Poitiers is a city on the Clain river in west-central France. It is a commune and the capital of the Vienne department and the historical centre of Poitou. In 2017 it had a population of 88,291. Its agglomeration has 130,853 inhabitants in 2016 and is the center of an urban area of 261,795 inhabitants.
With more than 29,000 students, Poitiers has been a major university city since the creation of its University in 1431, having hosted René Descartes, Joachim du Bellay and François Rabelais, among others. A city of art and history, still known as "Ville aux cent clochés" the centre of town is picturesque and its streets include predominantly historical architecture and half-timbered houses, especially religious architecture, mostly from the Romanesque period; including notably the Saint-Jean baptistery, the hypogeum of the Dunes, the Notre-Dame-la-Grande church, the Saint-Porchaire church or the Saint-Pierre cathedral as well as the courthouse, former palace of the Counts of Poitou, Dukes of Aquitaine, where the Queen of France and England Eleanor of Aquitaine held her court.
The city's name is associated with two major battles that took place in the area.