La Maison du Pou volant

With a name like this, it’s hard not to smile: welcome to the House of the “Flying Louse.” Don’t worry, it has nothing to do with a strange medieval insect suddenly taking flight! The name comes from its old role as a shelter for the poor who were “flying” through town — in other words, just passing by without settling. Over time, the unusual nickname stuck, and the house is still known by it today. Look at its timber-framed facade: it dates back to 1423, making it one of the oldest medieval houses in all of western France. Picture it six centuries ago, when the Grande Rue was the main artery of the medieval town, lined with shops and bustling signs. This house is a genuine fragment of history still standing before your eyes. And if you carry on a little further down the Grande Rue, you’ll see more beautiful timber-framed facades — at numbers 9 and 11, both listed as historic monuments, and at number 36, plainer but just as evocative of the early 15th century. Each step here invites you to look up and step back in time.