town of art and history

In this town, which has existed for more than 1000 years, History and Heritage are at your fingertips : the Royal Chateau, timber framed houses, private townhouses, picturesque streets, historic gardens, churches, the neighborhood of the old Poulain chocolate factory, and finally the Loire river, a listed UNESCO World Heritage site...
A multisensory journey of discovery conjugating what once was.

The label

The « town of art and history » label is awarded by the French ministry of culture and communication. It describes a municipality which, understanding what is at stake in the appropriation of its heritage by its inhabitants, has committed itself to taking an active and constructive approach as concerns knowledge, conservation, sensitization and support for creative activity and the high architectural quality of the living environment.

This commitment is integrally associated with a perspective of cultural, social and economic development, and it closely corresponds to the following objective : To ensure, through application of a notion of shared responsibility, the transmission to generations yet to come of sites attesting to a rich history and living environment.

The « town and history » cultural project presents an approach bringing together the different aspects of a heritage - natural and landscaped, architectural, urban and furnished, technical and ethnological - that enter into the identity of a territory, and associating citizens as well as the persons actively involved in maintaining the landscape and cityscape-based quality of a living environment

The actions undertaken

In order to favor the discovery and appropriation of the Blois heritage, the « town of art and history » department programs basic and advanced sensitization activities throughout the year:

• Guided tours
• « Heritage awareness » sessions for 6-to-8-year-olds and 9-to-12-year-olds during the late October and spring school holidays
• Educational activities for schoolchildren
• Craftsmanship discovery workshops

For further information...