The palace of Poitiers, the highest point of the city

The palace has changed over the ages. The building that can be seen today is a mixture of buildings built at different times. The great hall dates from the 12th century, the Maubergeon tower from the 14th, and the columns that can be seen from Place Lepetit celebrated their 200th anniversary 2 years ago. A palace that was almost damaged during the Second World War. Place Lepetit was completely blown away. The damage to the palace was limited to the stained glass windows.

The palace is in the heart of Poitiers, in fact the highest point in the city is the Salle des Pas Perdus. At the time the palace proudly dominated the city. He then became surrounded by different buildings. It might not seem like it, but the palace measures a little over 6000m2 and contains 300 rooms. In medieval times there were lounges, kitchens, state rooms. Over the last 200 years, the palace instead contained courtrooms, offices, libraries for the needs of the courthouse.

The largest room in the palace and this room of lost steps. It measures 850m2 and it was the lost steps room from the time of the courthouse. This hall is the largest medieval Gothic civil hall in Europe. Originally it was a reception room, intended to impress visitors. Receptions were organized there, and justice was already administered there.

In this room, you can notably observe 3 immense fireplaces built by Jean de Berry in the 14th century, while the rest of the room dates from the 12th century.

Today in this room you can see the exhibition, “The palace, a construction site in history”, which allows you to understand the different stages of construction of the palace from the first mentions of the palace to today.

This tower has the shape of a dungeon and only has one and a half floors. It is believed that this half floor must have been higher originally. It was long thought that this tower was never finished, but with the latest excavations, it is now believed that it was probably destroyed during the Religious War.

When you look at the drawing of this “tower” you can observe a large rectangle surrounded by 4 turrets. The specificity is that no turret is the same size.

The Maubergeon tower dates from the 14th century, also built by Jean de Berry who belonged to the Royal family, third son of the King of France John II known as the Good, brother of Charles V and uncle of Charles VI.

The city of Poitiers bought the Palace in 2020 with a major rehabilitation project underway to make the place accessible to all and open to the city. The program also includes demolitions of buildings to make it more visible than today from the adjacent streets. The future palace will remain an exceptional but very lively heritage site, with exhibition and performance spaces, but also an architecture and heritage interpretation center, a café, a restaurant, work spaces and a community center. Construction is scheduled to be completed in 2029.

The Palace can be visited freely and free of charge every day from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Paid guided tours lasting 1 hour are organized on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 11:30 a.m. from July 6 to August 31.
You can also visit the archaeological excavations at Square Jeanne d’Arc every Friday at 12:30 p.m. until July 12 for free.
Many workshops for children are offered throughout the summer, with different themes (knights, stained glass, role play, Eleanor, Architects, etc.). Tuesdays are dedicated to 5-7 year olds and Thursdays to 8-12 year olds. The full program can be found on the website www.lepalais.poitiers.fr