Tours and discoveries
The heights of the Sainte-Croix cathedral in Orleans
Are you planning on visiting this essential Orleans landmark and already wondering if you’re allowed up on the roof?
Rest assured, you can climb the 252 steps inside the Cathedral tower. You’ll be rewarded for your efforts with the most majestic view of the city.
A breathtaking 360-degree vista taking in both the city’s urban landscape and natural beauty in Sologne, the Loire Valley and Orleans Forest. Over 330 hectares of woodland are visible within 1.5 kilometres of the Cathedral towers!
The city’s underground sites
The city’s subterranean treasures date back to the Middle Ages, a golden age for Orleans, once the capital of the kingdom of the Franks.
The crypts
Descend into the depths of Orleans to explore its crypts, underground chambers built as tombs beneath the city’s churches.
The crypts of St. Aignan and St. Avit are open to the public with a guide.
Take a tour of these two Romanesque relics dating from the 11th century and listen to their histories.
Porte Bannier
Porte Bannier was a city gate built in the second medieval wall that once surrounded Orleans.
Accessed via a trap door concealed in the esplanade of Place du Martroi, a hidden staircase takes you down to Porte Bannier, also visible from the car park beneath the square.
The original gate was erected in the 14th century. All that remains is the ditch and substructure which includes the stone foot bridge, the drawbridge (reconstruction) and the avant-corps.
Our guided tours
All of these sites can be visited with a guide.
Sound good? Plan your stay in Orleans ahead by booking one of our guided tours with Orléans Val de Loire Tourisme:
- Orleans top to bottom: from the heights of Sainte-Croix Cathedral to the bowels of St. Avit’s crypt;
- The city from below: learn the fascinating history of St. Aignan’s crypt, St. Avit’s crypt;
- The mysteries of St. Aignan’s crypt: a narrated, candlelit tour with a guide in costume.
At your leisure
Architecture
Walking is the best way to truly see the city.
And Orleans city centre is absolutely made for strolling and wandering.
The city has an impressive collection of architectural landmarks that bear witness to a history that dates back thousands of years.
Look up! You’ll be rewarded with the sight of so much ornamentation on many of the city’s medieval houses and Renaissance buildings. GéoMOTifs is a fun app specially designed to showcase the city’s wealth of decoration on the building exteriors. Get into the details and bring a fresh dimension to your tour of Orleans!
The city’s rich, 20th and 21st century architectural heritage is little known but truly remarkable. From Art Nouveau to buildings dating from the new millennium, discover the cool and unusual buildings around Orleans.
Street-art
Orleans and street art, a long-term relationship!
From cats painted on hard-to-reach surfaces by Thoma Vuilla, aka Monsieur Chat, now an internationally recognised artist, to the graffitied walls of the former Dessaux vinegar factory, not to mention the ‘MUR Orléans’, MifaMosa’s mosaics, the famous fish by Rire fish and the Levalet collages, Orleans is awash with street art.
Indeed, street art even has two dedicated annual events, the Loire Art Show and Roads Festival which promote urban and contemporary arts to wider audiences.