Page 219 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Brittany

L OIRE-A TLANTIQUE  217

q Pays d’Ancenis
Road map F4. Ancenis. 30 km
(19 miles) east of Nantes via the A11
or the N23. * 7,000. £ k Nantes-
Atlantique. n 27 Rue du Château;
(02) 40 83 07 44. _ Couleurs Parasol
(Jul–Aug). ( Thu & Sat. ∑ pays-
ancenis-tourisme.com
This area of countryside, whose
focal point is the town of Ancenis,
flanks a stretch of the Loire that
in places runs between high cliffs. The Nantes–Brest Canal at Blain, just south of the Forêt du Gâvre
Ancenis, set in the midst of
vineyards, has some elegant w Châteaubriant elegant Renaissance chateau
wine merchants’ houses and the Road map F3. * 13,380. £ @ n with a main building flanked
16th-century Château d’Ancenis. 29 Place Charles de Gaulle (02) 40 28 by wings. The Romanesque
Further downstream is the 20 90. ( Wed am. _ Foire de Béré Église St-Jean-de-Béré, built in
Donjon d’Oudon, a 14th-century (Sep). ∑ tourisme-chateaubriant.fr contrasting blue schist and red
keep. Overlooking Ancenis, granite, contains a 17th-century
the keep is also ideally situated to The few surviving schist-built Baroque altarpiece.
survey the Loire, once the main medieval houses here give the
traffic artery in western France. walled town of Châteaubriant + Châteaux
Further upstream is Varades. The a historic atmosphere. Two Access via Place Charles-de-Gaulle.
elegant 19th-century Italian-style chateaux stand in close Tel (02) 40 28 20 20. Open May–Sep:
château, Palais Briau, here was proximity on a hill overlooking Wed–Mon; Oct–Apr: Sat–Sun pm.
built by an engineer who had the Chère river: a medieval 8 interiors. & (free entry to park).
made his fortune during the fortress, with a keep, and an
reign of Napoleon III.
e Forêt du Gâvre
+ Château d’Ancenis
Rue du Pont. Tel (02) 40 83 07 44. Open Road map E4. Blain.35 km (22 miles)
north of Nantes via the N137 then the
for temporary exhibitions only. &
D164. * 7,450. n 2 Place Jean-
+ Château de Varades Guilhard, Blain; (02) 40 87 15 11.
Palais Briau. Tel (02) 40 83 45 00. Park: ( Tue & Sat am. _ St-Laurent (Aug).
Open Apr–Sep: Wed–Mon pm. Palais: Covering a large massif enclosed
Open Apr–Sep: Sat, Sun & public
holidays pm; Aug: Wed–Mon pm. by the Don, Isac and Brivet rivers,
8 obligatory. & the forest is good walking
country. A 15th century stone
+ Donjon d’Oudon building, the Maison de la Forêt,
Rue du Pont-Levis. Tel (02) 40 83 60 provides information about the
00. Open Apr–Jul & Sep–mid-Oct: South gallery of the Renaissance chateau history and geography of the
Mon–Fri pm & Sat–Sun; Aug: daily. & in Châteaubriant forest, and explains what the life
of its inhabitants was like in the
past. It organizes guided walks
Vendée Wars on themes such as birds and
In 1793, the persecution of the clergy, the execution of Louis XVI and fungi. The building also houses
a rise in taxation provoked an anti-republican uprising in the Vendée. the Benoist Museum, with a
Royalists soon followed up with acts of barbarism, and the execution display of lace head-dresses.
of republicans in Machecoul began on 11 March. Catelineau, a carter, The Musée de Blain, in Blain,
and Stofflet, a gamekeeper, on the D164, is devoted to
joined by various aristocrats, popular art and tradition from
stirred up revolt among the prehistoric and Gallo-Roman
peasantry. In June, the Armée times to the early 20th century.
Catholique et Royale Vendée
seized control of the Vendée, as P Maison de la Forêt
well as the towns of Saumur and 2 route de Conquereuil, Le Gâvre Tel
Angers, but it was defeated by (02) 40 51 25 14. Open Apr–Nov:
the republicans at Cholet on 2:30–6pm Tue–Sun.
17 October. On the orders of
General Turreau, the latter led
Republican prisoners being given their punitive expeditions in the E Musée de Blain
2 Place Jean-Guilhard, Blain. Tel (02)
freedom Vendée in 1794–5.
40 79 98 51. Open Tue–Fri, Sat pm. &

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