in the heart of the Sensitive Natural Area of ​​Val du Haut Morin, where, here and there, poetic and intriguing installations appear on the theme of plants and animals. Arts lovers will appreciate this aesthetic scenography for an enchanted interlude! How it works ? Each rail bike can accommodate 2 to 5 people, beyond that, you will need to rent another one. Only 2 people are pedaling, but nothing prevents changing teams between the outward journey and the return journey. Departure by small train from the La Ferté-Gaucher Tourist Office, which will take you directly to the site. (supplement of 2€ per person) The different formulas by reservation only (48 hours in advance): > Ardoise Fertoise: from €15: aperitif formula with local products, from homemade foie gras to sausage or ham on the bone (depending on availability) which will delight gourmets and discerning palates! > Farm Plate: from €15: picnic package offering the best products from our farms with raw vegetables, free-range chicken fillet and seasonal dessert. > Vegetarian Plate: from €15: picnic formula offering the best products from our farms with raw vegetables and mixed salad and seasonal dessert. > Sandwich formula: from €10: different types of sandwich are offered (buttered ham, raw chicken, tuna mayonnaise, Brie de Meaux) and seasonal dessert. On-site services: shop and sale of local products, relaxation and picnic area, water points and WC.

Hameau de Trotignon Ancienne gare SNCF 77320 Lescherolles
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Médiathèque Jacques Chirac
123 m

Médiathèque Jacques Chirac

The library boasts exceptional antique collections, including a rich collection of medieval manuscripts on parchment, as well as 3,000 booklets and almanacs from the Bibliothèque Bleue, published in Troyes and sold by peddlers. The library also offers 110,000 documents on loan, as well as a wide range of cultural events. The Grande Salle, on the left-hand side of the building, contains 50,000 printed books from the former ecclesiastical libraries. In Troyes, these include the 4,600 printed books belonging to Canon Jacques Hennequin, kept in the Cordeliers convent, and the medieval manuscripts belonging to the Pithou brothers, in the Collège de l'Oratoire. The vast majority of the ancient manuscripts copied and decorated in the workshop of the Abbey of Clairvaux, since its creation by Saint Bernard in the 12th century, inventoried in 1472 by Abbot Pierre de Virey (1,790 manuscripts, of which 1,115 have survived), are preserved here. This collection, which formed one of the major libraries of the medieval West, is now the largest and best-preserved medieval collection in France. In 2009, it was included in UNESCO's "Memory of the World" register, which aims to protect the world's documentary heritage of universal value, reflecting the diversity of languages, peoples and cultures, and mirroring the world and its memory. Nationalized at the time of the French Revolution, the library's collections were enriched by donations and bequests in the 19th and 20th centuries. These include Abbé Hubert's 18th-century German books, Dr. Carteron's local history documents and the Far East collection bequeathed by diplomat Victor Collin de Plancy. A permanent exhibition, freely accessible during opening hours, traces the history of these heritage collections. It features some one hundred original documents, including medieval manuscripts, printed books, art objects and animated films. The works are listed in the computerized catalog.

Boulevard Gambetta Espace Argence 10000 Troyes
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Les Quais de Seine
167 m

