サンジェルマンシュルヴィアンヌのおすすめMTBライド

We visited the castle in July 2025, the moat is empty and it all locked up but unoccupied. Its worth having a look at because you can get a good view through the front fence and gate.

For those who want to discover some art objects.

very very nice path :)

The Royal Abbey of Fontevraud is one of the largest monastic communities in Europe dating back to the Middle Ages. It is a place with a rich history, located in the heart of the Loire Valley and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The abbey is a unique cultural site! An abbey with a royal destination, a formidable prison is today a place of creation (museum of modern art).

History in brief Antiquity: the site is strategically located on a promontory and has been inhabited for 3,000 years. It was not fortified until the end of the Roman Empire. Middle Ages: in 1154, the new King of England, Henry II Plantagenet, became ruler of an empire stretching from Scotland to the Pyrenees and made Chinon his continental capital. He had a large palace built next to the fortress, which has now disappeared. In 1189, abandoned by his sons, Richard the Lionheart and John Lackland, and fleeing from the King of France, he eventually died there. Philippe Auguste had the defensive Tour du Coudray built there after the siege of 1205. Renaissance: in 1454, the fortress became the main residence of Queen Marie d'Anjou, who lived there without her husband. She spent lavishly on decorating the house to her taste. From the 16th century onwards, the fortress was gradually abandoned and fell into disrepair. Despite the dangerous nature of the terrain, it became a public promenade in 1824 and was listed as a monument in 1840. The restoration of the estate began in 1854 thanks to the efforts of the writer Prosper Mérimée. Source: https://loirelovers.fr/en/visit-royal-fort-chinon/

History in brief Antiquity: the site is strategically located on a promontory and has been inhabited for 3,000 years. It was not fortified until the end of the Roman Empire. Middle Ages: in 1154, the new King of England, Henry II Plantagenet, became ruler of an empire stretching from Scotland to the Pyrenees and made Chinon his continental capital. He had a large palace built next to the fortress, which has now disappeared. In 1189, abandoned by his sons, Richard the Lionheart and John Lackland, and fleeing from the King of France, he eventually died there. Philippe Auguste had the defensive Tour du Coudray built there after the siege of 1205. Renaissance: in 1454, the fortress became the main residence of Queen Marie d'Anjou, who lived there without her husband. She spent lavishly on decorating the house to her taste. From the 16th century onwards, the fortress was gradually abandoned and fell into disrepair. Despite the dangerous nature of the terrain, it became a public promenade in 1824 and was listed as a monument in 1840. The restoration of the estate began in 1854 thanks to the efforts of the writer Prosper Mérimée. Source: https://loirelovers.fr/en/visit-royal-fort-chinon/

Between the Loire and the hills, Turquant welcomes, in season, craftsmen and a Métiers d'Art boutique in a remarkably restored troglodyte site. Several designers open their workshops to the public and passionately share their expertise. Today, you can wander around the troglodytes between tradition and modernity to discover all their originality.

Between Montsoreau and Saumur, the tuffeau rock dominates the Loire and is cut from one end to the other by a series of caves, sometimes troglodyte dwellings, sometimes quarries... Villages spring up in the valleys that crisscross the hills, while vineyards and mills mark the ridge. In Turquant, more than anywhere else, you can discover this Loire landscape, so characteristic of the Côte Saumuroise. Today, between tradition and modernity, the troglodytes can be discovered in all their originality, particularly in the Village des Métiers d'Art.