Château de Saumur

The Château de Saumur stands on a hill above the Loire, at the edge of the old town, and its white walls and pointed turrets are among the most picturesque sights in the Loire valley. The castle appears in one of the most famous manuscripts of the Middle Ages, the Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry, in the miniature for September, where it is shown as a fairy-tale palace rising from the cornfields, and the restored building today still recalls that image. The setting, on a rock in a strategic position beside the river, explains why a fortress was built here in the tenth century by Theobald the Trickster, count of Blois, and why it was held in turn by the counts of Anjou, the Plantagenet kings and the French crown.

The present castle was largely built in the fourteenth century and given its elegant form by Louis I of Anjou and his successors, who made it a residence of the dukes of Anjou. It was later a prison, a barracks and an arsenal, and it fell into disrepair in the nineteenth century. The city of Saumur bought it in 1906, and since then it has been restored to house a museum. The building has four wings around a courtyard, with tall, round towers capped with steep roofs and decorated with chimneys and pinnacles, and a walkway on the ramparts gives views of the town and the river.

The museum holds the French national label Musée de France, and its collections include decorative arts, with tapestries, ceramics, furniture, sculpture and ivories from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, which show the luxury of court life. Another section is devoted to the horse. Saumur is famous for its cavalry school and its riding tradition, and the equestrian collection tells the story of riding and jousting, with saddles, bridles, harnesses and exhibits about games and tournaments on horseback. Temporary exhibitions and family activities, including themed tours for children, are offered during the year, and a guided visit to the belvedere gives extended views.

The view from the belvedere is wide. You look out over the roofs of the old town, the river Loire with its sandbanks and bridges, the confluence with the river Thouet, and the green valley. A visit takes two to three hours. The castle is open from Tuesday to Sunday, with longer hours in July and August, and it is closed for several weeks in January and early February, and on a few holidays, so check the calendar. There is an admission fee, with reductions for young people and families.

Saumur is famous for its wine and for its cave dwellings. The tuffeau limestone of the hillsides has been quarried for centuries, leaving a network of caves in which sparkling wine is aged, and some are open for tastings, as are the Caves de Saumur. The Marché de Saumur, the Musée du Cheval, the Théâtre de Saumur and the old streets of the town are close by, and the Cadre Noir, the elite riding school, gives displays that can be booked. The castle suits families, history lovers and wine drinkers.