Les Quais de Seine

... erase the boundary created by the continuity of Chomedey-de-Maisonneuve and Georges-Vanier avenues, and reduce the amount of traffic that transits both sides of the Bouchon de Champagne without stopping. This requalification has restored a legitimate historical value to the place of water in our city and marked the presence of the hyper-centre by reconnecting the head and body of the Bouchon de Champagne. Ever more beautiful, Troyes welcomes two new statues by Belgian artist Tom Frantzen. Wait for me!" and "La Ribambelle Joyeuse", both humorous odes to life, grace the quays of Troyes. They stand proudly on the banks of the Troyes Seine Canal. Tom Frantzen's bronze works Wait for me, quai Dampierre, and La Ribambelle Joyeuse, quai La Fontaine, have been playing the starlet and delighting the hearts of strollers and tourists alike since early October. The Belgian artist is renowned for his creations on the borderline between the real and the fantastic, often installed in public spaces (Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, Tervuren, Woluwe-Saint-Pierre, Antwerp, Steenokkerzeel, Tournai, Brussels...). With the Trojan sculptures Wait for me! and La Ribambelle Joyeuse, Frantzen, whose style is akin to a new form of Flemish fantasy art, offers a sometimes humorous, sometimes poetic take on art in the city. Other sculptural beauties to admire The specific commission for these remarkable installations is part of the City of Troyes' policy of urban requalification and city beautification. These works enrich an artistic itinerary initiated in 2012-2013 on the quays of Troyes. Their redevelopment in 2011 has, over the years, been accompanied by the installation of contemporary statues, adding even more cachet and romanticism to these strolling spaces in the heart of the city, such as Le Coeur de Troyes (by Michèle Caillaud-Houël and Thierry Kayo), La Jeune fille qui donne un baiser (by Sjer Jacobs), Lili, la dame au chapeau (by Andràs Lapis). Most recently, a sculpture in homage to Simone Veil, by Michèle Caillaud-Houël and Thierry Kayo, has also taken its place in front of the former Hauts-Clos hospital, renamed Hôpital Simone-Veil. *Wait for me! - This humorous and poetic work features a small dog who frightens a flock of birds, causing them to fly away. The group of birds is reminiscent of the cranes, emblematic of the Aube department, which fly over it every year. *La Ribambelle joyeuse - This group of sculptures depicts a group of children accompanied by a penguin and a duck. Blending fantasy and Belgian humor, it is strongly influenced by Pieter Brueghel and Jérôme Bosch.

Quai des Comtes de Champagne 10000 Troyes
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Eglise Saint-Rémy
169 m

Eglise Saint-Rémy

At the time, it was outside the city walls, under the control of the cathedral's canons. Encompassed within the new city walls built in the 13th c., the church underwent numerous extensions and transformations. It also received new stained-glass windows paid for by wealthy Trojan families. Its 12th-century bell tower was renovated in 1360, and its 62-meter-high slate spire was twisted to provide better wind resistance. This technique was a real architectural feat in the 14th century! The 15th-century portal is housed under a wooden porch that replaced the former narthex (entrance portico) in the 19th century. The tower features a clock face decorated with sunbursts and a single hand (the mechanism no longer works). At the top, in the corners, two angels can be seen, one holding a dove in flight, symbolizing the birth of day, the other a lighted torch, symbolizing night. The figures on either side are Saint Remy on the right and his mother Saint Celinia on the left. Further down, on the buttress of the tower, an 18th-century sundial shows the sun's time (or true time) when the weather is fine. The Latin inscription underneath reads "SICUT UMBRA DIES NOSTRI SUPER TERRAM", meaning "On earth, our days pass like shadows". The church's interior is lit by large, three-lobed Gothic windows. There are several paintings by Trojan painter Jacques de Létin (1597-1661) and, above the high altar, the famous bronze Christ by François Girardon, a Trojan sculptor (1628-1715) who is also responsible for the fountains at the Château de Versailles. Threatened with destruction, the church was saved from demolition by the protests of its inhabitants and classified as a Historic Monument in 1908. St Rémy is a member of the Association des clochers tors d'Europe (Association of European Torn Spires), which lists the hundred or so churches with this unique feature!

Place Saint-Rémy 10000 Troyes
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Halles de Troyes
180 m

