When State Meets Church – Lorsque l’état rencontre l’église

The town hall in the village of Seur looks as though it’s attached to the church from this side but they are actually quite distinct as you can see below. On dirait que la mairie de Seur est contiguë à l’église de ce côté-ci mais on voit dans la deuxième photo qu’elles sont distinctes.

Town Hall in Tours – L'hôtel de ville à Tours

The town hall in the city of Tours, built between 1896 and 1904, always makes a great photo. The window boxes are stunning as usual. You can see a close-up of one below. La mairie de Tours, construite entre 1896 et 1904, est très photogénique. Les jardinières sont toujours aussi merveilleuses. Vous pouvez voir un zoom ci-dessous.

Cheverny Town Hall – Mairie de Cheverny

In a country where church and state are very separate, it’s unusual to see a town hall attached to a church, but in Cour-Cheverny, the town hall was built during the last quarter of the 19th century up against Eglise Saint-Aignan, a 12th century building refurbished in the 16th century. Dans un pays où l’église et …

First Bike Ride for the Year – Première virée en vélo pour l'année

Easter Monday was supposed to be quite warm but it wasn’t. It was overcast with light spitting from time to time. We decided to cycle to Molineuf anyway. This is the town hall, looking a little dismal. Le lundi de Pacques ne devait pas être trop froid mais nous étions déçus. Le ciel était nuageux …

Fougères sur Bièvre Town Hall – Mairie de Fougères-sur-Bièvre

There are two Châteaux à Vélo itineraries that include Fougères sur Bièvres so we often cycle there. The twell-restored own hall with its mullion window was looking its best when we went there on Thursday. Il  y a deux itinéraires Châteaux à Vélo qui passent par Fougères sur Bièvres donc nous y allons souvent en …

Postcard from Germany – Bamberg, a world heritage site

The old town hall in Bamberg is no doubt its most well-known building. It was built in the 14th century and rebuilt by the people of Bamberg after it was destroyed by fire in 1440. The historical centre of Bamberg was declared a world heritage site in 1993 because of its beautifully preserved mediaeval centre. …

Tavers Town Hall – Mairie de Tavers

I’m always surprised at the town halls in some of the villages in France. Tavers is only a couple of kilometres from Beaugency and has a population of less than 1500 people, yet it has this lovely garden in front of the town hall. Je suis toujours étionnée de voir les mairies dans certains villages …

Je suis Charlie in Tours

“I prefer to die standing up rather than live on my knees” is the motto currently displayed on the town hall in Tours in honour of Stéphane Charbonnier, alias Charb, French satirical cartoonist and journalist who was one of the victims of the terrorist shootings that took place in the office of the newspaper Charlie Hebdo on 7th …

Christmas at Tours City Hall – Noël à l'hôtel de ville de Tours

We were in Tours yesterday but the white Christmas trees seemed a little early with everyone still sitting on the café terraces! Nous étions à Tours hier mais les sapins de noël blancs semblaient là un peu tôt vu le nombre de personnes en terrasse.