Anjou Attractions

The delightful region of Anjou in western France, lying on both sides of the Loire, is now the département of Maine-et- Loire, with Angers as its chief town. It bears the name of an old county which in 1360 became a duchy. This region offers excellent conditions for the growth of flowers and fruit. Along the banks of the Loire and the other rivers in the region (the Mayenne, the Sarthe, the Loir, the Layon) and in the surrounding area are the numerous Châteaux and churches which give Anjou its special charm.

The most important town after Angers is Saumur, farther up the Loire valley. The Route du Vin d'Anjou runs from Angers to Chalonnes, Thouarcé, Doué, Montreuil-Bellay, Saumur, Gennes, Brissac and back to Angers. The varied character of Anjou's scenery was expressed by René Bazin in the words: "Anjou is not made all of a piece - it is composed of a hundred different landscapes." Haut- Anjou (Upper Anjou) is the area north of Angers centered on Le Lion d'Angers.

In the Middle Ages, under the Foulques dynasty, Anjou developed into one of the most important French feudal states, which considerably extended its territories by conquest and dynastic marriage, acquiring in this way Touraine, Maine and parts of Aquitaine. Geoffroy V (1128-1151), Count of Anjou, the first of his line to bear the name Plantagenet, conquered Normandy for his son Henry, later Henry II of England, and he in turn acquired Aquitaine by his marriage with Eleanor of Aquitaine. With the destruction of the Angevin kingdom by Philip II of Spain Anjou passed to the French crown (1204). Thereafter the title of Duc d'Anjou was borne by princes of the French royal house. At the end of the 18th century Anjou was the scene of the Vendée rising against the French Revolution.