Page 300 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - France

9 house lies beyond the gateway,
with a vaulted medie val kitchen
Saumur Did You Know? and an ora tory decorated with
! C4 ⌂ Maine-et-Loire 15th-century frescoes.
£ @ n 8 quai Carnot; Saumur’s walls once Château de Montreuil-
www.ot-saumur.fr boasted a wooden
parrot used for target Bellay
Saumur is celebrated for its practice by archers. "' ⌂ Place des Ormeaux
fairy-tale château, cavalry
# Apr–Nov: 10am–6pm Wed–
EXPERIENCE The Loire Valley recall the city’s 17th-century École Nationale bellay.fr
school, mushrooms and spark-
Mon (Jul–Aug: daily)
# chateau-de-montreuil-
ling wines. Its stone mansions
heyday, when it was a bastion
d’Equitation
of Protestantism and vied
with Angers as the intellectual
"'- ⌂ St-Hilaire-St-
11 "
capital of Anjou.
Florent # Feb–mid-Nov: for
Abbaye Royale de
High above both town and
guided tours; Apr–Oct: see
Fontevraud
river is the turreted Château
¢ Pub hols ∑ cadrenoir.fr
de Saumur. The present struc-
ture was started in the 14th
@ # 9:30–7pm daily ¢ Jan,
century by Louis I of Anjou and website for show times ! C4 ⌂ Maine-et-Loire
25 Dec
remodelled later by his grand- 10
son, King René. Collections Abbaye Royale de Fontevraud
include medieval sculpture, Montreuil-Bellay is the largest and most intact
and equestrian exhibits. ! C4 ⌂ Maine-et-Loire medieval abbey in Europe. It
The Military Cavalry School, £ @ n 2 pl de la Mairie; was founded in the early 12th
established in Saumur in 1814, www.ville-montreuil- century by Robert d’Arbrissel,
led to the creation of the bellay.com a visionary itinerant preacher,
Musée des Blindés, which who set up a Benedictine
features over 150 different Montreuil-Bellay, set against com munity of monks, nuns,
armoured vehicles and the the River Thouet, is one of the nobles, lepers and vagabonds.
prestigious Cadre Noir horse- region’s most gracious small The radical founder entrusted
riding formation. Morning towns. The towering roofline the running of the abbey to an
training sessions, stable visits of the Gothic collegiate church abbess, usually from a noble
and occasional evening perfor- overlooks walled mansions and family, and the abbey became
mances, can be seen at the surrounding vineyards. The a favourite sanctuary for the
internationally renowned Chapelle St-Jean was an ancient female aristocracy.
École Nationale d’Equitation. hospice and pilgrimage centre. Wandering around the
The Château de Montreuil- abbey buildings and gardens
Château de Saumur Bellay, established in 1025, is gives a fascinating insight into
"' # Hours vary, a veritable fortress with its 13 monastic life. The focal point
check website interlocking towers, barbican was the Romanesque abbey
∑ chateau-saumur.fr and ramparts. A 15th-century church, consecrated in 1119.

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