Angers or Saumur or other suggestions.
 

Hello:

We allready decided to spend 4 nights in Amboise with our two kids (2 and 4)in september. We still trying to decide where to spend the other 3 nights in Loire Valley. We are trying to decied between Angers or Saumur, other recommendations are also welcome. How long is the driving distance between these two cities? Any help is appreciated.

Angers-Saumur : 30 miles so you can stay where you want...
Saumur is a better choice, due to the charm of the city...Try to get the schedule of the "cadre noir"(school of
equestre voltige).
Nearby, there is a lot of castles to visit(Langeais,Azay le Rideau, Ussé,...)
Around Angers, there are also the "chateaux d'Anjou", lest known and so less crowded : Le Plessis Bouré
++++, Brissac Quincé(+++, south of Angers),Le Plessis Macé.
Val de Loire is a very nice region of
food and wine and you 'll find some very good "river's fish"(Sandre, perche,...) and for the wine -Chinon(red++), Savennières(white+++), cabernet
d'anjou(rosé++), and for dessert,some
sweet wine(quarts de chaumes+++).
Good trip
Erik.

If you go to Saumur I can tell you about the hotel we stayed in. (I won't say recommend, because I don't know anything about other hotels...but we liked this one).

In Saumur there is a large "island" in the middle of the river. The Loire Hotel is on that island, facing the chateau on the opposite bank, so it has beautiful views. Though the lobby looks like your average Howard Johnsons, our room was very nice. We had two large double beds, large bath with tub/shower and a balcony practically hanging over the river. Parking was much easier than in town. 54E (in November). Downside: You must drive across the bridge to get to the heart of Saumur old town.

http://www.loire-hotel.fr/uk/Default.htm

Thank you monpetit and JeanneB for your feedback. Your informations are helping me. We are going to stay in saumur, even though there are much more hotels in angers! thanx again.

Two years ago I spent three days in Angers. I really ejoyed the time I spent there. My hotel, Hotel Jeanne de Laval, was only three blocks from the train station and about a block from the Chateau d'Angers. The hotel was older with large rooms and full bath and the rate was most reasonable (I think about $25 per night) The rooms needed some redecorating, but they were clean and the location was great. You were also within walking distance of shopping and restaurants. The city of Angers also has some beautiful gardens, some of the best I have seen in France. Le Jardin des Plantes Centre des Congres is an exceptional beautiful garden, if you go to Angers I would recommend you visit this garden.

I have a friend who lives in Angers and while I was there he took me to Saumur for an afternoon. I enjoyed my afternoon in Saumur, but I feel there is more to do in Angers. Angers also has a web site: http://www.angers.fr/

If you are interested in the Hotel I stayed at, here is the info.

Hotel Jeanne de Lavel
34, boulevard du Roi-René
49100 Angers
tel: 02 41 88 51 95
Fax: 02 41 87 85 98
(I just found my bill from the hotel and I paid 160F per night, that's $26.53, and the breakfast was additional)

Bon Journey!

thank you Randy for your recomendation. I tried to do a search on your hotel but i guess they have no homepage. When i go there i'll make sure to check out the place. since i'm deriving, thanks.

Hi,

Stayed at the Loire Hotel in Saumur. Nice place, good restaurant, with nice view of castle.

http://www.loire-hotel.fr/

http://www.tourisme.fr/loire-hotel/e-index.htm

Mike

If you go to Angers you must see the tapestries of the Apocalypse in the chateau. There is also a nice hanging garden, including a vineyard, on top of the ramparts.

Bofatooma: I don't think that hotel has a web site. My friend in Angers made the arangements for me. If you would like I could e-mail you a picture of the exterior of the hotel and a map of Angers showing the location of the hotel, the chateau, the train station and the gardens I mentioned. Contact me at [email protected]

