Bourges - France's secret treasure
A gothic city par excellence
Bourges is one of France's most well kept secrets. The cathedral was started at the same time as Chartres, and it's of the same high quality as its more famous rival - some would say it's better. And the city has more surviving half timbered houses than almost anywhere else in France. There are fine late Gothic palaces and delightful cobbled streets.
Yet you won't find throngs of tourists in the streets - or even in the cathedral.
Our Podtour™ shows you around the city, starting with the ruins of the Palace of the Duc de Berry. We'll learn about Jean, Duc de Berry, the greatest art patron of his age, and Jacques Coeur, the richest man in fifteenth-century France. Jacques Coeur built himself a wonderful palace here - but never lived in it; he was arrested by the king, and made his escape to Rome, and then to a crusade he never finished. 
And we'll visit the cathedral. It's a visionary work of Gothic architecture, with its double aisles, immense height, and single, unbroken space - a work of unity that was finished in a single building campaign and has remained almost unchanged ever since. We'll also see some gorgeous stained glass, from Jacques Coeur's charming Annunciation window to the amazing set of original thirteenth century windows; and we'll see one of the earliest medieval clocks in Europe - certainly the most accurate!
Our Podtour starts at the ruins of the Palais des Ducs de Berry and finishes at the cathedral.
This Podtour costs £4.50
