France Guide
The Loire
Hôtel Cabu
Opening time: May, June & Sept Tues– Sat 1.30–5.45pm, Sun 2–6.30pm; July & Aug Tues– Sat 9.30am–12.15pm & 1.30–5.45pm, Sun 2–6.30pm; Oct– April Wed & Sat 1.30–5.45pm, Sun 2–5.45pm
Price: €3; same ticket as Musée des Beaux-Arts
If you follow rue Jeanne-d'Arc east from the cathedral and turn left down rue Charles-Sanglier, you'll find the ornate Hôtel Cabu, whose three tiers faithfully follow the three main classical orders in strict Renaissance style. Inside, a small historical and archeological museum houses the extraordinary Treasure of Neuvy-en-Sullias, a collection of bronze animals and figurines found near Orléans in 1861. The cache was probably buried in the second half of the third century AD, either to protect it from Germanic invaders or to stop it being melted down for coinage at a time of rampant inflation, and possibly represents the last flourishing of Celtic religion at the end of the Gallo-Roman period. The floors above house various medieval oddities and Joan-related pieces, as well as exhibits on the history of Orléans. The entrance is on square Abbé-Desnoyers.