¡Nadie viene a Troyes por primera vez y lo deja indiferente!
¡Eso es sólo arrogancia y jingoísmo, se podría decir!
¡Así que ven y averígualo por si mismo!
El pasado es omnipresente en esta ciudad, con sus iglesias ornamentadas, casas de madera y de colores, sus calles pavimentadas increíblemente empinadas y mucho más.
(sólo en inglés)
It has multi-faceted culture, with museums, the Cité du Vitrail (stained glass), the Jewish Maison Rachi, and the Médiathèque (media library)…
The expertise and ongoing tradition of its industries, its crafts…
The taste buds are delighted by its andouillette sausage, the Chaource cheese, the sloes and of course the Champagne…
So, come and experience all the richness of Troyes!
Find out more…
Welcome to the heart of the cork!
Yes! The cork!
This is what the town centre of Troyes is known as, since its shape strangely echoes that of a Champagne cork. What an odd coincidence!
This is chance, a sort of irony, as this shape really is a complete coincidence.
As if you cannot escape your destiny, or perhaps that fate is a good provider…
… Since you’re in the historical capital of the Champagne region!
The town is like an old and noble Lady, who cheerfully supports the weight of the centuries and never stops renewing, playfully inventing and rediscovering past colours.
And the past is so beautiful and so rich!
With the Middle Ages and its economic and cultural abundance linked to its renowned Fairs; then the “Beautiful 16th century Troyes” with its artistic richness and its Renaissance; then onto a prosperous industrial 19th century, the golden age for hosiery manufacture, its main activity; this town has enough history for a whole book to itself.
Walking through the town is like taking a stroll through the centuries, with crooked half-timbered houses in many colours and mansion houses with their rich exterior characteristics… Walk across paved alleyways… you’ll journey through the Middle Ages and Renaissance… and experience a dialogue between the past and the current renewal.
What happens in Troyes? The bells ring!
Entering the Cathédrale St Pierre St Paul and the many churches creates a visual artistic shock, a sort of “Stendhal syndrome”: intense emotion when faced with the explosion of colours and the countless pieces of glass; but also there are intimate encounters with the faces of the many statues, the jewels of the 16th century Champagne region schools.
The town was named “Little Rome” by the Italian sculptor Bernini, which was a testament to its artistic vitality !
Troyes also has an omnipresent transmission of the past, through its museums:
- The Musée d’Art Moderne and the magic and emotion that emerges from works by Courbet, Derain, Marquet, De Vlaminck, Van Dongen…. and many other artists… It is more than just art, it’s a corner of peace and calm. (Closed for renovation, re-opening expected during 2021.)
- The Musée Saint Loup, with art works by big names such as Vasari, Natoire, Mignard, Le Brun and others, and the archaeological and other collections that illustrate the history of humankind in the Aube, from Prehistory to the Merovingians… And, the Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle with its collections that will delight old and young alike.
- The Musée Vauluisant, home of Troyes memories, is the vision of the extraordinary flourishing of religious art in the Champagne region with its remarkable sculptures and paintings… But also it charts the most iconic activity of Troyes, hosiery manufacture, which made it the capital of European textiles.
- The Apothicairerie de l’Hôtel Dieu, one of the most beautiful in France, is a surprising place, with its painted medical boxes in tin and ceramics and the ointments bearing extraordinary names that are part of 18th century pharmacopoeia… (Closed for renovation, reopening spring 2021).
Another place where history is passed on is the Maison de l’Outil et de la Pensée Ouvrière, like a Louvre dedicated to the worker: bringing together more than 12,000 tools, organised thematically in a remarkable display, and there is also a resource centre with more than 32,000 items…
The tool… Continuity in mankind’s hand.
The Cité du Vitrail with its 3,000m2 of permanent exhibition space has the goal of showing off the art of the exceptional stained glass in our department, which makes the town of Troyes the capital of European stained glass. (Closed for extension, reopening spring 2021.)
The ultra-modern Médiathèque Jacques Chirac, completely covered in glass, a depositary of France’s leading Medieval collection with manuscripts from the Abbey of Clairvaux, recognised with the “Memory of the World” status in 2009: 400,000 documents and 50,000 works including 1,700 Medieval manuscripts…
And Maison Rachi, a magnificent meeting space with the Troyes Jewish community, a thousand year old community whose history is written into the town with its famous Rabbi Rachi, a 19th century exegete in Troyes, known by Jews all over the world for his commentaries on the Hebrew Bible and the Talmud…
So… Troyes… A stirrer of culture!
In addition, the Tricasse town has always been the one wearing the trousers!
Whether it’s Petit-Bateau or the official strip for the French Rugby team produced by the famous Coq Sportif, the town still enjoys the rhythm of the textile industry that has been established here by several great companies…
Its factory shops and wholesalers, along with its designers villages, have become such an attraction that around 2.5 million people per year visit them to benefit from their low prices.
Finally, Troyes is a town for living well!
There is so much to enjoy, to delight your taste buds and your palette…
When it comes to gourmet specialities, there are plenty!
From andouillette sausage – preferably 5A, with mustard sauce, crème fraiche or just simply grilled – followed by a good Chaource, Mussy or Champ sur Barse cheese and ending with a little sloe on iced nougat or sorbet…
All this, washed down with Champagne, our divine elixir, or try a Riceys rosé, or a Coteau Champenois and why not a lovely cold cider from the Pays d’Othe?
All in moderation of course!
Have you made a decision?
Be surprised and visit Troyes!