Une Excursion à Orléans (A Day Trip to Orleans)

Paris has been rainy but a bit warmer than usual for late January. As for other the rest of Europe, most of the cities that I want to visit next are still too cold, so I spent a day visiting Orléans to hold me over while I wait for warmer days. The advantage to Orléans is that the city is only one hour away from Paris by train, and there are enough sites there to fill a day (but not enough to spend a whole weekend). So the planning for this trip was simple and the cost was negligible. The downside was that, like Nice last year, I experienced cloudy, damp weather, which diminished the experience of some sites (including those indoors).

The top-rated site to visit in Orléans is the Cathedrale Ste-Croix (aka the Orléans Cathedral). The building is large and has an imposing (although relatively simple) exterior that can be seen all the way down Rue Jeanne D'Arc. The interior contains stained glass windows with detailed pictures outlining important events in the history of Orléans.

The interior of the Cathedral Ste-Croix, from the back facing the main altar.

The Cathedral Ste-Croix contains several beautifully designed stained glass windows as well as a few sculptures. The windows were not as radiant as they would have been on a sunny day, but the intricate designs were still clearly visible.

Right next to the cathedral is the main art museum, the Musée des Beaux-Arts, which contains European art from the 15th to 20th century. Most of the works were by artists that would be well known to an art buff but they certainly weren't household names (although there were two famous Rodin sculptures in the basement).

One of the main display rooms in the Musée des Beaux-Arts.

The Eglise Saint-Aignan was closed when I passed by and it was starting to rain, so I went back to the central part of the city where there was more cover available. I decided to visit the Maison de Jeanne D'Arc even though I had read a number of negative reviews. It's basically a museum dedicated to Joan of Arc, who was initially made famous by helping to stop the siege against Orléans in 1429. However, I guess the museum is still under development, because there wasn't much to it aside from two information screens and a small theater where you could watch a 15 minute documentary about the Maid of Orléans. At least the building had a well-designed exterior and with a bit more work I can imagine it will become a fully functional museum.

The exterior of the Maison de Jeanne d'Arc is brick with timber framing, giving it a beautiful medieval style when seen up close.

Orléans does not have a lot of half-timbered buildings, but the few around the city have real timber, which makes it feel more authentic than the painted faux-timber buildings in Rouen.

The promenade along the Loire river was spacious and I can imagine it could host various vendors, cyclists, joggers or artists during warmer weather. The bridges crossing the river were all plain.

It began to rain more heavily by the late afternoon, so I cancelled my plans to visit the Parc Floral, which was across the Loire on the south side of the city. Instead, I visited the Parc Louis Pasteur, which contained a few sculptures and even the remains of a gate for what may have been the city walls (although I think it was relocated from elsewhere).

The main fountain and pool in the Parc Louis Pasteur.

I had passed by the Hotel Groslot (aka Hotel de Ville) earlier in the day, but couldn't enter due to a wedding at the time, but I quickly stopped by in the evening to visit after everyone had left. There were only about six rooms available to the public and they were ornately designed, although it was already dark outside so the rooms didn't shine as much as they would have during the day.

One of the larger rooms in the Hotel Groslot.

I walked through the Place du Martroi (essentially the town square) several times during the day, but the best photos were available after the clouds cleared and the sun had set. The square is famous for its Joan of Arc statue, and I noticed there were several flowers, candles and other items of sentiment left at its base.

The Place du Martroi during the early evening.

So that was Orléans in a short day trip. The city has enough to offer a relaxing day trip from Paris and was surprisingly very accommodating for tourists (but without being overtly touristy). So while there are more exciting excursions available from Paris, this was a good holdover for January. The weather was less than ideal, but that was difficult to avoid wherever I travelled this time of year. My next trip is to someplace warmer (and hopefully sunnier). I'll post details in another week or so.