Sights in The Loire
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Château Royal de Blois
Blois' château and the former royal seat was intended more as an architectural showpiece than a military stronghold, and successive French kings have left their creative mark over the centuries. From the château's huge central courtyard you can view four distinct periods of French architecture: the Gothic Salle des États and original medieval castle; François I's Renaissance north wing (1515–24); the classical west wing (1635–38) constructed under Gaston d'Orléans, brother to Louis XIII; and Louis XII's red-brick Flamboyant Gothic east wing (1498–1503).
The impressive Salle des États Généraux (Estates General Hall, c 1220) has a soaring double barrel-vaulted …
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Cathédrale St-Maurice
Angers' austere, mainly 12th- to 13th-century Cathédrale St-Maurice, in the centre of the historic Quartier de la Cité, has a striking Norman porch and nave (mid-1100s); the latter's three convex vaults, forming a perfect square, are outstanding examples of mid-12th-century Angevin (Plantagenet) vaulting. The stained-glass windows date from the 12th to the 16th centuries. In the 18th century a humungous organ was erected inside the western façade, facing the very baroque high altar (1758).
Long home to the Apocalypse tapestry, the cathedral continues to exhibit religiously-themed tapestries.
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Fine Arts Museum
In the Fine Arts Museum objects illustrating the history of Angers are gorgeously displayed on the ground floor. Upstairs, the paintings - none of them consciousness-changing but many of them excellent - include some compelling Italian works from the first half of the 1800s.
Here you will find the dramatic, Dante-inspired Paolo et Francesca by Jean-August-Dominique Ingres, in which Francesca's elderly and deformed husband, a homicidal look on his face, discovers his wife in the arms of his younger brother Paoli (in one of the two red rooms). Audioguides are being prepared.
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Tenture de l'Apocalypse
The magnificent Tenture de l'Apocalypse is a 101m-long series of 70 tapestries, commissioned by Louis I, Duke of Anjou, in 1375 to illustrate the Revelation to John - the last book of the New Testament. From June to August free guided tours begin at 10:30 and 16:00. There are plans to introduce free audioguides. Tapestry of the Apocalypse at Angers: Front and Back (around €33), available in the gift shop, explains all, scene by scene. Ticket sales end 45 minutes before closing.
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Château d'Angers Fortress
Other than the view, the only good reason to pay to get into the 13th-century Château d'Angers fortress - whose feudal features are, in any case, best admired from outside - is to see the magnificent Tenture de l'Apocalypse (Apocalypse tapestry), a 101m-long series of 70 tapestries commissioned by Louis I, Duke of Anjou in 1375 to illustrate the Revelation to John, the last book of the New Testament.
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Galerie David d'Angers
Larger-than-life sculptures by Angers-born sculptor David d'Angers (1788-1856) are displayed in Galerie David d'Angers, housed in a 12th-century abbey church transformed into contemporary architecture in the early 1980s. The cloister next door leads to a garden overlooked by Nikki de St-Phalle's colourful Serpent Tree, a children's playground (behind the library) and the Musée des Beaux-Arts.
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Cointreau Museum
At the Cointreau Museum you won't discover the top-secret recipe for the famous orange liqueur - every bottle of which is made right here - but you will find yourself inhaling some pretty intoxicating aromas. The 13:30 tour in July and August is in English. The museum is off the ring road to the east of Angers. By bus, take No 7 from the train station.
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Cathédrale St-Louis
The 17th-century Cathédrale St-Louis, with its lovely multistoreyed bell tower is dramatically floodlit after dark. Most of the stained glass inside was installed by Dutch artist Jan Dibberts in 2000.
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House of Magic
Facing the chateau and dedicated to the all-time great, Blois-born magician Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin - after whom the escapist Houdini named himself - the Maison de la Magie museum features interactive exhibits and fascinating clocks invented by Robert-Houdin. Be sure not to miss a trick at the magic show.
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Maison d'Adam
Behind the Cathédrale St-Maurice on place Ste-Croix is the Maison d'Adam (c 1500), a half-timbered house on whose ornate façade wooden sculptures run riot. The Tree of Life, on the corner, used to be flanked by Adam and Eve (another lovey-dovey couple can be seen nearby).
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Jean Lurçat Museum of Contemporary Tapestry
Ensconced in the opulent, Gothic-vaulted sick wards of a one-time hospital (1180-1865), the Jean Lurçat Museum of Contemporary Tapestry showcases monumental 20th-century tapestries by Jean Lurçat, Thomas Gleb and others.
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Montée St-Maurice
The square in front of the Cathédrale St-Maurice is linked to the river by a monumental staircase, Montée St-Maurice.
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Quartier de la Cité
In the heart of the old city, Cathédrale St-Maurice is one of the earliest examples of Plantagenet or Angevin architecture in France, distinguished by its rounded ribbed vaulting, 15th-century stained glass and a 12th-century portal depicting the Day of Judgment. Across the square from the cathedral on place Ste-Croix is the Maison d'Adam (c 1500), one of the city's best-preserved medieval houses, decorated with a riot of carved, bawdy figurines. From the square in front of the cathedral a monumental staircase, the Montée St-Maurice, leads down to the river.
