Troyes

The old town of Troyes is outlined by boulevards on the line of the vanished walls, and the shape they draw is a champagne cork, which the city has adopted as a logo. Inside is one of the densest surviving concentrations of timber-framed houses in France, painted in ochre, red and blue, most rebuilt after a fire in 1524. The Ruelle des Chats is the famous one, an alley so narrow that the upper storeys nearly meet overhead and, so the saying goes, a cat can cross from roof to roof. Troyes was a capital of the Champagne fairs, and its churches hold an exceptional body of sixteenth-century stained glass and stone sculpture.

History

Celtic grave mounds and artefacts suggest a settlement here as early as 600 BC, and in Roman times Troyes, as Augustobona Tricassium, stood where many highways met, chiefly the Via Agrippa from Reims to Langres and on to Milan; it was the capital of the Tricasses, whom Augustus had separated from the Senones. From the fourth century it was the seat of a bishop, and the legend of Bishop Lupus saving the city from Attila in 451 is hagiography rather than history; that year the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains, also called the Battle of Troyes, was fought nearby, and in 878 Louis the Stammerer was crowned in the cathedral by Pope John VIII. At the end of the ninth century the counts of Champagne made Troyes their capital, and it stayed the capital of the province until the Revolution; its Champagne fairs drew merchants from all over Christendom, it gave its name to troy weight for gold, and Rashi, the great commentator on the Bible and the Talmud, was born here in 1040 and founded an influential school. In 1285 Philip the Fair joined Champagne to the royal domain, and in 1417 John the Fearless worked to make Troyes the capital of France (Wikipedia, Troyes).

What to look for

• The Ruelle des Chats - an alley where facing upper storeys nearly touch.
• The timber-framed streets - painted frames rebuilt after the 1524 fire.
• The stained glass - sixteenth-century windows across several churches.
• The cork-shaped plan - the old town outline that became the city emblem.

When to go

April to October; the old town is at its best on a clear evening when the frames are lit. Outlet shopping centres on the outskirts draw a different crowd year-round.

What to expect

Some frames are heavily restored and a few are modern pastiche. Churches keep irregular hours and several are closed for restoration at any time. The outlet malls have no bearing on the old town.

Nearby

Reims lies north; Lac du Der-Chantecoq is east.

Key facts