Paris1972-Versailles2003

While coming from Chartres on the N154/D2020 (the D2020 old N20 we took so many times (memory gleen in my eyes) to Orléans a wonderful trip to see another of our nice cities long while not revisited until now, First thing, first, we headed for our hotel. Let me take you into historical Orléans with curiosities of Orléans, part I !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I

The Hôtel Saint Aignan, 3 place Gambetta is close to all amenities (shops, cultural and administrative places) in Orléans, The Saint-Aignan is a hotel, with modern architecture, newly renovated, with an elevator. It is 200 meters from the Saint-Aignan SNCF train station, the proximity with the abundance of places to visit such as the imposing Place du Martroi, and the House of Joan of Arc. The Gothic Sainte-Croix Cathedral is just 900 meters away and the iconic streets of Bourgogne or Empereur are a few hundred meters away.This was a great find centrally located , we parked underground there, and walk all over!!! We had a family room in the 4th floor all by ourselves!! webpage: https://www.hotel-saintaignan.com/

The city goes back several thousands years but the most important event was that took place with Jeanne d’Arc and its liberation on May 8 1429. Later after much destruction in WWII it was liberated again by Gen Patton of the US 3rd Army in 1945.  I have other posts with plenty of history so will spare this post with new text and pictures of our latest visit. As said, we did our usual walk around and got hungry really quick , so let’s start with that ok

Le Brin de Zinc is located at 62-64 rue Sainte Catherine. We were walking the beat after arriving at the hotel and passed by it on our way to the cathedral. We saw we like the ambiance and presentation and took reservation for the evening meal at 19h Great deal and glad we did. We were there with our dog Rex and all went well. The bistro propose at apéro time (sort of like happy hour/after work) dishes where you can share from different gastronomic themes . The ardoises or black board menus can be taken as entrées, and are very varied. You have several dishes to choose from from fish to meats, cocottes mussels, etc Le Brin de Zinc, also propose burgers, which I took the Zinc burger, and fries, A platter of café gourmand, and plenty of Licorne Alsacien beer pints ! A wonderful evening indeed. webpage: https://lebrindezinc.fr/

As we walked and cross these wonderful avenues, we saw the inevitable! The Gare d’Orléans or train station with a nice shopping center Place d’Arc as well as bus terminal all in one. The public transport TAO network in the area of Orléans métropole and connections between the train stations are: https://www.reseau-tao.fr/index.php

We saw two nice tramways passing by but hesitate on taken them as we were walking, simply better. For the memories the tramways , first one passing Rue Royale and the other one Place du Martroi. They too use the TAO network above. I always come to Orléans by car.fyi

The city center around the place du Martroi, is wonderful central square where all goes on, The place du Martroi, symbolic heart of the city has a huge equestrian statue of Jeanne d’Arc where she is bigger than the horse, at WWII this sculpture was partially destroyed and it was rebuilt by sculptor Paul Belmondo ,father of the famous actor Jean-Paul Belmondo (recently passed away). There is ,also, a wonderful carrousel here , and criss cross by a multitude of public transport like tramways! You need to be here!!!

Most of the information above is taken from the wonderful regional site of Orléans Metropôle here in English: https://www.orleans-metropole.fr/decouvrir-la-metropole-orleanaise/orleans-capitale-du-centre-val-de-loire

The dept 45 Loiret tourist office on Orléans in French: https://www.tourismeloiret.com/fr/decouvrir/les-incontournables-made-loiret/orleans-la-chatoyante

There you go folks, a dandy town of Joan! and a lot more of course! This is Orléans and we love the city, should be back , worth your detour , recommended.. Again, hope you enjoy the brief take on the curiosities of Orléans, part I !!! as I.

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!