Walk Through Medieval Loches

Begin at the Porte des Cordeliers, where a late 15th-century fortified gate marks the edge of the old town, then wind through narrow streets past the soaring Renaissance bell tower of Saint-Antoine and the Gothic Porte Picois before entering the walled citadel through the Porte Royale — the same gate Joan of Arc rode through in 1429. Inside the upper town, the Lansyer Museum offers a quiet detour into 19th-century landscape painting and Japanese art, while the Royal Lodgings and the massive 11th-century Keep reveal the fortress that sheltered Valois kings and imprisoned dukes of Milan. The Collegiate Church of Saint-Ours, with its unique hollow pyramidal spires, houses the alabaster tomb of Agnès Sorel. End the day in the riverside Public Garden, where the full silhouette of the fortified citadel rises above the Indre valley. The Lansyer Museum is open Wednesday to Sunday only (daily in July–August), and the Royal Lodgings and Keep share a combined ticket.