Angers

The old capital of Anjou, where a black-and-white striped castle guards the medieval Apocalypse Tapestry, with half-timbered houses in the old town and wine-country châteaux all around.

Angers is the capital of the Maine-et-Loire department in the Pays de la Loire region of western France. It sits on the Maine River about 8 km north of the Loire, and in the Middle Ages was the capital of the County and later the Duchy of Anjou – the cradle of England's Plantagenet dynasty. Its roofs and walls are largely built of local black slate, earning it the nickname "the Black City", yet it is also remarkably green and renowned for horticulture and the plant industry. The main sights are concentrated in the old town on the left bank of the Maine: the Château d'Angers with its 17 striped round towers and the 14th-century Apocalypse Tapestry inside, the Angevin Gothic Cathedral of Saint-Maurice, the half-timbered Maison d'Adam, and museums such as the Musée des Beaux-Arts and the Galerie David d'Angers. On the right bank, in the old Doutre quarter, the 12th-century Hôpital Saint-Jean now houses the Musée Jean-Lurçat, home to the monumental modern tapestry Le Chant du Monde. In the suburbs you'll find the Terra Botanica plant theme park and the Cointreau distillery, and within 20 km lie privately owned, still-inhabited châteaux such as Brissac, Serrant and Plessis-Bourré. To the south, the Corniche Angevine scenic road overlooks the Loire and the sweet white wine country of the Layon. Saumur, Fontevraud Abbey and the château country further east are covered under the Loire Valley destination. The best time to visit is April–October, when the castle gardens and surrounding châteaux are fully open; many private châteaux close in winter. Getting there: about 1.5 hours by TGV from Paris Montparnasse. The city has a tram, and the centre is easily explored on foot; the surrounding châteaux require a car or a guided tour. Allow 1 day for the city, plus 1–2 days for châteaux and wineries.

Top sights

• Château d'Angers & Apocalypse Tapestry – A 13th-century Angevin royal castle ringed by 17 round towers in black-and-white stripes. Inside is the Apocalypse Tapestry, the largest su…
• Angers Cathedral (Saint-Maurice) – The birthplace of the 'Angevin Gothic' domed vault, where the 12th-century stained glass and the newly restored, painted sculptural west po…
• Maison d'Adam – A 15th-century half-timbered house on the square behind the cathedral, its beams carved with figures and animals. It is a postcard icon of…
• Musée Jean-Lurçat (Hôpital Saint-Jean) – A 12th-century hospital hall displaying Jean Lurçat's giant tapestry The Song of the World, regarded as a 20th-century response to the Apoc…
• Musée des Beaux-Arts d'Angers – A museum in the 15th-century Barrault mansion, with works by French masters such as Chardin, Fragonard and Ingres.
• Galerie David d'Angers – Plaster originals by sculptor David d'Angers are displayed in the glass-roofed ruins of a 13th-century abbey church.
• Collégiale Saint-Martin – A thousand-year-old church begun in the Carolingian era. Restored, it now displays religious sculpture from Anjou and is a good place to le…
• Logis Pincé – An elegant 16th-century Renaissance mansion with carved window frames and turrets, among the most beautiful buildings in the old town.
• La Doutre – An old quarter on the right bank of the Maine River, with half-timbered houses, a Notre-Dame church and riverside paths for panoramic views…
• Jardin des Plantes d'Angers – An English-style landscape garden in the city center, with ponds, a small waterfall and centuries-old trees. It is a favorite spot for loca…
• Terra Botanica – Europe's first plant-themed amusement park, combining greenhouses, gardens, a hot-air balloon and rides, suitable for families.
• Carré Cointreau – The birthplace and only production site of Cointreau orange liqueur. Visit the distillery and historic posters, then taste a cocktail.
• Château de Brissac – Known as the 'tallest castle in France', seven storeys high and still home to the Dukes of Brissac, with a private theatre.
• Château de Serrant – A moated Renaissance castle with two symmetrical domed towers, a library of ten thousand volumes, and original furnishings that are well pr…
• Château du Plessis-Bourré – A 15th-century white castle surrounded by a moat, with its drawbridge and four round towers intact. The guardroom's ceiling painting is ful…
• Château du Plessis-Macé – A medieval fortress in northwest Angers converted into a mansion, with a flamboyant Gothic balcony. In summer it hosts performances of the…
• Château de Montgeoffroy – An elegant 18th-century castle in the Louis XVI style, whose furniture, wall hangings and carriages have remained essentially as built, mak…
• Corniche Angevine – A winding road along the clifftops of the south bank of the Loire, overlooking the river valley and Layon vineyards, with sweet white wine…
• Slate Museum, Trélazé – The source of Angers' black roofing slate, where former miners demonstrate on-site how slate is split, and where you can learn where the ca…

Where to eat

• Lait Thym Sel – Angers’ only Michelin one-star restaurant, run by a husband-and-wife team. It serves creative tasting menus built on lo…
• Gribiche – A Michelin Bib Gourmand bistro near the railway station, reinterpreting nostalgic French home cooking on a chalkboard m…
• L’Ardoise – A Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant on Place Molière that blends classic French cooking with Italian Mediterranean flavo…
• Baron Bouillon – A popular lunch spot inspired by Paris’s bouillon eateries, serving good-value French home cooking in an 1895 building.

Itineraries

• Loire à Vélo: Orléans to Nantes – Cycle from east to west along the Loire à Vélo trail, passing through the châteaux region and vineyards to Nantes.