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TOURISM

Four reasons why you should visit France’s ‘ugly’ town of Niort

The little known French town of Niort in western France has hit the headlines after being described "one of the ugliest" in a new book by controversial French author Michel Houllebecq. But here are four reasons why Niort is really worth a visit.

Published: 4 January 2019 17:35 CET
Four reasons why you should visit France's 'ugly' town of Niort
The Donjon de Niort is a medieval castle in the French town. Photo: dynamosquito/Flickr

The French city of Niort lies in the department of Deux-Sèvres in the western region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It sits on the River Sèvre Niortaise and is home to around 53,000 people. 

Niort is also one of France's main financial centres, ranked fourth ranked after Paris, Lyon and Lille. At least that's according to Wikipedia which explains that the town is “the French capital of mutual insurance and bank companies”.

Nevertheless, Niort has taken a bashing by one of France's 'greatest living writers' Michel Houllebecq who, in his latest novel, has his protagonist describes it as “one of the ugliest” towns he has ever seen.

But here's a list reasons why Niort is actually well worth a visit. 

READ ALSO:

'Ugly' French town hits back at literary rebel Houellebecq Photo: AFP

Old Niort 

Exploring Old Niort, which sits on two hills, can mean a bit of a workout but it's worth the effort. 
 
Get hold of a list of where to find the traditional timber-framed houses, such as Maison de la Vierge, and “hotels particuliers” (or mansion houses) from the tourist office to make sure you see the best architecture the city has to offer. 
 
Be sure to visit the old town's Rue du Pont, where you'll find the stunning l’Hôtel de Chaumont, which dates to the 1400s and was the birthplace of Françoise d’Aubigné, the second wife of Louis XIV.

On top of that, at the very heart of Old Niort, you'll find an impressive trapezoidal hall where the medieval pillory (stocks) used to be appropriately named Le Pilori.

Nowadays, it's a space for temporary art exhibitions.

Les Halles de Niort. Photo: Jfpnt/Wikicommons

Les Halles de Niort

For food lovers Les Halles de Niort is a must-visit.
 
This indoor market is beautiful to look at from the outside and fun and vibrant inside. 
 
More than 100 traders do business in Les Halles de Niort and anyone who loves French food and produce will be amazed by the quality and variety available, from meats and cheeses, to fish, fruit and honey and much more. 
 
The best time to visit is early on Saturday for market day.

Cultural highlights

The Donjon de Niort is a medieval castle located in the old town and was built by English kings Henry II and Richard the Lionheart and offers spectacular views over the city and river. 

Meanwhile the Musée Bernard d’Agesci is dedicated to the work of the 18th century painter who was born in Niort and established the city's first library and opened a museum and botanical garden.

Musée Bernard d’Agesci. Photo: Théo Henri/Flickr

The Église Notre-Dame is the oldest church in Niort and is in the Gothic style, with work on it beginning in the 1400s and ending in 1534. 

Angelica

Angelica is a herb made locally into a flavouring for liqueurs or for medicinal purposes in Niort and since 1602 this plant has been cultivated to cure a myriad of ailments.   
 
It is said to have many properties, including the power to “make people happy” and the mayor of the city Jerome Baloge wasted no time in saying he would send some to Houllebecq who is famously morose. 

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TRAVEL NEWS

Why are fewer British tourists visiting Spain this year?

Almost 800,000 fewer UK holidaymakers have visited Spain in 2023 when compared to 2019. What’s behind this big drop?

Published: 23 August 2023 11:36 CEST
Updated: 26 August 2023 18:32 CEST
Why are fewer British tourists visiting Spain this year?

Spain welcomed 12.2 million UK tourists between January and July 2023, 6 percent less when compared to the same period in 2019, according to data released on Monday by Spanish tourism association Turespaña.

This represents a decrease of 793,260 British holidaymakers for Spain so far this year.

Conversely, the number of Italian (+8 percent), Irish (+15.3 percent), Portuguese (+24.8 percent), Dutch (+4 percent) and French tourists (+5 percent) visiting España in 2023 are all above the rates in 2019, the last pre-pandemic year. 

German holidaymakers are together with their British counterparts the two main nationalities showing less interest in coming to Spanish shores.

Britons still represent the biggest tourist group that comes to Spain, but it’s undergoing a slump, with another recent study by Caixabank Research suggesting numbers fell particularly in June 2023 (-12.5 percent of the usual rate). 

READ ALSO: Spain fully booked for summer despite most expensive holiday prices ever

So are some Britons falling out of love with Spain? Are there clear reasons why a holiday on the Spanish coast is on fewer British holiday itineraries?

According to Caixabank Research’s report, the main reasons are “the poor macroeconomic performance of the United Kingdom, the sharp rise in rates and the weakness of the pound”.

This is evidenced in the results of a survey by British market research company Savanta, which found that one in six Britons are not going on a summer holiday this year due to the UK’s cost-of-living crisis.

Practically everything, everywhere has become more expensive, and that includes holidays in Spain: hotel stays are up 44 percent, eating out is 13 percent pricier, and flights are 40 percent more on average. 

READ ALSO: How much more expensive is it to holiday in Spain this summer?

Caixabank stressed that another reason for the drop in British holidaymakers heading to Spain is that those who can afford a holiday abroad are choosing “more competitive markets” such as Turkey, Greece and Portugal. 

And there’s no doubt that the insufferably hot summer that Spain is having, with four heatwaves so far, has also dissuaded many holidaymakers from Blighty from overcooking in the Spanish sun. 

With headlines such as “This area of Spain could become too hot for tourists” or “tourists say it’s too hot to see any sights” featuring in the UK press, budding British holidaymakers are all too aware of the suffocating weather conditions Spain and other Mediterranean countries are enduring. 

Other UK outlets have urged travellers to try out the cooler Spanish north rather than the usual piping hot Costa Blanca and Costa del Sol destinations.

Another UK poll by InsureandGo found that 71 percent of the 2,000+ British respondents thought that parts of Europe such as Spain, Greece and Turkey will be too hot to visit over summer by 2027.

There’s further concern that the introduction in 2024 of the new (and delayed) ETIAS visa for non-EU visitors, which of course now also applies to UK nationals, could further compel British tourists to choose countries to holiday in rather than Spain.

READ MORE: Will British tourists need to pay for a visa waiver to enter Spain?

However, a drop in the number of British holidaymakers may not be all that bad for Spain, even though they did spend over €17 billion on their Spanish vacations in 2022. 

Towns, cities and islands across the country have been grappling with the problem of overtourism and the consequences it has on everything from quality of life for locals to rent prices. 

READ ALSO: ‘Beach closed’ – Fake signs put up in Spain’s Mallorca to dissuade tourists

The overcrowded nature of Spain’s beaches and most beautiful holiday hotspots appears to be one of the reasons why Germans are visiting Spain in far fewer numbers. A recent report in the country’s most read magazine Stern asked “if the dream is over” in their beloved Mallorca.

Spanish authorities are also seeking to overhaul the cheaper holiday package-driven model that dominates many resorts, which includes moving away from the boozy antics of young British and other European revellers.

Fewer tourists who spend more are what Spain is theoretically now looking for, and the rise in American, Japanese and European tourists other than Brits signify less of a dependence on the British market, one which tends to maintain the country’s tourism status quo for better or for worse.

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