A self-guided walking tour through Blois

We walked into town along the Loire and Graham spotted an animal swimming down the river. We guessed that it might have been a European beaver but weren’t sure as the tail looked a bit thin. We later decided it was a Coypu (or beaver rat). 

Unfortunately, L’Eglise Saint-Nicolas was being renovated so we had to admire it from the outside. We continued through the Arts Quarter and walked up to the entrance of the Chateau.  We decided not to visit and instead enjoyed the views from the nearby gardens, Parterres Saint Saveur.

It was surprisingly quiet for a public holiday, though the restaurants were busy in the Square Habitat Blois.  We wanted to visit the Rosaraie des Jardins de L’Eveche but the entrance was firmly shut so we climbed up to the Cathedrale Saint-Louis and entered the gardens above which offered views down to the closed gardens below. 

A statue of Joan of Arc stood to one side of the gardens and we found a bench for our picnic lunch.  Next stop was the steps of Denis Papin which were completed in 1865 to provide a link between the upper and lower town.  Denis Papin was a French physicist, famous for his work on what was to become the steam engine. 

It was a couple of kilometres walk back to our accommodation, through the Place de Republique and past the Corn Market. We enjoyed a quiet afternoon and another Cridland dinner.