Moulins

Capital of Bourbonnais

Listed as a town of Art and History, the old Duchy of the powerful Bourbon family, Moulins, is a charming town which contains many a hidden treasure. Founded in 990, it retains many traces of its extraordinary past linked to the Bourbon family, including the keep known as "La Mal Coiffée" which was part of the ducal castle, Anne de Baujeu Pavilion, a pavilion in the Italian style, which is considered to be the first example of French Renaissance architecture, and Notre-Dame cathedral with its stained glass windows depicting celebrities in the Bourbon court.

To experience the town - an open-air museum in its own right - to the fullest, make your way along the old cobbled streets of the historic neighbourhood, lined with pretty half-timbered houses, which will transport you back to the Middle Ages. Nearby, stunning private hotels and bourgeois residences bring you forward to the early 20^th century, when Gabrielle Chanel lived here. A great way to continue your walk through Moulins is to explore the places connected to the famous fashion designer on a tour suggested by the tourist office. You will discover iconic places such as Notre-Dame convent, now a school for nurses, where Coco Chanel boarded from the ages of 18 to 21.