Halles de Troyes

The latter was inspired by those created by Victor Baltard in Paris, combining iron, cast iron and glass to build one of the largest covered markets of its type. The construction is typical of the 19th century in terms of materials and sober, slender lines: eighteen cast-iron posts support the immense molded vault, formed by a triple flight of roofs separated by bay windows. The stone base supports a small wall of colored brick into which eight large doors open. The metal framework comes from the Creusot workshops. A mezzanine was added in 1987. Archeological digs in Place Saint-Remy uncovered traces of the former Collège de la Licorne, a major educational institution in Troyes since the Middle Ages, which previously occupied the Hôtelerie de la Licorne (between today's Rue Gambey and the canal). It was established here in 1617, when the Trojan humanist François Pithou, King's advisor, and his brother Pierre, offered the town a group of houses and their valuable library. The college remained in various forms until 1854. Its half-timbered houses were demolished in 1862. The keystone from the Pithou portal is on display in the Vauluisant museum. Major renovation work on the facades and the glass roof of the covered passageway was carried out in 2017. From March 4 to May 29, 2019, the Halles forecourt has been completely redeveloped. Covering almost 3,500 m², the square is clad in granite paving stones, in the same spirit as the requalification work carried out in the city center. It hosts outdoor markets on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday mornings in optimal conditions of comfort and safety. With this redevelopment, the City of Troyes is pursuing its commitment, made some twenty years ago, to providing users with a quality urban space and revitalizing the city center. A touch of modernity has been added to the Halles forecourt with La Feuille monumentale, a work in bead-blasted stainless steel (bead-blasting is a surface treatment consisting of spraying microbeads onto a stainless steel or aluminum part). One of the proudest features of this sculpture is that it was entirely produced locally: designed by Thierry and Michèle Kayo-Houël (artists living in Payns), with the help of the metal and ironwork firm Arts et Forges (in La Chapelle Saint-Luc), and Ateliers de Carrosserie Bonenfant (in Buchères), it was finally transported and installed by Trans Manu Machines (based in Bréviandes), all with the support of the City of Troyes. As you may have noticed, the work is reminiscent of the iconic sculpture of the Heart of Troyes, created by the same artists and installed on the Quai des Comtes-de-Champagne. But La Feuille isn't just decorative; it's also useful as a railing, concealing the stairwell that serves as an emergency exit from the parking lot beneath the forecourt. At night, colored lighting reveals the sculpture in a whole new light. The light changes with the seasons: orange in autumn, blue in winter, green in spring and red in summer. The installation is completed by safety posts and two benches whose stainless steel backrests echo the sculpture's design. Today, Les Halles is one of Troyes' favorite daily rendezvous: here, you can discover local delicacies and products from Aube (fruit and vegetables, andouillette, cheeses, champagne...) or more exotic ones, in a warm, friendly atmosphere that's particularly lively at weekends.

Place Saint-Rémy Rue Claude Huez 10000 Troyes
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Sculpture urbaine en Verre : Élévation, bleus nymphéas
220 m

Sculpture urbaine en Verre : Élévation, bleus nymphéas

A large glass sculpture is installed on Place de la Tour, in a fountain with a square basin. Weighing 500 kg of glass, the steel structure supports 20 light-permeable glass panels and is topped by a crystalline spire. In collaboration with Didier Duchêne, Compagnon du Devoir and manager of the CMD² metalworks in Estissac, glass artist Jean-François Lemaire created what is undoubtedly France's first large-scale glass urban art sculpture. The work, which expresses several themes using the vocabulary of contemporary art, was commissioned by the city of Troyes. The themes that the artist and the city had agreed to develop by spring 2018 relate to history, water and the color blue. Also at the root of the project is a tribute to the painter Claude Monet, who so often painted the reflections of light on rivers, ponds and streams. Élévation, bleus nymphéas took a year to complete. Jean-François Lemaire conceived the project and created, then fired and refired (6 to 10 days) several dozen thick glass panels, each a work in itself. These panels have a variety of textures and a dominant blue color, produced by fusing metal oxides. Once polished and re-cut if necessary, they were tested outdoors for many months for their resistance to the elements and thermal shock. Numerous tests were also carried out in the workshop during the installation of the steel structure. Indeed, the creation of a monumental glass sculpture installed outdoors in a public space brings with it constraints not imposed by smaller works installed indoors. The same is true of glass's usual uses in the building industry. Didier Duchêne considers that working with Jean-François Lemaire was an enrichment in the approach to the glass/metal relationship, "a real laboratory, insofar as the project was very unusual and the quantity and variety of questions to which we had to find the right technical answers was very great". This has now been achieved, and the work has returned to its double Burgundy stone base in the heart of Place de la Tour. The elements of meaning and their transpositions: history, water, mills, books. The location chosen by the town is an emblematic site, restored to its convivial vocation through redevelopment. It lies just in front of the former monumental gateway to the first castle of the Counts of Champagne, demolished in the 19th century. In the Middle Ages, this gateway saw the passage of prestigious intellectuals, kings, the first Knights Templar and the brilliant court of the Counts. Élévation, bleus nymphéas is, in its own way, a joyful, playful gateway accessible to all, in dialogue with the now-invisible gateway to the vanished château. The Place de la Tour was also close to several waterways, equipped with water mills. Indeed, with the omnipresence of water in and around the town from the Middle Ages onwards, these installations multiplied and for centuries played a major role in its economy. A wealth born of water. Jean-François Lemaire has made water a major a major theme in his work. Like the water of the Seine, the rus and the biefs, the glass panels express depths, opacities and reflections, the movements of aquatic life and the rustle of the wind on the surface. It's as if "slices" of water had been taken, immobilized and installed on the metal branches by a magical gesture, and given new life. In the same way, the steel structure of the work can be seen as the camshaft of a poetic mill, whose wheel we would operate by turning around the fountain, on an imaginary water path. If this path is horizontal, the movement transmitted is vertical, and this is the whole point of Élévation, bleus nymphéas, which encourages us to grow, to turn towards knowledge, but also towards impressions, clouds, the blue of the sky captured in the panels and in the spire of pure transparency that crowns the whole. The contents of the panels are also revealed to those who wish to see them, according to the variations in light, grey skies, clear skies, night lighting. What seems hostile and silent in the morning will come alive at midday, in full sunlight, revealing unsuspected worlds of color and veils. And so, as we read and learn, understanding dawns: what had previously eluded us suddenly becomes clear. Pages of glass, pages of books: here, elevation comes through play, through impressions and, above all, through frequent visits, for it takes time to "turn the wheel" and allow oneself to be questioned, altered and convinced by the thousand and one signs that the work offers us. Monet and the "Blue Water Lilies Let us conclude this presentation with a tribute to Claude Monet. This immense artist painted at the crossroads between what the eyes really see and what the heart can feel. Morning, noon, evening... Cathedral, mill, pond or soft corolla, what mattered to him was capturing time, the changing reflections of light on stone, water or flower. The blue of the water lilies was then that of the meteors in the mirror of Giverny, married with the memories and feelings of the creator. Monet thus opened the way for all artists to listen to and express their own perceptions, to convey rare and subtle emotions beyond form. With a different vocabulary, the blue panels of the sculpture Elevation, water lily blue, reflecting or letting through the light, also speak to us of water, time and transmission. These are their strongest messages. But there's also the pleasure of looking at the reflections, exploring the steel structure, wandering around the pool, discovering details, looking for signs and reminders. These are all subtle messages that engage us as we set in motion the poetic movement that makes us, for the space of a moment, citizens of this work and of our own dreams. Catherine Divet

