Palais de I'Île

The Palais de l'Île sits directly in the middle of the Thiou canal, shaped like a stone ship pointed upstream to slice through the current. Built in the twelfth century, this jagged wedge of rock served as a lord's residence, a courthouse, and a prison. During the sixteen hundreds, the prison cells held local debtors and criminals in cramped, damp chambers. Today, the thick walls house a history museum, though the rusted iron rings for binding prisoners remain bolted into the stone floors.