Poitiers is one of the great historic cities of France, though it is surprisingly little visited. Set on a rocky promontory between two rivers in west-central France, it has been a crossroads since Roman times — Charles Martel turned back the Moorish advance here in 732, and the Black Prince captured the French king nearby in 1356.
The city's real treasure is its Romanesque architecture. Notre-Dame la Grande, with its astonishing 12th-century sculptured facade, is one of the finest Romanesque churches in France. The Baptistère Saint-Jean, dating to the 4th century, is one of the oldest Christian buildings in Europe. And the old town, climbing the hill between the rivers Clain and Boivre, is full of medieval half-timbered houses, Renaissance hôtels particuliers, and quiet lanes.
Poitiers is also a lively university city — one of the oldest in France — and the nearby Futuroscope theme park, focused on multimedia and visual technology, draws families from across the country. The combination of deep history and student energy makes it one of the more interesting stops on the route between Paris and the southwest.