Carnet de Voyage: Un Deux Troyes…a Step in Medieval Time

Travel notes from the real France. Carnet de Voyage is a weekly personal travel story in France sent in by readers. If you’d like to write a story for Carnet de Voyage, head here for details on how to submit.

With a pat-a-pat, and another pat-a-pat, I trod the rough-hewn, rain-dewed terrain of the cobblestone plats in my soft-leather-soled, comfy-black patent, ballet flats. 

Early on a Sunday morning, in February 2007, I left my Hôtel-du-Rond-Point des Champs-Elysées in Paris for the métro that would take me to Gare de Lyon via FDR Station. To board the train bound for the Medieval city of Troyes, France. The high-speed train passed the expansive and verdant vineyards of the Champagne region, on an unforgettable trip. As if in a dream, looking out from the train windows, the hills with their neatly-manicured designs flowed from top to bottom like the fine wines the grapes from these plants would ultimately become. 

My train reached Troyes in a little over two hours. Once disembarking, I headed straight away for the local tourist office wherein I quickly gathered pamphlets and maps as well as useful information to explore the already-charming-to-me city. 

With travel guides and eagerness in hand, I set off to explore eras of another world and embrace the spoken, written and cultural French I had learned in and have been nurturing since school.

Because it was a Sunday – especially heightened by the echo of my footsteps amidst the boundary stones – I was alone on my route and felt as though I was walking a century backwards, one cobblestone step at a time. No one about but the ghosts of times past. Of Medieval times. Of Renaissance times. Of the 18th century. Of glory days, dark nights, and mysterious history. A diamond to be unearthed southeast of Paris that, upon witnessing its brilliance, shines even brighter and more beautifully to the beholder. This is Troyes. A city oft covered briefly in guidebooks joining a discussion on the wider Champagne region of France. But take a train to Troyes, and visitors will immediately see what I still see. A city nestled within itself. An artifact of a perfectly-preserved time capsule. 

Half-timbered or rather timber-framed, colorful buildings adorn each side of the street on the atmospheric Ruelle des Chats – so named for the cats that jump from roof to roof (and for various carved statuesque poses of cats that surprise those who look up). Troyes certainly entices for cat enthusiasts; and the Toutourisme site with maps and info welcomes both dog lovers and their dogs to play tourist. This is, indeed, a city for pet parents and animals alike!

I absorbed the views of each of the buildings along the way to Cathédrale Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul de Troyes wherein I attended a mass and marveled at the stained glass dignifying the church on the inside. Troyes is known for its stained glass – vitrail – and, for those wishing to find a story in art, Troyes is the place to do it. The cathedral is an architectural wonder, and, historically, this church is the site of the signing of the Treaty of Troyes in May 1420. by King Henry V and Philippe le Bon of France. 

My next stop was the Apothicairerie de l’Hôtel-Dieu-le-Comte – one of my all-time favorite historical sites! Emerging beyond the threshold of the historic door (also utilized by the Cité du Vitrail), I was mesmerized. This museum presents an interior of an 18th-century French apothecary come to life with tours and unique earthenware, pillboxes, and bottles from the 16th-18th centuries. The gem of the collection is the visage of boxes. Gracing multiple walls are shelves replete with 319 cartouche-illustrated, rectangular wooden boxes, seemingly designed for the hall, with herbs and powders that reveal the profession of an 18th-century chemist. And we have grocer and druggist, Pierre Pomet to thank for these illustrations; they are taken from his 1695 book, L’Histoire générale des drogues.

After leaving the Apothicairerie, I visited the Musée des Beaux-Arts et d’Archéologie located on Rue de la Cité, down the street and around the corner from Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul. Then, to the Marché des Halles where I enjoyed an outstanding meal of lovely salad and oysters – huîtres– at a local restaurant. Requisite shopping followed. I bought some chocolate, a couple of stuffed animals (I am a collector!) as well as some gorgeous postcards (to complement the photos I took myself). To these souvenirs I added a prized Troyes poster depicting Holy samples of vitrail from Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul to bottle the memories of Troyes et Champagne. 

The significance of Troyes in its historical context was what drew the city to me. The same significance is what keeps drawing me back in many ways. While the actual visit concluded that day, the memories continue vividly and positively unrelenting. In un, deux, Troyes steps, the experience is one of a lifetime.  The tagline of Troyes la Champagne Tourisme is apt, indeed: “Explorez, Décrouvrez, Profitez” or “Explore, Discover, Benefit.” A dear place transcending time and place, providing lasting memories and rewards.