www.vallee-du-loir.com n°2 la Vallée du Loir Only You* 2009 / the tourism magazine of DECORATION Tips & ideas STRICTLY FOR PLEASURE Great ideas for MAKING outings & activities A SUCCESS SPECIALLY FOR MUMS OF YOUR STAY Activities for all the family outstanding places Vendôme / Montoire / la Chartre-sur-le-Loir / Château-du-Loir / le Lude / la Flèche/ Durtal / Baugé MAKING A SUCCESS in my CONTENTS gar D en OF YOUR STAY 4 Making a success of your stay 4 Outstanding places to visit 9 9 In my garden A multi-coloured day L et ’S eat out ! 12 Let’s eat out! 12 The Top 10 best restaurants 14 Strictly for pleasure it’S goo D Ideas for outings and activities for you ! 18 18 It’s good for you! Focus on local produce 14 strict L Y for PL easure 20 Outdoor activities By bicycle, on foot… D ecoration 23 Decoration 23 Tips and ideas 24 Specially for mums Activities with the family 26 To book More week-end ideas... 323 D Coulommiers- D 323 la-Tour 20 D 338 out D oor Vallée du Loir • Rue Anatole Carré - 72500 VAAS Phone: 33 (0)2 43 38 16 60 • Fax 33 (0)2 43 38 16 61 actiVities 308 D email: [email protected] Fougeré Clefs Publication Manager: Claude Denis Saint-Quentin- Les-Beaurepaire Vaulandry Chief editors: Bruno Caro - Véronique Richard Cheviré-le-Rouge D 338 Graphic design: NYL communication Montpollin Editorial design: Cadran Solaire Saint-Martin-d'Arce D 323 Echemire Chaumont d'Anjou BAUGÉ Pontigné S P ecia LL Y ANGERS for mums Le Vieil Baugé TOURS 24 Bocé D 938 D Le Guédeniau Chartrené 26 Cuon TO BOOK March 2009 edition - Non-contractual document. The Loir Valley Agency may not be held responsible for any 2 involuntary errors or omissions that may remain in this magazine despite our careful checks. Only www.tourisme-en-sarthe.com Pays d’Alençon (Saonois/Perseigne) You! Pays de la Haute Sarthe There are some destinations that are chosen for a special reason. Pays du Perche The Loir Valley is one of them. Sarthois Pays Simple, captivating, genuine, it has that little extra something that gives such Pays de la du Mans Vallée de la Sarthe charm to a stay in the countryside, a romantic break or a family holiday. What is its secret? Its mild climate, the infinite poetry of the banks of the Loir, Pays de la 18 the beauty of its hillsides carpeted with vineyards or forests, and its villages full of character, Vallée du Loir filled with light from the tufa rock. Not forgetting its art of living, between the refinement of its cuisine and good local produce, the splendour of its parks and gardens with a thousand colours and the gentleman- farmer atmosphere of its country châteaux. And of course its sheer joie de vivre, expressed in its festivals and its many shows. The pleasure of ferreting around in a “brocante” second-hand goods fair, experiencing the hustle and bustle of a large market, or being introduced safely to a new sport. As you turn these pages, discover it - festive, curious, enthusiastic, gourmet, dynamic and serene... to suit you, and only you! 323 D Coulommiers- D 323 D 338 la-Tour D 308 D Fougeré Clefs Saint-Quentin- Les-Beaurepaire Vaulandry Cheviré-le-Rouge D 338 Montpollin Saint-Martin-d'Arce D 323 Echemire Chaumont d'Anjou BAUGÉ Pontigné ANGERS Le Vieil Baugé TOURS Bocé By motorway: By plane: A10 Paris -Tours, Blois exit Eastern Airways operates 3 flights a week from D 938 D Le Guédeniau Chartrené A11 Paris - Le Mans - Nantes (exits: La Flèche, Durtal Southampton to Angers-Loire airport, from May 2009. Cuon and Seiches sur le Loir) Southampton airport is 1hr 10 min. from London by A28: Rouen - Le Mans - Tours (exits: Parigné L’Evêque, train (run by South West Trains). Ecommoy and Château-du-Loir/ Le Lude no. 26) Connections to Aberdeen, Newcastle, Leeds Bradford, By road: Brussels and possible links with Flybe to Dublin, RN10 Paris -Tours, D 323 Paris -Angers Belfast, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Manchester, Amsterdam, D338 Rouen -Tours Düsseldorf, Frankfurt and Hanover. Details of flights and connections on the site: By rail: www.angersloireaeroport.fr TGV Atlantique, Paris - Le Mans 55 min, Paris - Vendome: 42 min 3 www.vallee-du-loir.com Castel of Baugé APOTHICAIRERIE The 17th century “apothicairerie” or apothecary’s store in the Hôtel Dieu is undoubtedly the best-kept secret OF in the Baugeois. With its woodwork, starred vault and marquetry floor listed as a historic monument, this apothecary’s store is considered to STAY be one of the finest in France. On its Louis XIII style oak shelves stand 650 apothecary pots, pillboxes Outstanding places and jars in wood, earthenware, glass or pewter. Most of them still hold THE LOIR VALLEY HOLDS A THOuSAND TREASuRES: