The ambulatory

This is the visitor’s favourite route for discovering the 24 chapels, some of which house remarkable works:

Recumbent effigies of the children of Charles VIII and Anne of Brittany on their marble tomb, on a chequered floor
  • The wall paintings: “the Charity” of Saint Martin, and Saint Maurice, the first patron saint of the cathedral.
Wall painting of the Charity of Saint Martin, between two statues in niches
  • Various stained-glass windows, including those of Saint Martin (13th and 21st centuries), the Baptism of Christ, the Covenant, the Passion of Christ and the Resurrection…
Ambulatory window with four lancets topped by a rose, in shades of blue and red
Detail of a Passion window: Christ on the cross between two figures on a blue background
  • Several tombs and memorial stones (20th century) of archbishops, signed by sculptors from Tours: Delpérier, Sicard.
  • Highly refined decoration, inspired by the flora of the “jardin de la France” (the Garden of France), adorns the keystones, the arch keys of the chapels, the front of the sacristy and the capitals of the choir.

At the eastern end of the cathedral, behind the choir, visitors should not miss the elegant view down the nave, which ends in a true wall of light to the west.