Location

Beautiful, storied Poitiers is a cultural and commercial center of western France with a population of about 120,000 people. As one of the most intact medieval cities in Europe, Poitiers boasts a large walled "old city" on the top of the hill at the center of the city's modern expanse. The walls that ring the centre ville today are composed of sections built in different periods, including parts that date from the Roman settlement at the site. Inside the walls, the city is crowned by a variety of well-preserved medieval buildings.

The age of almost any hotel or private dwelling in the centre ville is given in the hundreds of years. One particularly impressive structure is a stone church, Notre-Dame-la-Grande, which dates from at least 924, and still contains sections of the original walls, though most of the modern building was erected in the eleventh century. The bas relief sculptures on the church's front exterior today "read" like a comic strip of biblical stories.

In addition, Poitiers was also the ruling seat of the medieval kingdom of Aquitaine, and the impressive medieval palace still stands in the heart of the old city. This palace was once the home of Eleanor of Aquitaine, who was one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in medieval Europe, and who was alternately married to the French and English kings. A few centuries later, Joan of Arc's religious visions were declared authentic by religious authorities in this same location. Today, the original medieval hall, its Renaissance additions (added by a descendent of Eleanor), and the neoclassical "Greek temple" face of the building, together serve as the courthouse and law offices for Poitiers.

Poitiers is the capital of the Poitou region and is only a few hours from Paris by TGV (high-speed train). Located in the west of France, Poitiers is in close proximity to the Loire Valley, dozens of charming chateaux, an excellent wine region, and Basque country just to the south. The Futuroscope--part interactive learning center, and part theme park--is located just outside Poitiers and pays tribute to the technologies of multimedia in several wildly imaginative pavilions. Normandy, Brittany, the French Riviera, the Alps, London, northeastern Spain, and northwestern Italy are all within half a day's train travel.

Today, Poitiers is a center for education, agriculture, industry and communications. A university town, it boasts a population of 120,000 and offers students a chance to live in a manageably sized city while still being close to larger metropolitan centers in France.

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