Cité Royale de Loches
Rising on a limestone spur above the Indre River, the Cité Royale de Loches is one of the best-preserved medieval royal residences in France, where Joan of Arc famously urged Charles VII to march on Reims. Wander through 1,000 years of French history without the crushing crowds of Chambord or Chenonceau.
The Keep & Dungeon
The 11th-century keep — a massive 36-metre rectangular tower — is the oldest surviving structure and one of the finest Romanesque keeps in Europe. Climb to the top for a panoramic sweep over the Indre valley and the terracotta rooftops below.
The adjacent Tour Ronde and Martelet dungeons once held the disgraced minister Ludovico Sforza, who painted murals on his cell walls that are still faintly visible today — an eerie, unmissable detail.
The Royal Lodge & Agnes Sorel
The Logis Royal at the northern end of the enclosure shelters the tomb of Agnès Sorel, the first officially recognised royal mistress in French history and a woman of remarkable political influence over Charles VII. Her alabaster effigy is hauntingly beautiful.
The same building contains the triptych of the Mélun Diptych copy and period tapestries that bring the late-medieval court vividly to life. Give yourself at least two hours to do the whole enclosure justice.
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