GROUPS AND PROFESSIONALS 2019

TWICE AS MANY STORIES IN VALLEY 2 Contents

4 Two monuments ; one unique experience

5 A scenographic tour

6 The royal residence: a key site in French history

7 The keep: dive into the world of incarceration at the end of the Middle Ages

9 New for 2019 : The Histopad© tablet opens the doors to history

10 2019 Highlights 500 Years of the Renaissance: "Sforza, a patron in prison" exhibition

11 The « Cité Royale de » with the family Tour options

12 Useful information

3 Two monuments one unique experience

While Renaissance châteaux flourished in the Loire Valley, medieval fortresses were more rare. Due to the remarkable character of its residence and keep, Loches is home to one of the most beautiful fortified cities in which dominates the town and the bucolic valley. The residence is an architectural gem of the end of the Middle Ages and welcomed Joan of Arc, and King Charles VII's favourite, Agnès Sorel.

An unusual figure on the Loire Valley château scene, the 37-metre high keep is a masterpiece of 11th century military architecture and one of the best-preserved in Europe. Its many painted and engraved inscriptions enable visitors to soak up the world of prison at the time.

A new experience for visitors launched in 2018 with never-before-seen scenography in an interactive tour packed with audio, videos and projections. This journey takes visitors through five centuries of history, just 40 minutes from Beauval Zoo.

4 One place, two monuments

As the property of Indre & Loire Council, the two monuments (residence and keep) have been pooled under the same name, the Cité Royale, relating to the place's topography (a fortified city) and history (royal if you think about all the rulers who visited or stayed in Loches at the end of the Middle Ages). A scenographic tour

The Cité Royale de Loches launched a new interactive tour for visitors in spring 2018. Audio markers, information panels, video animation, projections, fifteen areas have been designed (six in the residence and nine in the keep) and furnished in the spirit of the site, covering almost 700m2. The myriad exciting interactive tools based on several themes - iconic figures, site functions, architectural features - are suitable for all ages. Soak up five centuries of history

The residence tour - The residence's first floor is the main exhibition area. - The tour showcases the different areas by blending lighting, audio ambience, specific fixtures (bed, podium, canopy) and multimedia features (audio benches, animated projection, digital "flipper").

The keep tour - The Round Tower and Martelet Tower are the main exhibition areas. - Every themed area is introduced by specific lighting, a stand and audio markers. - The tour combines multimedia features (touchscreen, audio markers) and interactive items (chessboard).

All the communication tools and audio and video content are in both French and English.

5 The royal residence THE GRANDES HEURES OF A key site ANNE OF in French history BRITTANY painter Jean Bourdichon The Loches royal residence is an (1457-1521) was the "painter and valet to the king's chamber" and Anne of architectural gem from the end of the Brittany commissioned him to produce this masterpiece of 476 pages and Middle Ages (rayonnant and flamboyant 337 marginal illuminations in 1508: The Gothic) with a terraced wall overlooking a Grandes Heures of Anne of Brittany. The book of hours is a summary of the flora and Town of Art and History. The views stretch fauna that Anne had a habit of seeing and admiring in the , Blois and Loches deep into the Indre Valley as far as the gr