Gien: castle and old town

Begin your morning strolling through Gien's reconstructed old town, where 1950s brick facades deliberately echo the diamond patterns of the medieval castle above — a unique architectural ensemble that earned the town the title "Jewel of French Reconstruction." Step inside the Church of Saint Joan of Arc, rebuilt in red brick to symbolize the 1940 fire, with luminous stained glass by Max Ingrand tracing the life of the warrior saint who passed through Gien four times in 1429. The Renaissance Château-Musée de Gien, perched on the hilltop overlooking the Loire, houses the International Hunting Museum with 15,000 works spanning falconry, venery, and firearms across five centuries. Round off the day at the Gien Pottery Museum, where two centuries of faïence craftsmanship fill the former cellars of a factory that still operates today. The Château-Musée is closed on Tuesdays and throughout January; the Pottery Museum is closed on Sundays.