Pays de la Loire

Our ocassional series of articles using local knowledge to help you get the best out of a visit to different parts of France.

Saumur  (49 Maine et Loire, Pays de Loire)

Where to stay

Le Bellevue

Where to eat (recommended):

Le Bellevue (above) also offers Tables d’Hote (“host’s table, fixed price menu – booked in advance) – their “Découverte du Terroir’ is something you won’t find in a restaurant.  Carefully selected by Gérald the large plateau of local delicacies and handed down recipes from Grandma ensure a true French supper.  Accompanied by a complimentary bottle of AOC Saumur wine, dine leisurely in the peaceful grounds of ‘the Domaine.

Where to eat (gourmet):

l'helianthe

l’Hélianthe (The Helianthos) – for good food and a fabulous setting,  a  “restaurant troglodytique” (set in troglodyte caves).  Highly recommended.

Place Antoine Cristal, Turquant - about 10km south-east of Saumur along the river valley.
T: 02.41.51.22.28

La Licorne – a Michelin starred restaurant serving modern French cuisine  in the historical town of Fontrevraud l’Abbaye (abput 15km southeast of Saumur)

Restaurant la Licorne, Allée Sainet Catherine, Fontrevaud l’Abbaye
T:02.41.51.72.49

Where to eat (value for money):

For a picnic or snack between sight-seeing visits step into any boulangerie for a sandwich, quiche or slice of pizza followed by a mouth watering pastry.

Local food:

The specialty of the Saumur region are les Fouées, hollow unleavened breads filled with rillettes and confit de canard, served hot and accompanied by another specialty, large grilled mushrooms dripping with garlic & parsley butter – yummy !!

Local wine:

Saumur has its own appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC Saumur) and produces a wide variety of wines including sparkling, white, rosé and red.  For those interested in learning more about wine the Beaumonts (above)  offer private wine tours & wine tastings and vineyard visits.

Market:

Saumur hosts a fabulous Saturday morning market full of fresh produce, livestock! and stalls with plenty of goodies you’ll want to take home with you.

Must See:

chateau de saumur

Château de Saumur – dominates the town of Saumur at the edge of the Loire river
Cadre Noir at the National Equestrian School of the elite French Cavalry
Visit a Loire Valley vineyard
A Loire Valley wine tour & wine tasting

When to come :

Saumur’s Wine Festival “La Marché des Vins de Saumur” which takes place the first weekend in September (4-6 September 2009)

Getting around:

Why not try cycling – the well-established Loire à Velo scheme  which offers cycling along the gentle banks of the Loire  with well-signposted cycle paths and itineraries.

There are also plenty of well-marked footpaths in the area – along the river and away from it – see www.saumur-rando.com (in French)

Local Tourist Office -

and remember this section of the Loire Valley is a UNESCO World Heritage site – The Loire Valley is noteworthy for the quality of its architectural heritage, in its historic towns such as Blois, Chinon, Orléans, Saumur, and Tours, but in particular in its world-famous castles, such as the Château de Chambord.

Thanks to Sarah-Jane Beaumont at Le Bellevue for some of these recommendations

Ryanair is introducing new flights to France next summer (2010)  from Leeds/Bradford to Limoges, Montpellier, Nantes and Carcassonne! There are already flights from Yorkshire Avignon, Bergerac,Chambery, La Rochelle, Nice, Paris and Toulouse.

This comes at the same time as Ryanair has also announced the cancelling of many flights from Stansted over this winter.

So, much will depend on when you want to fly and how much you are willing to pay – and as always with Ryanair make sure that you take into account the additional costs that will be added to the headline price – i.e for online booking, baggage, priority boarding etc. However, the new Ryanair destination airports are local to the named city – but some airports can be some distance from the named city- e.g. Paris Beauvais is 50 miles (80km) north of Paris and takes about an hour and 15 minutes by bus.

For more info on Ryanair flights and destinations see www.ryanair.com
Air routes to France

Air France has introduced a new route from London’s City Airport to Nantes at the mouth of the Loire, ideally situated to explore Brittany, the Loire Valley and the Vendée – see www.airfrance.co.uk

Meanwhile budget airline Easyjet starts flights from London Luton to Montpellier in southern France from 7 July 2009 – well-positioned for the mediterranean beaches and the other joys of Provence and the Languedoc. – see www.easyjet.com

Buy at AllPosters.com

The city of Nantes (44 Loire-Atlantique. Val de Loire) holds its Floral Festival (Floralies) from 8 to 19 May 2009

For 10 days visitors can explorethe biggest ornamental flower show in France. This year’s theme “Pouvoir des fleurs” – or roughly translated as “Flower Power”! or to put it in the usual French  “flowery” phraseology:

“The power of plants in their own right and their contribution to our life on Earth”.

The Show takes place at the Parc des expositions, La Beaujoire in Nantes
Hours : from 9.30 am to 11 pm

For more info see www.comite-des-floralies.com

Situated on the borders of Normandy, Brittany  and the Loire Valley, there is a good B&B/Chambres d’Hote near St Hilaire du Harcouet :-

set in a quiet hamlet in the  beautiful Mayenne countryside, on the border with Normandy and Brittany.It  is only 20 minutes from the A84 autoroute, which links the Channel ports of Cherbourg and Caen with Brittany and the Loire Valley…has five bedrooms on the upper floor, including a family suite. On the ground floor, there is a large dining room and a comfortable lounge area for guests to relax in. The extensive landscaped gardens have a beautiful terrace for outdoor eating or relaxing, and a lake completes the idyllic countryside setting

This English-owned B&B has five tastefully decorated double or twin bedded rooms, including a family suite, suitable for families of up to 6 people and makes an ideal base for touring the many delights of the area or as a stop-over on the journey west or southwards.

Le Mont St Michel is 40 minutes by car. Other towns in the area are Fougeres, Rennes, Dinan, St Malo and many more.

The famous racing circuit of Le Mans is an hour and a half away, as are the beaches of the 1944 Normandy landings and the Bayeux Tapestry.

To find out more about the B&B use the enquiry form below:-

cforms contact form by delicious:days

For more info on the region see www.tourisme-mayenne.com

At Saumur there is a famous French National horse training school – Le Cadre Noir which holds regular open days for the general public to admire these magnificent animals and their skills.

For 2009 the dates are April 9, 16 and 21; May 2,9,14 and 28; June 4,11,18 and 25; July 2,23 and 30; August 27; September 3,10 and 24;October 1

As if there was not enough to see and do in the Loire Valley with Chateaux, wineries and great scenery!

For more info see www.cadrenoir.fr