The co-working space Cité Richelieu opens....

A first photograph taken by our favourite photographer 

Chanel Koehl

Photos of the interiors of Cité Richelieu

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Cité Richelieu Coworking

the coworking space will (hopefully!) 

open its doors in November 2018

click HERE for the Cité Richelieu Coworking's new Facebook page

At the eastern end of place Louis XIII a vast old building is being adapted as a 'state-of-the-art' coworking space where new business 'start-ups' and other new companies and organisations can rent anything from a desk for an individual to a larger full serviced office for a growing company, all supplied with full internet connection and digital conference suites. These facilities will shortly be linked to a fast fibre-optic connection ensuring the most up to date IT speeds.

The location in the Cité Idéale of Richelieu provides an innovative blend of a picturesque and historic rural location with every contemporary facility for the new digital companies of today and tomorrow.

directions to Cité Richelieu Coworking

20 place Louis XIII

37120 Richelieu

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Bicycle hire starts near the former station of Richelieu.

M. Minassian prepares for the completion, promised for the summer of 2017, of the 'voie verte' or green cycle way, that will link the famous city of Chinon with the Cité Idéale of Richelieu at a distance of about 14 kilometres. The tourist will then be able to promenade along the pretty valley of the Veude river - it becomes the modest stream Mable by the time of its arrival in Richelieu - along the flat former railway line that linked the two towns. It operated from about 1880 till 2000 or so and was constructed mainly for the export of white veal to the Paris markets.
So far, the tracks have been removed for scrap, all the locomotives and rolling stock moved elsewhere (Thouars?) and the frequent junctions of road and former rail line have had new crossings laid to allow cars and bicylces to cross in safety.  It was the problems of these crossings that spelt the death knell of the former railway link. It was impossible to reconstruct so many crossings to modern HSE standards. The trains had to have a man with a red flag go in front by foot!

The relocated Salon de Thé

The Salon de Thé was formerly located in the Grande Rue. But when the cadeaux-foto shop that was on the corner of the place du Marché fell vacant, they decided to move to move their shop to this much superior location.  (see the location map to the right). As before, the shop is half antique shop, half souvenirs and trinkets  and half tea shop (three halves...?). Now it also offers meals that compliment its other services, joining the other commerces who provide varied catering around the newly re-ordered market square. It offers a welcome alternative to the cafés and bars, and looks very pretty in its sunny location.  Its 'smile' really enhances the mood of the new square and follows the long-term urban design policy that concentrates such facilities in the identical twin squares, rather than in the length of the Grande Rue itself.

Although at the exact moment that the three pictures above were taken the street tables were empty, this is usually far from the case. The tables in the charming interior tea room clink with tea cup noises of an afternoon.

Bowled over by melons

The summer months of July and August are those of the orange fleshed cantaloupe melon, which is extensively farmed in Haut Poitou just next to Richelieu.  We were directed to go to Chapeau Melon - halfway between Richelieu and Loudun - and award them the family supply contract.  It is astonishing just how much melon one can happily eat on an August evening.  And the peak season prices are a delight.

p.s. un chapeau melon = a bowler hat; geddit!

Richelieu's hanging shop signs

World-o'-Bloggers

The town of Richelieu is served by two separate blogs; the one you are reading at present, created mainly for the visitor and written  in the English language, and the other and original created in French by Jean-Louis Laurence and called 'Le blog du Cardinal'.

Jean-Louis is an IT expert and runs this computer centre now relocated to impressive premises right on the Grand Rue.  He offers all sorts of IT-based services, including a 'internet café' and a wi-fi zone that allows visitors disconnected from their usual IT bases to contact the world during their sojourn in the town of Richelieu.  

Citizens of the town can rely on him to solve their IT installation and running problems. Well done for building the entreprise in the real world as well as in the virtual.

Bonne année 2008, Jean-Louis!

http://www.richelais.eu/blogducardinal/

Art et Meubles de France - RICHELIEU

Located on the town's industrial estate is the large furniture factory of the company Art et Meubles de France, Richelieu. The company manufactures high quality historic furniture, mainly in accurate reproduction of famous French classical styles. The main production is of the Louis XV and XVI and Directoire styles of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, but other earlier periods (including Louis XIII) are made too. The image above for example is a table à gibier, a hunting 'game' table, in the style of the 17th century.

They also make all sorts of architectural fitments and flooring parquet panels, all cabinet-maker produced at very high quality.

Although the firm has reduced in staff size in recent years, it employs many people from the locality in this very specialised craft.

While the 'Richelieu' brand is still made entirely in France, they have now started a second brand, 'Vauban', that is part manufactured in Romania to take advantage of the lower labour costs that can be found in the East.

Each year the company has a 'factory' sale when big reductions on the recommended list prices are offered - sometimes as much as 40%. The most recent took place on 12 November 2007.