Visual Cathedrale Bourges E.legouhy86
For one year, save over €100 on admission tickets and events at over 30 sites (châteaux, parks, gardens, museums, exhibitions, historic towns, etc.).
Pass Privilège price in Bourges: €5 instead of €7 for a visit to the Cathedral and historic centre, €5 instead of €7 for a visit to the marshes, €3.50 instead of €5.50 for a visit to the Natural History Museum and €3 instead of €6 for a visit to the Musée Estève.
Information: 1-hour tour, accompanied by a guide, meeting point in front of the Maison des Musées, Place Étienne Dolet.
Information and bookings at the Bourges Tourist Office on 02 48 23 02 60 and at the Maison des Musées on 02 48 57 82 45.
Reservations required on 02 48 23 02 60.
Guided tour “The cathedral from A to Z” (2 hours)
Guided tour “The cathedral and its neighbourhood” (1h30)
Visit the cathedral and the historic centre:
April: Saturday 4 from 3.50pm to 5pm; Saturdays 11, 18 and Sundays 5, 19 from 3pm to 5pm
May: Fridays 1, 8, 15; Saturdays 16, 30; Sundays 3, 10, 17, 31 and Monday 25 from 3.30pm to 5.30pm
June: Saturdays 6, 13, 20, 27 from 3.30pm to 5.30pm
July: Friday 10; Saturdays 4, 11 from 3.30pm to 5.30pm
12 July to 31 August: daily from 3.30pm to 5.30pm
September: Saturdays 5, 12, 26 from 3pm to 5pm
October: Saturdays 3, 10, 17, 24, 31 from 3pm to 5pm
November: Wednesday 11 from 3pm to 5pm
December: Saturday 26, 3pm to 5pm
Bourges, Marais｜Ad2t Du Cher
Meet at Avenue Marx Dormoy, Beauvoir bus stop – Booking essential on 02 48 23 02 60
An unusual way to explore the historic centre of Bourges by lantern light – a journey back in time, before LEDs and gaslights…
Meet in front of Saint-Etienne’s Cathedral, at the top of Rue Porte Jaune.
With a free tour starting at dusk, Bourges is enveloped in a veil of blue, transporting you from one scenography to another. Les Nuits Lumière invites visitors to take a gentle night-time stroll through the historic centre of Bourges.
Free – At dusk for around 2 hours.
From 16 May to 21 September. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays in May, June and September. Every day in July and August.
Bourges, Palais Jacques Cœur, Nuits Lumière｜Ad2t
April to October: Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 12pm and 2pm to 6pm
November to March: Tuesday to Friday, 1.30pm to 5pm, Saturday and Sunday, 10am to 12.15pm and 1.30pm to 5pm (closed on January 1st, May 1st, November 1st and December 25th).
The museum is fully accessible to disabled visitors and children.
Free admission
From 28 March to 31 October: Tuesday to Saturday 10am-12pm and 2pm-6pm
From 1 November to 2 January 2027: Tuesday to Friday, 1.30 pm to 5 pm, Saturday 10 am to 12.15 pm and 1.30 pm to 5 pm
(Annual closing days – 1 January, 1 May, 1 November, 25 December)
Open every day: 2pm-6pm (last admission at 5.15pm) except 01/01, 01/05, 01/11 and 25/12
During zone B school holidays: Monday to Friday, 10am-12pm and 2pm-6pm
Temporarily closed for works.
Bourges Berry Tourist Office opening times
APRIL, MAY, JUNE, SEPTEMBER
Monday to Saturday, 9.30am to 6.30pm
Sundays and public holidays from 10am to 6pm
JULY AND AUGUST
Monday to Saturday, 9am to 7pm
Sundays and public holidays from 10am to 6pm
OCTOBER – MARCH
Mondays from 2pm to 6pm
Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 12.30pm and 2pm to 6pm
Closed on Sundays and public holidays
Museum House opening times
(Annual closing days – 1st January, 1st May, 1st November, 25th December)
28 MARCH TO 31 OCTOBER
Tuesday to Saturday 10am-12pm and 2pm-6pm
1 NOVEMBER TO 2 JANUARY 2027
Tuesday to Friday 1.30pm to 5pm, Saturday 10am to 12.15pm and 1.30pm to 5pm
Opening hours Musée Estève
(Annual closing days – 1 January, 1 May, 1 November, 25 December)
APRIL – OCTOBER
Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 12pm and 2pm to 6pm
NOVEMBER TO MARCH
Tuesday to Friday, 1.30pm to 5pm, Saturday and Sunday, 10am to 12.15pm and 1.30pm to 5pm
Opening hours Natural History Museum
Open every day from 2pm to 6pm (last admission at 5.15pm) except on 01/01, 01/05, 01/11 and 25/12.
During zone B school holidays: Monday to Friday, 10am-12pm and 2pm-6pm
A71 motorway, exit 7 – 2h15 south of Paris – 1h30 north of Clermont-Ferrand
Credit card, cash, cheques.
The Tourist Office welcomes visitors in French and English.
Bourges Privilege Pass price: €5 instead of €7 for a visit to the Cathedral and historic centre, €5 instead of €7 for a visit to the marshes, €3.50 instead of €5.50 for a visit to the Natural History Museum and €3 instead of €6 for a visit to the Musée Estève.
(click here to buy your Pass and benefit from reduced rates)
A tactile model of Bourges Cathedral is available in a chapel in the Cathedral for the visually impaired. This model is available on request.
Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle (exhibition accessible to PRMs): information by telephone on 02 48 65 35 34
Maison des Musées: PRM access – information on 02 48 57 85 42
Bourges, Cathedral｜Route Jacques Cœur
Bourges, Cathedral｜Route Jacques Cœur
Bourges, Musée Esteve｜Beneste
Bourges, Natural History Museum｜Beneste
Bourges, Cathedral｜Route Jacques Cœur
Bourges, Musée Esteve｜Beneste
Bourges, Échevins｜Route Jacques Cœur
Bourges, Cathedral｜Route Jacques Cœur
Bourges, Cathedral｜Route Jacques Cœur
Bourges, Cathedral｜Route Jacques Cœur
Bourges, Cathedral｜Route Jacques Cœur
Bourges, Cathedral｜Route Jacques Cœur
Bourges, Maison Des Musées｜Route Jacques Cœur
Bourges, Maison Des Musées｜Route Jacques Cœur
Bourges, Natural History Museum｜Beneste
Bourges, Musée Esteve｜Clémentine Labrosse
Bourges, Natural History Museum｜Lydia Objectif Photographer
Bourges, Musée du Berry｜Lydia Objectif Photographe
Bourges, Musée du Berry｜Lydia Objectif Photographe
Bourges, Musée du Berry｜Lydia Objectif Photographe
Bourges｜Lydia Objectif Photographe
|
Bourges, Musée du Berry｜Lydia Objectif Photographe
Bourges｜Tourisme&Territoires du Cher
|
From its major buildings such as Saint-Etienne’s Cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the Palais Jacques Cœur, to its 430 timber-framed houses and sumptuous 16th-century town houses, Bourges has preserved the traces of a long and rich history, tracing the contours of a city between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.
After wandering through the narrow streets of the old town of Bourges, you come face to face with Saint-Etienne’s cathedral, which dominates the whole city.
This vast stone vessel, dedicated to Saint Stephen, the first martyr of Christianity, stands out for the remarkable unity of its overall design. Built from 1195 onwards in a single major phase, the cathedral is a masterpiece of human creative genius that illustrates animportant period in history.
As such, it was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992, and as part of France’s Pilgrim’s Way to Santiago de Compostela in 1998.
Place Étienne Dolet 18000 Bourges
Bourges, Saint-Étienne Cathedral by night｜Ad2t Du Cher
With a free tour starting at dusk, Bourges is cloaked in a blue veil that transports you from one scenography to another.
Les Nuits Lumière invites visitors to take a gentle night-time stroll through the historic centre of Bourges.
Palais Jacques Cœur ｜Route Jacques Cœur
Bourges, Nuits Lumière｜Route Jacques Cœur
Bourges, Maison Des Musées｜Route Jacques Cœur
Bourges, Maison Des Musées｜Route Jacques Cœur
The Maison des Musées is part of the overall restructuring of the city’s museums, which is currently underway.
Discover the wealth of collections and the year’s cultural programme, the history and jobs of the museums, the renovation project, not forgetting a shop where you can find the museums’ flagship products.
Place Étienne-Dolet 18000 Bourges – 02 48 57 82 45 – [email protected]
Bourges, Hotel Lallemant｜Route Jacques Cœur
Site temporarily closed for works.
The builders, the Lallemant brothers, held municipal and financial offices, and had links with the artistic circles of their day.
Built around 1500, this town house is an early example of the early French Renaissance. The Hôtel Lallemant is built on the town’s Gallo-Roman ramparts. This particular position explains the sloping passageway that controls all access: inside via the spiral staircase, and outside by connecting the upper courtyard (where the main entrance was located) and the lower courtyard (now used by visitors). The high-quality Renaissance decoration is concentrated around the bays and on the turrets of the upper courtyard: the finesse of this ornamentation suggests that it was created by an Italian artist. Inside, the coffered ceiling of the oratory is sculpted with exceptional emblematic motifs.
6 rue Bourbonnoux 18000 Bourges – 02 48 70 23 57
Bourges, Musée Esteve｜Beneste
Bourges, Musée Esteve｜Beneste
Housed in the Hôtel des Échevins (late 15th century), the Estève museum is entirely dedicated to the painter Maurice Estève. After two years of renovation and modernisation work, the museum reopened its doors in June 2025, with a renewed scenography and new spaces and discovery tools for all.
13 rue Edouard Branly 18000 Bourges – 02 48 24 75 38
Bourges, Musée du Berry｜Lydia Objectif Photographe
Site temporarily closed.
The Musée du Berry is the original Bourges museum, founded in 1834 by Claude-Denis Mater, a magistrate and collector who was a friend of Balzac. The museum’s rooms were refurbished in the 1950s and 1960s, focusing on the Gallo-Roman period. A room devoted to Ancient Egypt opened in 1986.
Another room now showcases works linked to Duke Jean de Berry (late 14th century) and a selection of Romanesque works that are little known to the public.
In 2014, four rooms on the first floor were refurbished to house “Oeuvres dévoilées”, a collection of paintings showcasing the richness of the museum’s collections.
5 rue des Arènes 18000 Bourges – 02 48 57 81 15
Bourges, Natural History Museum｜Beneste
Bourges, Natural History Museum｜Lydia Objectif Photographer
More than 2,000 m2 of permanent exhibitions dedicated to science and nature and temporary exhibitions with workshops, lectures and meetings.
The museum is one of the key players in the development of the projects planned for Bourges European Capital of Culture 2028. So keep up to date with all the latest news from the museum.
Les Rives d’Auron (Parc des expositions) 18000 Bourges – 02 48 65 37 34 – [email protected]
Bourges 2028 logo
Logo Nuits Lumieres Bourges 1
Logo Musees De Bourges 1
Logo Maison Des Musees Bourges 1
Logo Musee Esteve 1
Logo Accueil Velo 1
Logo Cities Countries Dart Dhistoire 1
Qualite Tourisme logo
Berry Province logo
Find out more about the town of Bourges on its website and networks:
