Eglise Saint-Nicolas

Built between 1138 and the early 13th century, the former abbey church of Saint-Laumer displays features of early Gothic art. Fleeing the Normans, Benedictine monks in charge of the relics of their founder Saint-Laumer found refuge in Blois. They decided to build their monastery there, the Saint-Laumer abbey church, commonly known as the Saint-Nicolas church. Between 1138 and 1186, the monks built the choir, transept and a first bay, completing the whole at the beginning of the following century. When the Wars of Religion broke out, the church was mutilated and the abbey destroyed by the Protestants. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the abbey was rebuilt, before becoming the Hôtel-Dieu during the French Revolution.

At the foot of the château, one of Blois' historic districts surrounds the church of Saint-Nicolas. The narrow streets lined with old houses are reminiscent of medieval towns.
From the château's terrace, you can admire the church's large roofs, buttresses and slate-covered spires. Leaving the church through the large Louis XIII portal, you're overwhelmed by the large, narrow façade, squeezed between two powerful pillars. The three portals are of unequal width and are surmounted by an elegant gallery of arcatures, which occupies the entire width of the façade. It is surmounted by a rose, repaired in the 17th century. Only one monumental gargoyle remains above it, the other being at the foot of the staircase leading to the château.
The central and north gates were originally decorated with statues, now destroyed. Finally, two towers of unequal width, each ending in a belfry, were topped with spires in the 19th century, as was the lantern.

To fully appreciate the beauty of the building, you need to go to the Quai de Loire, around the Hôtel-Dieu. Beyond the gardens, the abbey church stands out with its harmoniously superimposed chevet, transept, nave with powerful, elegant buttresses, and a whole series of towers and lanterns. The whole, set within the Hôtel-Dieu buildings and dominated by the imposing mass of the château, gives the impression of harmony and grandeur characteristic of the heritage of the Loire Valley.

- Open daily (9am-6.30pm). Free admission.