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Angers > Saumur
50 km - There are not many dedicated cycle routes on this stage, but there is plenty of opportunity for some pleasant meandering. The route firstly crosses the old slate quarries just outside the town of Angers, crossing to the south bank of the Loire river, at the foot of the sloping vineyards of Layon. There are all kinds of vestiges of the dim and distant past to explore here (megaliths, old remains, chapels, and more), especially around Gennes. Finally, between the river and the vines, the Château of Saumur appears into view, in all its majestic dominance.
Access
 | by trainStations in Angers, La Bohalle, Saint-Mathurin, and Saumur: Average of 2 trains per day that allow bikes, travelling to Nantes, Tours and Orléans. |
Itinerary
Leave Angers by the rue Hanneloup. Then follow the cycling signs towards Trélazé and then La Daguenière. This section of the route includes 8km of trails free of motor vehicles, crossing the historic Ardoisières site - a lunar landscape of small hills, former slate quarries now converted into lakes, mine headframes and colourful flowers. There is also another little unusual sight - a chain ferry crossing the Authion.
We rejoin the main route of the EV6 itinerary at La Daguenière. Take a left towards Saint-Mathurin-sur-Loire where we will be crossing the Loire. We'll be staying on the south bank of the river until Saumur, where we will arrive using a cycle path.
Tourist destinations
Angers
Historic centre
The wealth of Angers' heritage and the care taken to show it in its best light have given the city the prestigious label of a City of Art and History, awarded for its architecture and heritage.
Enter by the huge drawbridge across the moat and explore the governor's lodge, the dungeons, the battlements and enjoy the unobstructed view over the city. The architecture shows the course of the site's development across the centuries, with the construction of the fortress and its towers by the young King Louis, the Royal Lodge, the chapel and the Châtelet (small scale castle) - all built by the Dukes of Anjou. The interior of the castle plays host to the attractive residence of the Dukes of Anjou, made up of Gothic buildings, gardens and can even boast a few vines.
Saint-Rémy-la-Varenne
Nearby: The old Abbey of St-Maur
The Benedictine abbey of Saint-Maur has some very old origins. It was founded way back in 543 by Saint Maur himself. Close by are the remains of buildings from the Gallo-Roman era. In the middle of the 9th century, the monastery - very exposed on the banks of the Loire, was destroyed by the Normans. The buildings you see were built in 1687, on the location of the old abbey church.
Cunault
Roman Church
The building of the church of Cunault is thought to have begun in the late 11th century, an era when the monastery gained a significant income from its market and its port on the Loire, which replaced the port of Trèves. The monastery continued to welcome a stream of merchants and pilgrims even after the market disappeared.
Saumur
The Castle
The castle-palace of the Dukes of Anjou in the 14th and 15th centuries, Saumur Castle was the home of King René, and is the last surviving example of the Princely palaces erected by the Valois dynasty. A former residence of the city governors, a prison and then an arms and munitions depot, it was purchased by the City in 1906 to accommodate the city museum, now known as the Museum of France.
Cavalry Museum
In the prestigious setting of the old stables of the Cadre Noir equestrian display team, built in 1827, the Ecole d'Application de l'Arme Blindée Cavalerie (EAABC - Armoured Cavalry Training School) has a collection tracing back the history of the French cavalry since Charles VII in 1445 up to the modern day.
Bagneux Dolmen
With its 15 slabs weighing over 500 tonnes, the Bagneux dolmen is the grandest of the region's megalithic monuments.
Practical Informations
Bike rental
Angers http://www.vert-event.fr/
Angers, Les-Rosiers-sur-Loire, Saumur Détours de Loire
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tourist offices
 | Angers |
 | Saint-Rémy-la-Varènne |
 | Saumur |
MAPS and guidebooks
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