12 Essentials: what to see and do in Angers (Loire Valley) in 1 day

When considering a city ​​break to a European cityThere are many of us who give importance to it being a city with a certain atmosphere.

Beyond see monuments and visit museums, you feel like walking through shopping streets with attractive shops, sit on a terrace to have a soft drink or coffee, or dine in an area with lively restaurants.

That is not easy to find in all cities of Europe.

In the case of FranceBeyond Paris or other big cities, there are small and attractive cities where you can enjoy lively areas and places.

This is the case of Angers, city of Loire Valley, declared territory Heritage awarded by the Unesco, which is located near Nantes.

It is also located on the route from the Iberian Peninsula to Paris, the main reason why many Spaniards come to visit the city.

Tips for visiting Angers for tourism in the Loire Valley

It is not a city with an airport where they can fly in a line low cost and in this way make a typical weekend getaway.

Furthermore, it is too far from Spain to facilitate a getaway by high-speed train, which is more feasible to visit other French cities such as perpignan.

Angers can be a stop in a car route from Spain to western France, or even to Paris or northern Europe.

This is what groups of Spanish motorcyclists consider it to be, which tend to convert Angers in one of its stages during its trip to northern Europe.

Or this city is also a visit in one route around Nantes, after flying to your airport and renting a car.

Angers is a medium-sized city in France, with a population of about 150.000 in the urban area, which is located in the region of Loire Valley, a river that extends for more than 1.000 kilometers, specifically in the administrative area known as Loire Country.

En Angers The main economic activities are focused on the Health sector and technology companies, and it is the headquarters city of the organization of the European Union who manages horticulture.

What to see and do in Angers in the Loire Valley

Facing your Angers sightseeing tourI can tell you that it is a very manageable city because you will be able to walk to its main areas and corners.

Angers historic center

You will see that there are three delimited areas; On the one hand, the historic center of la Doutre, Where is he castle and cathedral.

It is a quiet area with narrow streets and where you will hardly see people walking, except for some tourists looking for how to get to the aforementioned castle or the cathedral, or students going to their residence.

Historically it was an area where several religious congregations resided, some of which continue to exist, and now there are buildings that house senior schools of university students.

Rally square in Angers

La shopping area of the city is concentrated around the rally square, the heart of the city, where the Great theater.

Several adjacent streets extend around it, such as Lenepveu, with many shops and commercial atmosphere during the central hours of the day.

Then at night rally square has a great atmosphere of terraces of bars and restaurants.

La third zone of the city, also of medieval origin, is located on the banks of the Le Maine River, on the opposite bank of the historic center and the aforementioned commercial area, where you arrive by crossing the Verdun Bridge, from the 19th century, located in front of the cathedral.

In that area there are also some buildings of interest, even from medieval times, such as the curious tea Room The Coquetterie, where you can have a snack with homemade cakes in a pleasant corner that occupies an old Gothic-style chapel.

Half-timbered houses in Angers

In your walk through the historic center, you will see that Angers It is also a city where you can see some medieval houses with half-timbered facades.

There are some cataloged 40 medieval houses, but you will not see them forming groups like in some other French city, the case of reindeer, but scattered among other buildings and in different corners of the center.

Adam's House, the most beautiful half-timbered house in Angers

Maybe the most beautiful half-timbered house what can you see in Angers It is the one you find in the small square behind the cathedral, very close to the aforementioned rally square, known as the Adam's House.

It is a striking restored building whose wooden beams are painted gray and decorated with sculptures, and it is the best example of this area around the cathedral and the castle, where you will see some other of these half-timbered houses.

What to see when visiting Angers Castle

Facing your sightseeing tour of AngersWithout a doubt the main monument to visit is the Angers castle, which is also one of the iconic images of the city.

It is a large 13th century fortress located at the top of the hill where the historic center extends, which faces the river, and which was the royal residence of the Dukes of Anjou between the 14th and 15th centuries.

The first thing that will catch your attention Angers castle are its robust walls with a succession of enormous round towers, which will undoubtedly remind you of those of the famous Carcassonne citadel.

Now, the 17 towers do not maintain the configuration of when the castle was built, since they were cut down in the XNUMXth century; Only one of them maintains the original height, although you have to imagine it with the characteristic pointed slate roof.

When you enter the castle after crossing a bridge, you will be surprised to find, in addition to some buildings, a large garden with various corners and configurations, from a French-style garden to some vineyards in one of the upper parts of the complex.

To the right is the building of the Big room and you must pass under an arch to visit it.

Tapestry of the Apocalypse in Angers Castle

In that same corner you will see a building of modern architecture where the great artistic jewel of Angers castle, the awesome Apocalypse Tapestry, which you will be able to contemplate in a dark closed and refrigerated area in which it is preserved.

It is the largest tapestry preserved in Europe and its creation was ordered by Louis I of Anjou in 1375.

103 meters long and 4,5 meters high, this monumental work shows in great color various images of the Apocalypse of Saint John.

In your visit of Angers castle It is essential that you climb to the top of the walls to tour a large part of them.

