There are nine museums in Troyes including the Maison de l’Outil et de la Pensée Ouvrière, an unusual and charming museum dedicated to hand tools dating from the 18th and 19th centuries. Located in the rather unique Hotel de Mauroy there is an impressive collection of 20,000 tools ranging from the ornamental to the practical.
The Hôtel-Dieu-le-Comte houses a fabulous collection of pill boxes, medicine boxes and jars for lotions and potions in an apothecary that just as it did when it was created in the early 18th Century.
Troyes is known as the”town of ten churches” and is famous for its magnificent Cathedral of St Peter and St Paul. Its Gothic splendour, begun in the 12th Century remains unfinished, the tower of St Peter completed, the tower of St Paul never started. It doesn’t matter, the 180 amazing stained glass windows, created over four centuries from the 1400's won’t fail to impress.
At the Sainte Madeleine Church is a little memorial garden in honour of the children buried there over the centuries. It was said that unbaptized children were buried against the ancient walls of the 12th Century church, when it rained, the water cascaded from the roof tiles onto the children and baptised them so that they would go to heaven.
Troyes is broken up into eight areas:
Saint-Jean district or the Champagne Fairs district, Canal district, Arts district, Les Halles district, Saint-Nizier district, the old Jewish quarter, Cité district, Madeleine district.
Pick up a map from the tourist office, wear comfortable shoes and explore this lovely city.
Take a break in Troyes
The very popular Saint Jean Quarter is chock full of lively restaurants and brasseries ranging from haute cuisine to homely fare. The andouillette de Troyes is much loved by locals who’ll tell you it is a delicious sausage – however, those with a bit of a squeamish outlook on food might like to know its made from tripe (offal). .
There are some wonderful bakeries, patisseries, cheese shops and charcuteries and you’ll find a market every day of the week in the town (there are several different markets) as well as a lovely 19th Century Halles (indoor covered market).