You are here: Visit FranceRegions of FranceLoire ValleyLoir-et-CherVendome

Vendome

Visit Vendome (Loire Valley, France)

The town of Vendome is situated on the Loir River in the Loir-et-Cher department (Centre region) about 30 kilometres north-west of Blois and only 40 minutes by train from Paris, making vendome a popular commuter town with people working in the capital.

Exploring Vendome

Despite the town center suffering substantial damage during bombardments in the Second World War, Vendome has preserved various monuments and buildings of historical importance, and has several park areas - as a result the town is classified as both a 'town of art and history' and a '4* town in bloom'. There is also a substantial pedestrianised centre to Vendome with a good selection of shops and cafes.

Start your visit at the Vendome Tourist Office, itself in a listed building (the Hotel du Saillant) at 47 Rue Poterie. The highlights of your visit include:

Abbey of the Trinity: the most important monument in Vendome the abbey dominates the town center. Built originally in the 11th century in the roman style (the tall tower dates from this period), most of the current abbey church is a gothic style reconstruction from the 13th century onwards - both the facade and the chevet are in this ornate decorative style called 'flamboyant'.

Another part of the abbey buildings now contains the town Museum, with artefacts from the history of the town as well as sections dedicated to paintings and ceramics.

Vendome castle: unusually for the Loire region the castle in Vendome was never restored or converted into a renaissance style mansion and its extensive ruins stand evocatively along a hilltop above the town.

The castle ruins are now explored as part of a large park area.

Place Saint Martin: originally the site of a gothic style church of which only the tower now remains. as well as the tower you can see a four storey medieval house and a statue of Marechal de Rochambeau

The ramparts: constructed and improved from the 13th century onwards there are various places in Vendome where you can see traces of the defensive ramparts.

The most important is the imposing Porte Saint Georges, one of four gateways that originally provided access to the historic town (the others are no longer standing) that also served as the Town hall over a period of several hundred years, and several other sections of wall and towers (the Tour de l'islette, the Porte d'Eau) can also be seen.

You can also see several medieval half-timbered houses dating from the 15th century onwards in the center of Vendome, and stroll along the river in the carefully maintained gardens of Park Ronsard, which include a 15th century washhouse.

The principal market in Vendome is held in the town center each Friday.

Photos taken within 10 km

Tourist classifications for Vendome

Vendome has received the following tourist classifications: listed town of Art and History ; village in bloom (ville fleurie) 4*

Address: Vendôme, Loir-et-Cher, Loire Valley, 41100 || GPS: latitude 47.793611, longitude 1.066389

Map of Vendome & places nearby



 

Highlights close by

More suggestions: Chateau de Chambord 39km; Chateau de Cheverny 44km;

See lots more places to visit nearby and a more detailed map at places near Vendome.
See Loire Valley and Loir-et-Cher (the region and department for Vendome) for more travel ideas...

Suggested tourist attractions to visit near Vendome, France

• Jardin du domaine de Sasnières - remarkable garden (13km)
• Lavardin - most beautiful village (15km)
• Jardin du château de Talcy - remarkable garden (28km)
• Talcy Chateau - national monument (28km)
• Roseraie des terrasses de l’évêché - remarkable garden (30km)
• Blois - secteur sauvegarde (30km)
• Réserve de Beaumarchais - zoo or wildlife park (30km)
• Jardins du château de Poncé - remarkable garden (31km)
• Cogners - ville fleurie 4* (32km)
• Domaine régional de Chaumont-sur-Loire - remarkable garden (36km)

The French version of this page is at Vendome (Francais)