Marcay Cheateau, Marcay
Elegant 15th century château
This 15th century château is built on the ruins of an 11th century fortress. Different families have lived in this domain, which included farms devoted to rearing livestock and wine production. It was a safe fortress where the peasants took refuge to protect themselves from the soldiers who scoured the region. All that is left today is the Château and its outbuildings, a park planted with trees, vines and land over a surface area of 15 hectares.
Its rooms are elegantly finished in a traditional style and the staff are friendly and welcoming. The château continues to produce appellation wine and offers cookery courses. A pretty outdoor pool is a welcome retreat from the heat of the summer sun. All the rooms are different, there are 30 in total. The views are either of the park, the courtyard or the vineyard.
The restaurant celebrates fish from the coast, meat and poultry from the local region and fruit and vegetables grown along the Loire.
Sights nearby
Sights in La Loire
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Maison de la Deviniere
The 15th century country house where François Rabelais, the writer, doctor and humanist, lived is now a museum to his life and works. Located in Seuilly, it houses sketches of the writer, describes medicinal plants talked about in his works and even has a shop selling wine from the vineyards in the grounds.
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Chateau de Chinon, Chinon
Overlooking the crossroads of the three provinces of Anjou, Poitou and Touraine, the rocky spur upon which the royal fortress of Chinon stands is a strategic and much coveted location that has been occupied since Roman times. There has been a castle on the site since at least the 10th century when Theobald the Trickster, Count of Blois, built a tower there. But it was not until 1154 that Henry II, Count of Anjou and King of England, set the fortress on the road to its present grandeur. The fortress began its fall into decay in the 17th century, under the ownership of Cardinal Richelieu. Now, after four years of restoration work on a scale unprecedented elsewhere in Europe, the fortress has the military splendour and cohesiveness that it enjoyed in bygone days.
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Abbaye Royale de Fontevraud
This vast royal abbey was founded in 1101 by Robert of Arbrissel, a preacher from Brittany. Its monastery buildings are Romanesque in design and were built to house 300 nuns. The abbey church, with its pristine white interior, was not completed until 1160. Having housed royal abbesses, its fortune changed and, from the early 19th century, it was turned into a prison before being donated to the French Ministry of Culture in 1960.
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Champignonniere Le Saut aux Loups, Montsoreau
Between Saumur and Chinon, on the hillside along the Loire River, you will find Le Saut aux Loups. It was favoured in prehistoric times by men and wolves who found a home here. Since the Middle Ages, there have been limestone quarries in the hillside for the stone required to build the châteaux the region is so famous for. The quarrymen also built the troglodyte houses as lodgings and these have been preserved in their original state here at Le Saut aux Loups. The caves are now home to extensive mushroom production lines and here you can visit their 800 metres of underground galleries before trying the speciality of the house, galipettes, delicious stuffed mushrooms, in their restaurant.
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Chateau d'Usse, Rigny-Usse
This sleeping beauty château, overlooking the Indre river, is thought to have inspired the children's book written by Charles Perrault in the 17th century. Parts of the existing château date back to the 15th century - unfortunately all aspects from earlier dates have been destroyed. However, this picture-book Gothic château with some Italianate features is in immaculate condition. Its interior has been maintained in authentic style and it has a sumptuous king's chamber decorated in gold leaf, just in case a king happened to be passing and drop in!
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La Grande Vignolle, Saumur
Owned by the Filliatreau family, this grand manor is part troglodyte cave. Once the dwelling of lords, it has a fine chapel and extensive vineyards producing some of the best Saumur-Champigny wines in the area.
