Small friendly central Saumur hotel
Located on a quiet street in the centre of Saumur, this is a great place to stopover. It has attractive, though small, rooms which have been fully refurbished. Numerous famous French men and women have stayed over here.
Choose from a selection of rooms, all equipped with air conditioning, a mini-bar, TV and WIFI. The rooms each have their own personal detail and are decorated stylishly.
The hotel has a terrace to relax in, and a bar with an extensive whisky collection.
Built in the grounds of the Château de l'Epinay, this 18-hole golf course extends over 67 hectares. The 5,790-metre course has slightly wavy greens and small rivers, ponds and streams. A reasonably easy course with the Martin Hawtree signature.
Windsurfing, Stand-Up paddleboarding, Catamaran sailing and Kayak tours ranging from half day to several days can be taken with this canoe and kayak company based on the Ile Millocheau in Saumur.
This train dating from 1950s travels from Thoré to Trôo taking in troglodyte dwellings, Saint-Rimay tunnel, the town of Montoire and Varennes and more.
Located in the heart of the Sologne, this 27-hole club offers three courses; Sarcelles, Faisans and Chevreuils. You can do 9 holes, combine two courses to do a round of 18, or if you're feeling energetic, you can do all 27!
Balloon Revolution offer flights over the Touraine region of the Loire Valley allowing you to discover its beautiful châteaux from the sky. Usually launching from the grounds of one of the châteaux, it's an unforgettable experience.
Located on the banks of the river Loire with Sancerre hill in the background, this course in the midst of century-old trees, ornamented by natural water hazards, is considered one of the most attractive golf courses in the centre of France. An 18-hole course with bunkers and water hazards which offer some interesting problems. There is also a pro-shop, restaurant, 6-hole practice course, driving range and putting green.
This contemporary dining room is housed in a 19th century town house.
This restaurant, translated as The Fisherman's Place, offers an excellent selection of predominantly fish dishes served with locally grown vegetables. Christophe Cosme has earned a Michelin star for his dishes in this small spot in Blois.
This café-bistro is located in the centre of Saumur, right on the busy Place Saint-Pierre.
Sample their gourmet burgers, inventive salads, sweet & savoury pancakes and delicious sundaes.
This cute traditional French restaurant in Blois serves good quality food on, as the name suggests, red benches! The dishes are innovative and work well, and the is atmosphere charming.
This wonderful restaurant run by Bernard Robin, the renowned chef, used to be a coaching house. Today is serves excellent traditional cuisine in a fine dining setting accompanied by an excellent wine selection. A top dining spot in the Loire with a Michelin star to match.
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.
Originally built in the 10th century, this pretty château with its blue slate roofs overlooks the enchanting town of Saumur. The existing building dates back to the 12th century when it was rebuilt by Henry II, King of England. Having been an army barracks at one time and a prison at another, today the château is also a museum of horses, given the importance of the equestrian school to the town.
This town is almost as crazy about horses as it is about wine. This museum describes the history of the French cavalry - though you might notice that not all French achievements, or otherwise, are alluded to in the museum!
With one of the largest collections of tanks in Europe, this museum charts the history of the development of this armoured fighting vehicle. It's a must for military history enthusiasts as it contains good international examples and demonstrates technological advances through the years. Although you may only view around a couple of hundred tanks, the museum actually holds over 800!
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.
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.
