This curious building is the former town hall, built on a nearly triangular plot. In the 16C, architect Mathurin Bertomé added semicircular towers, and crowned it with merlons and mullioned windows. Today, it houses temporary exhibitions. The name co..

This was the main part of the fortified castle built by Henry II Plantagenet Plantagenet and completed by Richard Lionheart. More than just a castle, it was a walled city with houses, gardens, parade grounds and collegiate. Today, it houses a chamoi..

This restored museum honours Niort painter and sculptor Bernard d’Agesci (1757-1828), who did a great deal for the town. It contains three collections: from the Fine Arts Museum, the Natural History Museum and the Conservatoire de l’éducation. Its 5,..

The two hills of Niort are separated by a small valley where the medieval market once stood. This street follows that path and ends at Place de Brèche, where the main roads into the town centre converge.

In 1603, the first case of the plague was declared in this inn. It went on to decimate the population. Today, the history of the town is evoked in a series of medieval-style rooms.

This area, composed of the Quai de la Regratterie, Quai Constadt and Quai De la Préfecture, is a pleasant place for a stroll along the Sèvre. The old bridges afford nice views of the keep.

The old winding streets here are lined with low, tiled houses that have old-fashioned names like l’Huilerie, La Regratterie and Du Rabot. On either side of Rue Victor-Hugo, they run up the two hills of Niort.

Françoise d’Aubigné, granddaughter of the poet Agrippa d’Aubigné , was born in 1635 in a house on a courtyard at n° 5 on this street. As widow of the poet Scarron, she was presented at court and became a ‘‘favourite’’ of Louis XIV, who made her Marq..

This street used to be lined with market stalls and is still home to many private houses - at n° 30, the Maison du Gouverneur , dating back to the 15C, and at n° 3 (on Rue du Petit-Saint-Jean), Hôtel d’Estissac , an elegant Renaissance home.

Jagged pinnacles stand on the square tower that is topped with a 76 metre steeple. Insid, you will find baptismal fonts where Françoise d'Aubigné is said to have been baptised and the mausoleum of governor of Niort, Charles de Baudéan-Parabère, his..