3,061 views
The Isole and Ellé rivers join under stone arches to form the Laïta, which the tide brings up twice a day. From the quays, the city has peacefully flourished by gaining the heights. To the religious monuments of its origins, it has associated medieval alleys and testimonies of port and commercial life. The three rivers embrace the cradle of the city. On this peninsula, the Benedictines founded the abbey of Sainte-Croix in the 11th century. The church, a jewel of Romanesque art, is remarkable for its circular plan, similar to that of the church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Around it, witnesses of religious and civil history crowd together, the half-timbered houses (from the 15th to the 17th century), the medieval flowered bridge with its donkey-backed deck, the rich hotels of the notables' district. On the quays, beautiful stone residences attest to the flourishing port activity. The market halls, built in 1887, enliven and add color to the historic heart.