After less than 24 hours here, I had noticed something.

Poitiers is painted in beautifully muted tones of beige. I’m unsure if that is deliberate, but it allows the new buildings to merge seamlessly with the old buildings.

This colourful sign of the town’s name stood out in stark contrast to everything else we saw.

It reminded me of a similar sign in Brisbane when I took this photo with my granddaughter posing in the letter S.

But I digress. Poitiers is beige.

The city of Poitiers is the capital of the Vienne department.

Its most well-known church, located in the centre ville, is called Notre-Dame La Grande.

This is a painting of the same location which was completed in 1906 by Arthur Gué which Mick and I saw at the museum (see below).

The front wall (in my photo) depicts amazing sculptures of scenes from the Bible which were completed as part of an extension that was added in the 12th Century. The wall of sculptures is recognised as a masterpiece of Romanesque religious art.

Once inside, the artwork continues with each of the pillars painted in geometric patterns in different colours.

It was such a pleasure to walk around a city of 90,000+ people and not feel as though you were being swamped by people.

Mick and I were very happy to have returned to France.

In 1944, Poitiers suffered serious bombing attacks, particularly around the railway station. And subsequently, that area is much newer than the rest of the centre ville.

We stayed on the Place de la Liberté in an amazing 18th Century home, which was pretty easy to find.

The statue was a dead give-away!

We were only a five minute walk from the centre of the town, but everything was so quiet.

Here is Mick standing at the front door. And yes, that is real gold leaf. Check out our bedroom!

Our first stop, as usual, was the Tourist Office where Mick got a map of the city and also obtained his bearings. We were told that the Musée Sainte-Croix was open with free entry. So we decided we must visit.

Another piece by Rodin to add to my collection – was on display.

Mick was a bit frightened when he stumbled across this piece called the Grand’Goule. We later found out that it is the symbol for Poitiers. This piece was commissioned by the head of the abbey (the abbess) in Poitiers in 1677 and was used in religious processions for hundreds of years. Now it just sits in this museum.

On our way to the museum, we visited the city’s cathedral.

It featured old and new works of art.

On our second day of our walking tour of Poitiers we walked down to the river Clain to check out the old water mills. And we passed by yet another…….

This one is Saint-Germain Church, named after the Bishop from Paris who visited the city back in 560. Wow! He was here to consecrate the first abbess of the Holy Cross monastery – not the one who commissioned the gargoyle obviously.

This is part of the roman arena ruins located right in the centre of the city – called the vomitorium. The ruins date back to the 2nd Century.

A vomitorium is a passage situated below or behind a tier of seats in an amphitheatre or a stadium, through which big crowds can exit rapidly at the end of a performance. They can also be pathways for actors to enter and leave stage.

We also walked passed the new courthouse, which had been re-built inside a former high school. It was very impressive. And, very beige.

We really enjoyed our time in Poitiers. It was the quiet break we needed after the adventure-filled holiday with our friends Derek and Helen in the south of France, and our weekend excursion to the UK.

Finally. yet another example of the tones we saw in Poitiers.

This tabac was at the end or the start of the Grand Rue, depending on your perspective, and was in full operation as a newsagent and gambling shop (PMU).

We’re off to Limoges later today, where we will spend two nights, and not three as I had thought. Sometimes it is hard keeping up with our comings and goings.