From there, on one side you have views of the historic center of the city, with the cathedral in the foreground, and on the other side, at its feet, panoramic views of the Le Maine River.

Angers Castle schedules and ticket prices

Here you can consult the Angers Castle visiting hours at different times of the year, although from spring to autumn it is from 10 a.m. to 18,30:XNUMX p.m.

El price of admission to visit Angers Castle is 9,50 euros for adults.

Angers Cathedral

La St. Maurice Cathedral is the other great prominent monument of Angers.

From the 12th century, it is the first example of Gothic style from the Angers region known as Angevin which is distinguished by the domed profile of the vaults.

During your visit to the cathedral, its stained glass windows from the 12th, 13th and 15th centuries will also catch your attention.

David d'Angers Gallery

If you like museums, three are the visits to make in Angers.

From the architectural point of view, it stands out in the David d'Angers gallery, a sculptor born in said city who developed his artistic work during the first half of the 19th century.

This museum is located very close to the castle, inside the remains of an old abbey from the 13th century, in whose nave there are different areas in which plasters, drawings and sketches of his works are displayed, as well as marble sculptures and bronze.

The plasters that sculptors make as an intermediate phase of their creation are normally dispensed with, but David d'Angers He decided to keep them and later transfer them to the city.

In this curious museum you can see plasters of large public statues from the end of his career, as well as bas-reliefs, busts and medallions.

Angers Museum of Fine Arts

Next to this gallery is the building of the Museum of Fine Arts where a wide variety of artistic works from all periods are displayed, from paintings and sculptures, to decorative arts objects or archaeological remains found in the area.

Jean Lurcat Museum of Contemporary Tapestries in Angers

A little further from the center, in the lower part of the city that extends along the banks of the river, is the Jean Lurcat museum.

In the old building Hospital of San Juan from the 12th century with a large Gothic style nave Angevin the masterpiece of Jean Lurcat, a set of 10 large tapestries known as The Song of the World made by this artist in the first half of the 20th century.

This great work follows the tradition in Angers of showing a great work of tapestry in a monumental setting, as occurs with the aforementioned Apocalypse Tapestry what you can see in the castle.

In this museum you can also see other tapestries by contemporary artists displayed in an annex building.

Shopping in Angers

As I have commented before, Angers It is a city that has a lively commercial life that takes place from 10 a.m. to 18 p.m.

The most frequented shopping areas are the streets whose central axis is the rally square and Lenepveu street, although these streets empty quickly after 6 in the afternoon and the atmosphere of bars and restaurants is concentrated in certain places.

Terrace areas, bars and restaurants in Angers

This is the case of the terrace area that is on the dock next to the river, a good place to dine with views of the castle and to the historic center on the hill, a complex that lights up at night.

The meadows that open in this area next to the small pier are filled with young people in summer enjoying the views of the city's monumental complex.

There is also the modern building of the La Quai Theater, on whose terrace where you will take an elevator from the street is located the La Reserve restaurant, one of the most popular places to dine in Angers.

Also next to the river you have another popular area of ​​atmosphere, Le Héron Carré, angevin guinguette located in a park, a typical bar where young people gather to enjoy their beers

Of course, the establishments in this area close after 23 p.m., but in other very specific places in the city center, such as the rally square at 12 at night in summer there is still a great atmosphere on its terraces, some of which continue until 2 in the morning.

The nearby Saint Laud Street which from the cathedral runs parallel to said rally square There is also a very lively atmosphere of bars and restaurants.

Cycle route around Angers

In order to extend your Angers visitI remind you that this city is part of the Loire Valley Cycle Route, the most important in France, with 800 kilometers in length that runs along small roads and sections of marked trails.

It is a very popular and recommended way of visit the surroundings of Angers passing through small towns and among vineyards, all on the banks of the Loire river and its tributaries.

You will also find taverns, a typical bar-restaurant on the banks of the river where you can have lunch, dinner or a drink, and which have been very popular in recent times.

Visit of wineries near Angers

Did you know that Angers you can also do wine tourism?

I remind you that the Loire Valley It is the third wine-growing area in France, with different types of grapes and wines.

Savenniers it's a little Designation of Origin which is located near Angers, whose wines are produced with a single type of grape,
chenin.

Near the city, on the banks of one of the rivers you can visit the chateau and the vineyards of the winery Domaine du Closel, whose production is organic wine with three varieties of whites.

Historically this was an area exclusively for sweet wines, but now dry wines are produced, like the ones you can taste during your visit to the aforementioned winery.

And another type of establishment that is now becoming very popular in France is the wine storeas A boy and a manger.

Apart from being able to buy wines from 10 in the morning, from 18 p.m. it becomes a place where you can taste it with cheese and sausage tapas.

Only natural organic wines from France and other countries around the world are sold in this establishment.

It is a very busy place on Sunday mornings because in the Visitation Square, where it is located, it is customary to go shopping at the food stores that are open and then have tapas in the store tasting their wines.

Map: how to get to Angers

Angers It is a city that you find in the west of France, in the Loire Valley, near Nantes and Rennes, the capital of Brittany.