Musée du Cheval

Saumur is the horse capital of France. It is home to the Cadre Noir, the elite riding school whose black-uniformed instructors perform classical dressage, and to the cavalry school that trained generations of officers, so it is natural that the town's château should house a museum of the horse. The Musée du Cheval is part of the Château de Saumur, the fairy-tale castle on the rock above the Loire that stands in the background of one of the most famous pages of the medieval illuminated manuscript called the Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry, where it is shown with golden towers and weathervanes.

The castle has had many lives. A fortress stood here from the Middle Ages, and in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries it was rebuilt as a princely residence by the counts and dukes of Anjou, whose lands stretched across the middle Loire. King René of Anjou, the cultured fifteenth-century prince known for his love of tournaments, held court at Saumur. In later centuries the building became a citadel, a prison and a barracks, and by the early twentieth century it was in poor condition. The town of Saumur bought it in 1906 to house its municipal museum and restored its original architecture, so the museums stand in a historic building that the town saved.

The equestrian collection is displayed on the second floor, in an exhibition on games and jousts on horseback, which presents selections from a large collection. It traces the relationship between humans and horses, from the knight's war horse and the tournament to the arts of riding, with saddles, bridles, spurs, prints and models. The first floor holds decorative arts, among them tapestries, ceramics and furniture, and the museum holds the Musée de France label. A belvedere at the top gives a wide view over the town, the river and the vineyards.

The museum arranges family activities, such as workshops in school holidays and free booklets for children aged seven to twelve, and offers reduced rates for children and families. Check the opening times and prices on the day of your visit, as they change by season.

The museum suits horse lovers, families with children and anyone interested in the history of Anjou. A visit takes an hour or two. In Saumur you can also visit the old town, the Place du Château and the wine caves cut into the tuffeau stone, where sparkling Saumur wine is aged. The Cadre Noir gives public shows and training demonstrations in the countryside near the town, and it is worth booking in advance.