Jacques Coeur Palace, Bourges, France

Born in Bourges some time around the year 1400, Jacques Coeur rapidly rose to the top of the social ladder. After his appointment as Finance Minister to the King and being made a nobleman, he began the construction of his Palace, which was finished around 1450.

This monument was unique in France for its time but illustrates well the original personality of its builder. It is a precursor of the mansions of the Renaissance period: the large main building is constructed against the Gallo-Roman wall. The galleries running around the courtyard link it to the chapel over the main doorway.

Great care was taken to make the Palace both comfortable and hygienic (washrooms, latrines). The reception rooms and private apartments have richly decorated fireplaces. The different parts of the building are linked by a particularly practical system of spiral staircases, passages and galleries.

References:

City of Bourges

User Reviews

Motorhome Quest (2 years ago)
The rooms aren't decorated with furniture and art. However, for us, we felt it would have distracted us from the real gems of the palace. Which is the architecture and carvings. You need to look closely to spot some of the carvings.

Tormi Voksepp (2 years ago)
Exquisite palace, big and lavish. Unfortunately only sad thing is that you can see architecture and building materials but all the rooms are very empty, some places have a few furniture items, some only pictures of objects, so the space seems too unoccupied, other than that it is a marvel!

Konstantinos Markakis (2 years ago)
Very well preserved, worth the visit.

Paul Kroopkin (2 years ago)
A very good tourist attraction - the palace of Jacques Coeur - 15th century.

Margarita (2 years ago)
Pretty interior, and offers nice views of the city on the top floors! If you’re under 27 the entrance is free

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Photo from Flickr, copyright Mark1792

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Jacques Coeur Palace

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