2 Best Sights in The Loire Valley, France

Musée du Compagnonnage

Housed in the cloisters of the 13th-century church of St-Julien, this collection honors the Compagnonnage, a sort of apprenticeship-cum-trade-union system. On display you'll see virtuoso 19th-century works produced by candidates for guild membership, some of them eccentric (an Eiffel Tower made of slate, for instance, and a château constructed of varnished noodles).

Musée Historique et Archéologique

Housed in the Hôtel Cabu, a Renaissance mansion restored after World War II, this history and archaeology museum contains works of both "fine" and "popular" art connected with the town's past, including a remarkable collection of pagan bronzes depicting animals and dancers. These were hidden from zealous Christian missionaries in the 4th century and discovered in a sandpit near St-Benoît in 1861. One exhibit is dedicated to the life of Joan of Arc.