to visit products from days gone by. An age in which sickness was treated HILLSIDES CARPETED WITH vineyards , troglodyte HOuSES HIDDEN IN with “billy goat’s blood”, powdered TuFA ROCk, SPLENDID CHâTEAux AND CHuRCHES WITH FRESCOES, THE TORS woodlice, crayfish eyes or mummi- belltowers … THESE ARE THE PLACES not to BE MISSED,THE ONES that you fied human fingers. ABSOLutely MuST SEE . Apothicairerie PUSH OPEN THE DOORS OF TIME Lastly, still driven by keen curiosity, you And here’s a surprise - “A castle, a king, a journey”. discover a legend of a different sort, Three words and the doors of the Baugeois region that of the Anjou cross. aopen success before your eyes. Let your regard drift over an yourThis goldsmith’s masterpiece, brought back exceptional architectural setting, criss-crossed by from the Holy Land during the Crusades, streets bordered with mansion houses and tufa rock is said to be a fragment of Christ’s true cross. houses with slate roofs. First, the Château. It is said Today, it can be admired at the heart of that in Baugé, on the stairway leading to the private La Girouardière Chapel. apartments, the footsteps of the lord of the manor can still be heard... So come and listen to the secrets Contact: Baugé Tourist Office of a king in a unique setting. Phone: 02.41.89.18.07 - www.tourisme-bauge.fr Château de Baugé - Phone: 02.41.84.00.74 www.chateau-bauge.com Anjou cross 4 Making GENTLE LIVING IN THE VENDÔME, A CITY IN THE COUNTRYSIDE TROGLODYTE HOUSES OF Let’s forget the square with same name in Paris. Set off for Vendôme in the Loir Valley, direct by TGV high speed train, and THE VILLAGE OF TRÔO. In Trôo, it is hard to imagine the arrive surrounded by wooded countryside. This city of art and underground life hidden in the history is an ideal destination for a weekend, combining the “gruyère cheese“ of tufa rock quarries. dynamism of a city centre and the tranquillity of a city nestling To avoid getting lost in this in a verdant setting. It’s the perfect place to stay for a while underground network, we need to and recharge your batteries. As you make your way around make a distinction between the in a boat on its canals or by stagecoach, Vendôme reveals its “caforts“, underground mazes in which treasures one by one: a medieval castle, the abbey church of bats find refuge, and the houses La Trinité with its flamboyant gothic facade, wood-framed inhabited in picturesque style. Today, houses, Baltard-style covered market and even its old being a “troglo“ is considered cool. Oratory college which was attended by a poor student, Honoré de Balzac If you’re coming Driven by the inspiration of artists and as a family: an entertaining and instructive urban route across the city will lead you to the designers, some caves have now been “Petits Clous“ circuit. There are some fine discoveries to be made in Vendôme. transformed into contemporary Contact: Pays de Vendôme Tourist Office - Phone: 02.54.77.05.07 - www.vendome.eu dwellings. The final touch of originality: the Mediterranean-style vegetation; here yuccas, orchids and lilacs benefit DRAW ME A FRESCO from a micro-climate and their south- Medieval comic strips really do exist! And the Loir Valley has a fine collection of them. facing position. Now we understand Romanesque paintings and frescoes adorn the walls of many local churches, such as those in why in Trôo, some people have made Vendôme, Lavardin, St Jacques-des-Guérets and Poncé sur le Loir. Special mention should be made their “trou“ (French for hole)! of the chapel of Saint-Gilles in Montoire, which holds a collection of frescoes unique in the world, To visit: the “yucca“ cave, with a Byzantine-inspired Christ in Majesty, all dating from the 11th and 12th centuries. An eclectic recon-struction of a traditional mix of faces, silhouettes and expression, these works, saved from oblivion or destruction, come to life dwelling, and the «exhibition» cave under your wondering eyes. A veritable treasure! and Les Cafforts («caves fortes”, a former rock extraction quarry with underground springs. Contact: Phone: 02.54.85.30.45 et 06.80.16.97.98 CLASSÉ PARMI www.troo.com LAVARDIN LISTED among “THE MOST BEAUTIFUL VILLAGES OF France“ Your first sight of Lavardin is a view of its castle, with its dramatic ruins standing on the hillside. Quickly, climb up to it! Once you have crossed the wooden footbridge, the site is magical, wild, with goats gambolling at your feet. The panoramic views are simply superb. Meantime, the village has lost none of its charm. Its Romanesque church with frescoes, its old houses and its stone bridge adorned with flowers vie with one another for cachet.