MONTSOREAU

Situated at the confluence of the Loire and Vienne rivers, in the heart of the Loire-Anjou-Touraine Regional Nature Park, a major river stopover, Montsoreau offers a gentle way of life.

Two villages once stood side by side: Rest, a fishing village, and Montsoreau, an ancient walled town built around its 15th-century château, made famous by Alexandre Dumas and his "dame". The town's maze of flower-lined lanes leads you through troglodyte caves, old bargemen's cottages (15th to 19th century), a church "saved from the waters", a château, mills, the Palais de la Sénéchaussée, the Puits Fontaine... and still offers magnificent views of the river. Marked walking, horse-riding and cycling trails wind through the village, vineyards and quays. Montsoreau also reveals its intangible heritage, with an introduction to boule de fort and tastings of local produce (Saumur-Champigny and mushrooms grown in the tufa stone cellars).