DAYTRIP TO ANGERS

We drove to the train station in Saumur, the main hub for trains to Paris, Tours, Nantes, and Orleans. We bought tickets for the local train to Angers (the TER, as opposed to the TGV). Angers is only 30 miles from Saumur but we didn’t want the hassle of arriving in a new city trying to find the centre-ville and parking. For 26 euro we avoided all of that. It was a 30 minute ride right to the centre of Angers.
We had two sights in our sights: the chateau and the Cathedral of Saint Maurice. We walked from the train station through the old town. In the Place
Saint-Croix we stopped to have lunch. We bought our lunch at a café then took it out to the tables set up in the square. We had a great view of the Maison d’Adam, one of the original timber-framed houses that Angers is known for.
The cathedral was our first surprise of the day. Above the entrance is a tympaneum showing Christ in majesty surrounded by the symbols of the four evangelists: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Inside were the most amazing stained glass rose windows, created in the 15th century, showing the coming apocalypse at the end of time.
There are other panels showing the life of St. Martin (a personal favourite), the ecstasy of Saint Catherine and the martyrdom of Saint Vincent on the barbecue grill.
From the cathedral we walked through narrow streets to the chateau. The sixteen towers of the chateau are an imposing sight but the gardens and the green of the dry moat soften the initial impact. Inside the chateau is a chapel built by the ducs of Anjou in the 13th century and a formal garden. We walked around the top of the walls for some wonderful views over the city and the Maine River.
At the end of the tour we walked through the gallery specially built to house the Apocalypse Tapestries. The surviving panels of these tapestries, woven in the 14th century, illustrate the visions of St. John as detailed in the Book of Revelation.
PLUS IMAGES