Travel Guide Vendôme

With almost 17,000 inhabitants, Vendôme is the third largest town in the Loir-et-Cher region, after Blois and Romorantin-Lanthenay. A Town of Art and History, it boasts a rich medieval heritage at the foot of a hillside bathed by the Loir River. The best way to approach the town is to start with the park and the remains of the château, from which you can enjoy a unique panorama, then continue through the historic heart, once surrounded by ramparts, of which the Porte Saint-Georges (14th-16th centuries) remains, the only survivor of the four gates that gave access to the town. Place Saint-Martin, at the foot of the ancient church of the same name, with its half-timbered houses, lives to the rhythm of the famous carillon of the bell-tower, under the protection of Jean-Baptiste-Donatien de Vimeur, better known as Comte de Rochambeau and hero of the American Revolutionary War, who was born here in 1725. Vendôme is also a garden city, which since the 17th century has preserved a unique plant heritage on a hundred hectares of passionately tended grounds. Not to be missed, in addition to the château grounds, is the Parc Ronsard. Last but not least, a number of major historic monuments can be discovered along the way, including the Cour du Cloître, home to the Musée de Musique, and the 11th-century Abbey de la Trinité, with its façade sculpted by Jean Teyssier in 1508. The town can be visited on a number of themed tours, marked on the ground: Flânerie vers le Château, Au cœur de la ville and Parcours de mémoire 39-45 (for which a brochure is available on the tourist office website).