Take A Stroll In Parthenay

Located on a promontory overlooking the River Thouet in Deux-Sèvres, this fortified town is a haven of medieval houses and winding alleyways, as Sue Harper reveals

- Sue Harper

I scale the last few steep steps to the turret of the archers’ tower flanking the 13th-century Porte Saint Jacques in Parthenay, Deux-Sèvres, and look down over half-timbered houses. A granite promontory, once crowned by a fortified château, rises dramatically from the flood plain of the River Thouet, which meanders through lush greenery around two sides of the town. The river mirrors the arches of a Romanesque bridge and I am tempted to believe the legend that the water spirit Melusine created Parthenay with a wave of her magic wand.

I discovered this town in 2011 and have returned to reacquaint myself with its quiet beauty. On Rue de la Vau Saint Jacques, the main street in the medieval quarter, I look back through Porte Saint Jacques and imagine how pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain must have felt entering this fortified town.