Glass, timber and an alley cats could cross

Everything here sits inside the old town the tourist board calls the Champagne Cork, a short walk from Cathédrale car park. I'd give it a full day and keep the outlet villages for the morning after.

1. Look up inside the cathedral

Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul holds about 1,500 m² of stained glass. Go on a bright morning, when the nave is full of colour.

2. Squeeze through the Ruelle des Chats

The roofs of the Ruelle des Chats lean so close that cats could cross between the attics, hence the 19th-century nickname. Walk on into the Cour du Mortier d'Or at the end.

3. Find the stone screen at Sainte-Madeleine

The rood screen in Sainte-Madeleine was carved by Jean Gailde between 1508 and 1517. It's the one thing in town I'd cross the street twice for.

4. Walk round Saint-Urbain

Saint-Urbain went up between 1262 and 1286, yet its stone nave vault took six centuries to finish. See the outside first.

5. Give the tool museum an hour

The Maison de l'Outil holds 12,000 tools in a mansion from 1560. It's the museum I'd pick on a wet afternoon.

6. Shop the outlet villages on a weekday

Wikipedia calls Troyes the European capital of factory outlets, with three brand centres. McArthurGlen opens at 10:00 on weekdays; that's when I'd go.

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Andouillette, Chaource and a sloe digestif

1. Order the andouillette

Troyes's pork sausage was first mentioned in 1590 and is cooked for about five hours. The AAAAA (5A) diploma is the label to look for. La Barge, a restaurant on a barge, serves one from Maury's.

2. Buy Chaource at Les Halles

The covered market at Les Halles dates from 1874. It's open Friday and Saturday 07:00–19:00, but closes at 13:00 on Sundays and Mondays. Pick up Chaource, the local PDO cheese; La Barge also serves it roasted with honey.

3. Take home a Prunelle de Troyes

The tourist board says this sloe-stone digestif is made only at the Cellier Saint-Pierre. The same shop sells Rosé des Riceys, an Aube speciality. That's what I'd put in the boot.

Toussaint free days and an unconfirmed Christmas market

1. Park free on 1 and 11 November

Sunday 1 November and Wednesday 11 November 2026 are public holidays, so the kerb and the open-air car parks are free all day. McArthurGlen opens 09:30–19:30 on 1 November.

2. Check the Christmas market dates

The market sits on the Forum de l'Hôtel de Ville. A listings site gives 27 November to 27 December 2026 but marks it unconfirmed, and the city hadn't published dates when I checked.

3. Don't plan around the Foires de Champagne

A listings site says the big Troyes fair was last held in 2019 and gives no confirmed date for 2027.

A treaty, a fire and a scholar

1. Date the treaty to 1420

The Treaty of Troyes was signed here on 21 May 1420. It betrothed Henry V of England to Catherine of France.

2. Blame 1524 for the timber

A fire in 1524 destroyed about 1,500 houses, a third of the city. Most of the half-timbered houses still standing date from the 16th century.

3. Remember Rashi, born 1040

The commentator Rashi was born in Troyes in 1040 and founded an influential school of Jewish thought here.