We spent almost two weeks in Angers in October/Nov 2002. It was a lovely city, we found it totally delightful. There is much to entertain your kids, including the beautiful Jardin des Plantes with its resident goats, fancy chickens and parrots, the old fashioned carousel in the Jardin du Mail, the castle, the cobblestone streets of the historic area around the castle, etc.
We stayed at the Mercure Centre, overlooking the Jardin des Plantes. It is a modern hotel and probably not what you're looking for, but for us it was just right.
There is a hotel next to the Jardin du Mail which, although part of the Best Western chain, is really a lovely classic hotel. I forget the name, it might be Hotel d'Anjou.
Angers is full of good, inexpensive restaurants--for example, La Ferme offers a 4 course dinner for about $17 per person, which also includes a complimentary glass of local sparkling wine and coffee. The wine list had several good bottles of Chinon and Saumur that cost only about $12-20 per bottle.
You can find terrific lunch values at most Angers restaurants--3 course lunches with wine for about $10.
We made the drive several times between Angers and Saumur using the "route touristique" along the river and it took us about 40-45 minutes.
Saumur is charming and you will be pleased with either choice, but we prefer Angers.

I would not stay in either Angers or Saumur or spend much time in them. The countryside is charming and you will have little enough time to see the sights with only 3 nights.

Randy i tried emailing you and it didn't work?

BTilke and Michel_Paris, i liked hotel_loire too but my wife does't agree with me (mybe because the way the lobby looks)?! We applied for 2 nights at Anne d'Anjou and waiting for the reply. If no room, then we'll go for hotel_loire witout telling my wife and i will surprise her later! I think we would also stay for one night in Angers, to compare it with Saumur. Thsi way every body is happy :) Will search the Angers hotels later. thanks for all of u.

Hotel d'Anjou in Angers is very nice--art deco style lobby, very nice rooms, though the ones facing the street can be noisy.

Also, Le Salamandre (sp?) which is the hotel restaurant is absolutely wonderful--one of my most memorable meals in France. I can still remember an incredible strawberry rhubarb tart.

The web site for Hotel d'Anjou is www.hoteldanjou.fr I don't think the web site is available in English. Rooms are supposed to be soundproofed, but the ones overlooking the Jardin de Mail would be quieter--and the view is better.
Randy, we passed by the Hotel Laval several times during our stay in Angers. It rang a bell...Angers was the first place I visited on my first ever trip to France 30 years ago and I *think* that was our hotel.
Bofatooma, don't worry about making us happy...I think you'd be better off staying in one place for all three nights. Packing and unpacking for one night sounds like too much work.
You have to decide whether you want a small town vibe (although Saumur isn't tiny, it's a fairly small town) or the buzz of a small city (Angers isn't that big, but it's definitely a city). If you do pick Angers, you must stay in the heart of town; an outer area would be disappointing.

You can't go wrong with either but I'm betting Saumur is a little more centrally located to that part of the Loire...The bon chateau in Saumur is well worth a visit..has a distinguished restaurant and a nice tearoom..was undergoing some repairs when we were there due to landslides..The Musee des Blindees, a military tank museum, is a quirky and fun place..especially if there are children along..and especially if they are little boys..all kinds of tanks and military equipment from WWI,WWII and a bit more..it's on the way up the hill to the chateau de Saumur...Do NOT miss the tapestry of the Apocalypse at the chateau in Angers..It is truly incredible..and hope you don't mind heights..Those ramparts are way up there in the heavens..Both chateaux offer panoramic views of the valley below...Bon Voyage!

While you are in the Saumur/Angers area, consider a visit to the royal abbey at Fontevraud. Very interesting, but often gets left out as people go from chateau to chateau.

Right on, BTilke!

What a kitchen! There's one like it at Glastonbury in England, but not quite up to this one.

And what a church! - to think that, until very recently, it was used as a prison. Wow!

We were at Azay-le-Rideau and Fontevraud in a 48 hour period in late October. Azay-le-Rideau wasn't crowded but there were still plenty of people around. Fontrevraud was practically deserted. My husband has always been interested in Eleanor of Acquitaine and Richard the Lion Heart, so he was especially interested in Fontevraud. It has been beautifully restored.

BTilke...Chinon, too!

You can actually stay at the Abbey at Fontevraud. It is a beautiful place.I love the herb garden and the unusual kitchen and of course, the painted tombs of Richard the Lionhearted and his mother Eleanor of Acquitaine. What history!

We are going to stay there at the monastery next time. It can be used as a center for a conference or rooms can be rented by tourists. I think meals are available, too. Chck on Google. They probably have a website.