I plan to visit some Loire Valley chateaux this fall. Take a look and help me narrow it down some.

[suffragette]

29. I've been to Saumur.

It's a lovely town. Our hotel had french doors which opened to a beautiful view of the river.

Because I had sprained my ankle badly, I did not make it up the hill to the chateau, but my sister did and enjoyed it.

We both enjoyed the wonderful fish in beurre blanc, a tasting tour at Combier (the peach liqueur is essence of fresh peach) and the kindness of the people there who went out of their way to be helpful to us (including a helpful upgrade to a lower level room with a large bathtub with waterjets and a ride to the train station). Also the chocolatier plied us with free samples and tucked generous freebies into our bag of a small purchase.

We had planned a couple of side trips from there, but my ankle did not allow for these.

One would have been to a dolmen in Saumur. Very unusual in that it is on private property and I think they have a small cafe. To sip coffee at ease near something so ancient stirred my imagination.

The other was to have been to the Abbey of Fontevraud. There are effigies of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine there. Eleanor in particular led such an amazing life, especially for a woman of her time.

Also, on the train from Angers to there, you can see local cave dwellings, some of which are still used.


https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g187199-d3291376-r222713742-Distillery_Combier-Saumur_Maine_et_Loire_Pays_de_la_Loire.html

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fontevraud_Abbey

http://www.saumur-tourisme.net/ville-uk.html

http://www.ledolmendebagneux.com/