As you stroll through the streets of Villedieu-les-Poêles

To discover Villedieu-les-Poêles, there’s nothing like a stroll through its charming streets, where the cobblestones seem to whisper forgotten stories. A small, authentic town with a well-preserved architectural heritage, Villedieu will enchant you with its gentle way of life. Here, the steady rustle of the Sienne, the river that flows through the town, invites you to contemplate and unwind…

Our walk begins in the Parc de la Commanderie, a small haven of greenery between two arms of the Sienne, where you can see the old hide drying sheds, buildings with airy facades made of wooden slats. This is where the tanners and leather workers gathered to wash the hides in the Siena before drying them.

We now walk along the semi-pedestrian Rue du Docteur Havard to the washhouses. With its granite-fronted bourgeois houses that seem to lean gracefully towards the walker, this street is not lacking in charm. We take time to admire the small cobbled square of the Pussoir Fidèle, where we imagine the washerwomen of the last century in great conversation, baskets of wet linen under their arms.

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Lavoirs de Villedieu - Anibas Photography

We cross the bridge to the public square. At any time of year, the view is sure to amaze. In winter, the roofs of the washhouses are sometimes adorned with snow, while the church steeple sparkles faintly in the season’s timid sunshine. In spring and summer, the banks of the Sienna are in bloom, and the green contrasts pleasantly with the stone and wood of the lavoirs. An exclusively feminine space, the washhouse was the ideal place to catch up on the latest gossip, but also to create a real close-knit community where the worries of some also became those of others.

We leave the square for the Cour du Foyer. A remarkable example of typical Villedieu architecture, this courtyard-workshop, like the forty or so other courtyards that dot the town, served as a home and workshop for the copper-working guilds that made Villedieu the jewel of copper craftsmanship. Sunny days allowed workers to work outdoors, shaping metal on wooden logs used as molds. With their wrought-iron staircases, stone arches, arched windows and potted flowers, these little courtyards have a unique atmosphere that you won’t find anywhere else!

And so ends this stroll through the streets of Villedieu-les-Poêles, between workshop courtyards and washhouses, where every nook and cranny, every architectural detail, every chance encounter evokes a rich and vibrant heritage.