Anjou welcomes you with flowers

Admittedly, in Anjou, plants are connected to the past, but also the present and future. Around the Végépolys entity, the Anjou region’s horticultural industry viewed as a “Competitive Centre of International vocation" groups together nearly 45,000 hectares of specialized cultivation with plants such as hydrangeas, perennials, vines, fruit trees, small red fruit, vegetables, etc. This intense activity has brought with it several research and training units of international reputation. To complete the picture of this horticultural landscape, the province also has magnificent gardens, such as the Oriental Park of Maulévrier, the largest Japanese garden in Europe, Doué-la-Fontaine rose gardens, Camifolia in Chemillé, etc. Soon Terra Botanica will bring its own touch to Anjou, which is itself one large garden.

All the charms of the terroir

In the centre of Val de Loire, 3rd wine-growing region in France, the Anjou vineyards of Anjou and Saumur are the most extensive. With 30 Appellations d’origine contrôlée (AOC), this region is a reflection of the blossoming rich palette of colour and flavour: dry or sweet white, dry or soft rosés, full bodied red and delicate bubbly wines. These wines will meet with the satisfaction of everyone’s tastes, from knowledgeable wine experts to enchanted amateurs. Their reputation and quality has led them to cross frontiers. Historical links with England enabled the development of a great quantity of exports to Europe, particularly of white wines and rosés. North America and Japan have also taken these nectars into their cellars and onto their tables.

The châteaux wherein the pulse of history beats.

Anjou has no less than 1,200 châteaux, manors and small country seats on its land. From the fortified castles to the Renaissance manor, the architectural work rhymes with the strength and grandeur of the Angevin landscape. Privileged survivors of the rich history of the province, these monuments all display a very “sturdy” character : The Château of Angers, an impressive schist and tuffeau (sandy chalk stone) fortress, dating from the 13th century, the elegant King René’s Château "d'amour" (castle of love) overlooking Saumur and the Loire, Brissac, Le Plessis-Bourré, Montgeoffroy and Serrant, four majestic châteaux standing round the capital, Angers, or even the many leisure residences, such as Baugé, Le Plessis-Macé, Montreuil-Bellay, Montsoreau, dear to Alexandre Dumas. Anjou can pride itself on having the largest number of inhabited châteaux, sometimes inhabited by the same family for several centuries.

The extraordinary world of the troglodyte caves 

Since the 12th century, the people of Anjou have dug into the soft stone to build impressive monuments and dwellings. Tuffeau (sandy chalk stone) and Falun (stone composed of shells) fed the extraction industry in the Saumur area, leading to the creation of an underground community. The centuries gone by did not hinder the growth of the fairy-tale world of the troglodyte caves. Thousands of kilometres of underground galleries in the region of Anjou are now considered to be the largest concentration of troglodyte caves in Europe. They have always housed dwellings, but also accommodate very varied economic and tourist activities, such as mushroom beds, cellars, museums, restaurants, cave-dwellers, craft workshops, artists’ galleries and even a zoo !

From land to the sky, the golden blue of Anjou

One foot in the Armorican Massif, the other in the Paris Basin, the département is divided into shale “Anjou noir" (black Anjou) and limestone "Anjou blanc” (white Anjou) areas. Slate is also an integral part of the Angevin landscape’s history. Although the département’s schist seams were coveted by many and the material had started to cover roofs and clothe residences, churches and châteaux in the 11th century, the slate making industry only began towards the end of the 19th century. All you need to do is visit two of the great slate basins, a short distance from Angers and in the Segréen area of Haut-Anjou, to be immersed in this period’s atmosphere as you wander through quarries, long greyish-blue mounds, metal shoring and mining towns.