Place de la Tour 10000 Troyes
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Ancien quartier juif
263 m

Ancien quartier juif

Most cities in the Middle Ages had a Jewish quarter and Troyes was no exception. The Jewish neighbourhood called « the Broce-aux-Juifs » extended to the rampart built along the former ru Cordé, today the quai des Comtes de Champagne. The rue de la Cité, formerly via Agrippa, crossed the wall under a tower via a bridge called in the 12th century «de la Gievrie» (or Giourie), in reference to the local inhabitants. The rue Boucherat is the old Gallo-Roman cardo, the main thoroughfare that ran perpendicular to the via Agrippa. This is the very heart of the old city. Starting in the High Middle Ages, a large Jewish community lived here. Chlomo ben Itshak (Salomon, son of Isaac), the rabbi from Troyes known as Rachi (1040-1105), who was protected by the Counts of Champagne, founded in Troyes his famous Talmudic school in 1070. Rachi was both a rabbi and a winemaker as well as a commentator par excellence of the Bible and the Talmud, the body of Jewish traditions and explanations by rabbis. The winding rue Saint-Frobert leads to the old Roman church of the same name that was built, it is said, on the site of the synagogue where Rachi taught. The church was sold at the time of the French Revolution and is now used as housing. The Rachi European University Institute, opposite the current synagogue in the Madeleine Quarter, keeps alive the memory of this world-famous scholar. Jewish quarters were often associated with silversmith shops and money changers. In Troyes, the mints, where gold and silver pieces, called the denier champenois or provinois, were made, was located between present day rue Boucherat and rue Saint-Frobert. At the start of the 14th century, the Counts of Champagne inherited the crown of France. Troyes became one of the eight shops entrusted by the King, who created the franc in 1360, to mint currency. At that time a new Hôtel des Monnaies (mint) was built in the «corps du bouchon» area, present-day rue de la Monnaie, near the Saint-Jean church. Wandering through the nearby charming ruelle du Paon, formerly rue de l’Arche de Noë, which was totally restored in 1986, visitors will discover at number 16 the Hôtel des Sœurs-Noires, where Jansenist teaching was imparted from 1668 to 1749. Its façade is in the Champagne style facing, with alternating brick and calcareous stone.

10000 Troyes
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Caution!
We have no information on the difficulty of this circuit. You may encounter some surprises along the way. Before you go, please feel free to inquire more and take all necessary precautions. Have a good trip! 🌳🥾