Niort (pop. 56,661), chief town of the département of Deux-Sèvres, lies on the Sèvre Niortaise. All that remains of a castle built by Henry II of England and Richard Coeur-de- Lion is the keep, consisting of two massive square towers, which now houses a museum of folk art and traditions. Other features of interest are the old half- timbered
houses in and around Rue St-Jean; the former Town Hall (16th C.), on a triangular plan, now containing the Musée du Pilori, an archeological museum; the church of Notre-Dame, in the west of the town, with an elegant tower and Aubusson tapestries; the Natural History Museum; and the Musée des Beaux-Arts (tapestries, French, Italian, Flemish and Dutch paintings, etc.).
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