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Musée Jean Lurçat et de la Tapisserie Contemporaine
Providing an interesting counterpoint to Angers' other famous piece of needlework, this museum collects major 20th-century tapestries by Jean Lurçat, Thomas Gleb and others inside the Hôpital St-Jean, a 12th-century hospital founded by Henry Plantagenet. The centrepiece is the Chant du Monde (Song of the World), an amazing series depicting the trials and triumphs of modern humanity, from nuclear holocaust and space exploration to the delights of drinking Champagne. Odd and unmissable.
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Musée des Beaux-Arts
The buildings of the sprawling, fantastic fine-arts museum mix plate glass with the fine lines of the typical Angevin aristocratic house. The museum has a section on the history of Angers and an superior 17th- to 20th-century collection: Monet, Ingres, Lorenzo Lippi and Flemish masters including Rogier van der Weyden.
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Galerie David d'Angers
Angers' most famous son is the sculptor Pierre-Jean David (1788–1856), often just known as David d'Angers. Renowned for lifelike busts and sculptures, his work adorns public monuments all over France, notably at the Panthéon, the Louvre and Père Lachaise cemetery (where he carved many tombstones, including Honoré de Balzac's). His work forms the cornerstone of this museum, housed in the converted 12th-century Toussaint Abbey and flooded with light through a striking glass-and-girder ceiling.
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Château d'Angers
This impressive black-stone château, formerly the seat of power for the counts of Anjou, looms behind quai de Ligny, ringed by battlements and 17 watchtowers. Unexpectedly, the flower-filled interior is rather cheerful. The star of the show is the stunning Tenture de l'Apocalypse (Apocalypse tapestry), a 104m-long series of tapestries commissioned by Louis I, Duke of Anjou around 1375 to illustrate the Book of Revelation. It dramatically recounts the story of the Day of Judgment from start to finish, complete with the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, the Battle of Armageddon and the coming of the Beast: look out for graphic depictions of St Michael battling a seven-heade…
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Parc de Mini-Châteaux
Intricate scale models of 44 of the Loire Valley's most famous châteaux. Squint a bit and it's almost as good as a hot-air balloon trip over the Loire for a fraction of the price.
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Pagode de Chanteloup
Two kilometres south of Amboise, the curious Pagode de Chanteloup was built between 1775 and 1778 when the odd blend of classical French architecture and Chinese motifs were all the rage. Clamber to the top for glorious views of the surrounding park and the forested Loire Valley. Picnic hampers (€12 to €26) are sold in summer, and you can while away the afternoon larking about in a rowboat or playing free outdoor games.
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Old City
Despite serious damage by German attacks in 1940, Blois' old city is worth exploring, especially around the 17th-century Cathédrale St-Louis, with its lovely multistoreyed bell tower, dramatically floodlit after dark. Most of the stained glass inside was installed by Dutch artist Jan Dibberts in 2000.
Across the square, the facade of Maison des Acrobates is decorated with wooden sculptures taken from medieval farces, and one of the few 15th-century houses to survive. There's another example at No 13 called Hôtel de Villebrême.
Lovely panoramas unfold across town from the peaceful Jardins de l'Évêché and the top of the Escalier Denis Papin.
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Musée de l'Objet
This brilliant modern arts museum is based on the collection of the artist Eric Fabre, and concentrates on artworks made using everyday materials. Among the best pieces are a sculpture of coat-hangers by Man Ray, an objet scatologique (involving a large high-heeled shoe) by Salvador Dalí and a TV Buddha by Nam June Paik.
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Maison des Acrobates
The facade of Maison des Acrobates is decorated with wooden sculptures taken from medieval farces, and is one of the few 15th-century houses to survive.
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Maison de la Magie
Opposite the château you can't miss the former home of watchmaker, inventor and conjurer Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin (1805–71) when, on the hour, dragons emerge roaring from the windows. It has entertaining live magic shows (three to four daily), exhibits on the history of magic and loads of optical trickery including a mysterious 'Hallucinoscope'. It's goofy, good fun! The great Harry Houdini named himself after Houdin, and there is a short historical film about the American magician.
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Le Clos Lucé
Leonardo da Vinci (pronounced van-see in French) took up residence in the grand manor house at Le Clos Lucé in 1516 on the invitation of François I, who was greatly enamoured with the Italian Renaissance. Already 64 by the time he arrived, da Vinci spent his time sketching, tinkering and dreaming up new contraptions: the house is jammed with scale models of many of his inventions. The expansive, beautiful gardens wind through forest and stream and are dotted with full-size replicas of his inventions including a protoautomobile, tank, bridges, hydraulic turbine and even a primitive helicopter. He died here on 2 May 1519.
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