One of my favourite places in France is Poitiers Cathedral. Whenever I set out from the north or drive home from the south, I can usually find an excuse to stop off there. For me, its crowning glory are its 13th Century choir stalls with their wonderful medieval figures and faces carved into rich oak, still as entrancing and mystifying as when they were first sculpted 700 years ago. An avaricious woman squats in front of a chest, behind her is a bag full of coins.