Saint Aubin Tower

The Saint Eloi square, hidden behind the historic buildings, reveals some of the town’s landmarks. The imposing Saint Aubin tower stands before you and is part of the abbey bearing the same name, which stood here between the 12th and 19th centuries. Severely damaged during the Revolution, the church was demolished in the 1830s to make way for the headquarters of the Prefecture, but, fortunately its bell tower was spared. Nowadays, the 54-metre-high Saint Aubin tower stands proudly in the heart of the Saint Eloi square. To your right, the Fine Arts Museum overlooks the square. It is housed in a former mansion called the Logis Barrault, which was home to a number of great figures of the time, including Marie de Médicis and Louis XII. From the Middle Ages to the Renaissance, this museum houses small artistic treasures such as paintings from the French and Italian schools, 19th-century pictures and works of modern and contemporary art. One of these, by the sculptor Igor Mitoraj, can be seen on the square opposite the entrance to the museum. Created in 1993, it depicts an enigmatic face that has not yet been completed. It is one of the most snapped works in the city, probably because of its intriguing nature!