Orléans

Why travel to Rouen when Orléans is so much more beautiful? Visiting cities can be tricky: you only really know how much you like a city (or don't) once you've been there. To be honest, we didn't expect too much from Orléans and were pleasantly surprised to find such an attractive, friendly, and tidy city. Like many others, Orléans was heavily damaged in the last war, but a lot has been salvaged and rebuilt very skillfully.

We are especially struck by the flags in the impressive, recently renovated Cathedral of Sainte-Croix and on the Rue de Jeanne d'Arc, the splendid street that leads directly from the cathedral down to the Place de Gaulle. The flags are hung annually for the festival of Joan and remain throughout the summer to adorn the central old town. They display the coats of arms of the knights who, alongside Joan of Arc, fought against the English in the 12th century. The maiden of Orléans is also honored by the monument at the nearby Place du Mortroi.