Angers travel guide
A slate castle, the Apocalypse Tapestry and Anjou wine
The old capital of Anjou on the Maine, near the Loire, with a striped castle holding the medieval Apocalypse tapestries, a timbered old centre and Anjou wines. Best from May to September. Two days, with a day out on the Loire. Prices are above average, and many nationalities enter France visa-free.
Angers sits on the Maine just above its meeting with the Loire, about 300 km southwest of Paris, and makes an easy, unhurried start to the western Loire Valley. Its castle of dark slate and pale stone, with 17 round towers, dominates the riverbank. This was the cradle of the Plantagenets and, under King René, one of the courts of learning in late medieval Europe.
Inside the castle hang the Apocalypse tapestries, woven in Paris between 1377 and 1382 and still about 103 m long in all, with 71 scenes. Give it a full hour. Across the river in the Doutre quarter, the old Hôpital Saint-Jean holds its 20th-century answer, Jean Lurçat's Le Chant du Monde.
Back on the castle side, walk up past Saint-Maurice cathedral to the Maison d'Adam, a carved half-timbered house on the square behind it. Students keep the bars of the old centre busy most nights, and the local Anjou wines such as Savennières are poured everywhere. Pick up quernons d'ardoise, blue-coated chocolates shaped like roof slates.
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Top things to do in Angers
Great medieval wall hangings, a slate-striped castle and wine country on the doorstep.
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Best time to visit Angers
Month by month, so you can pick the weather and the crowds you want.
Highs of 20-26C and only 45-60 mm of rain a month; the Lac de Maine, the Loire cycle paths and vineyard tastings are at their best.
Mild for the north, around 9-12C by day but grey and wet with 70-75 mm a month; the tapestries and museums carry the visit.
Grape harvest in the Layon and Savennières vineyards runs from September into October, when some estates are too busy for drop-in tastings; phone ahead.
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Getting there
Montparnasse TGVs into Saint-Laud
Everything comes into Angers-Saint-Laud, the station a short walk south of the castle. TGVs from Paris Montparnasse take between 90 minutes and two hours, and some TGVs also start from Charles de Gaulle airport, skirting Paris. Regional trains link Nantes in about 45 minutes, Le Mans in 40 and Tours in 55. The nearest airport with regular flights is Nantes Atlantique: a shuttle bus runs to Nantes station, and from there the train takes under an hour, so allow about an hour and a half in all. From the station, the tram or a 10-minute walk up Rue Saint-Laud brings you to the old centre and Place du Ralliement. Drivers arrive on the A11 from Paris and Le Mans, or the motorways from Nantes, Tours and Rennes.
- TGV from Paris Montparnasse
- Between 90 minutes and 2 hours
- Nantes Atlantique (NTE)
- Shuttle to Nantes station, then about 45 minutes by train
- Regional trains
- Nantes 45 minutes, Le Mans 40, Tours 55
- Saint-Laud to the centre
- Tram or about 10 minutes on foot
- Do not count on left luggage at Saint-Laud, as storage around the station has been suspended under the national security plan; leave bags at your hotel.
Where to stay
Under the castle, by the Ralliement or in the Doutre
Inside the ring of boulevards, almost any address in Angers is a walk from the castle. The streets between the castle and Saint-Maurice cathedral suit a first visit, with the tourist office and the main sights at the door. Around Place du Ralliement and Rue Saint-Laud you are in the shopping and bar district, convenient and lively, and noisy late at night with students. The Doutre, across the Maine, is the old half-timbered quarter by the Lurçat museum, quieter and better for couples. Near Saint-Laud station the hotels are practical for early trains but the streets have little character.
- Castle and cathedral
- Central, near the tourist office; few budget options
- Ralliement and Rue Saint-Laud
- Shops, bars, trams; noisy at weekends
- La Doutre
- Timber-framed lanes across the Maine; quiet, fewer restaurants
- Saint-Laud station
- Easy for trains; plain area
Getting around
Irigo trams A, B and C across the Maine
From the castle, the cathedral is a few minutes' stroll, and the Doutre is just over the Pont de Verdun. For anything further, the Irigo network runs three tram lines, A, B and C, through the centre and across the river to Avrillé, Monplaisir and La Roseraie, with buses filling in. Tickets come from machines at tram stops or from some shops, and on every tram and urban buses 1 to 12 you can simply tap a contactless bank card, with a daily cap set at the day-pass price. Validate every time. Cycling is easy along the Maine and around the Lac de Maine, the large lake southwest of the centre. For vineyards and Loire castles, hire a car or use regional trains to Saumur.
- Tram A, B and C
- Through the centre and across the Maine; machines at stops
- Contactless
- Tap a bank card on trams and urban buses, capped at the day-pass price
- On foot
- Castle, cathedral and Doutre within a 15-minute loop
- Train to Saumur
- Regional services along the Loire for the day trip
Know before you go
What makes Angers worth the trip, and what catches visitors out.
Why travelers love it
- The Apocalypse tapestries, 71 scenes of dragons and angels in a darkened gallery.
- Le Chant du Monde in the vaulted ward of the old Hôpital Saint-Jean.
- The castle walls at dusk from the far bank of the Maine.
Good to know
- There is no left luggage at the station at present, so plan to leave bags at your hotel.
- The Angers City Pass from the tourist office opposite the castle covers the main sights for 24 to 72 hours.
Trip fit
BookingMentor editorial ratings out of 5, based on a first-time visitor's experience.
Weather in Angers, month by month
Warm summers and few hard frosts mark the Loire climate in Angers. Long-term monthly averages for the city are below.
Climate figures are approximate long-term averages for Angers (Meteo France, via Wikipedia).
The Apocalypse tapestries, the Doutre and Loire wine in Angers
Allow two days for Angers. Give the first to the Château d'Angers and its Apocalypse tapestries, the cathedral, the Maison d'Adam and Lurçat's Le Chant du Monde in the Doutre. Use the second for the Galerie David d'Angers, then the Carré Cointreau, Terra Botanica or a tasting in Savennières or the Layon valley.
The castle's dark schist walls go back to 1228, when Blanche of Castile ordered the town fortified and the castle rebuilt; the city walls followed between 1230 and 1240 under Louis IX. Louis I of Anjou commissioned the Apocalypse tapestries in 1373. Cointreau has been made at Saint-Barthélemy-d'Anjou since 1849, and the Terra Botanica plant park opened in 2010 near the Île Saint-Aubin. About 159,000 people lived in Angers in 2023, making it France's 18th-largest commune.
First morning. Go straight to the Château d'Angers when it opens, before the groups. Walk a stretch of the ramparts for the view over the Maine, then give the Apocalypse tapestries at least an hour in their dimmed gallery: the seven-headed beast and the whore of Babylon are easy to find, the small details take longer.
Afternoon. Climb the Montée Saint-Maurice stairs to the cathedral, then step behind it to the Maison d'Adam and its carved beams. Cross the Pont de Verdun into the Doutre, wander Place de la Laiterie and finish at the old Hôpital Saint-Jean for Lurçat's Le Chant du Monde, hung in a 12th-century ward.
Evening. Eat in the Doutre or around Place du Ralliement, then follow the students to the bars of the old centre.
Second day. Start at the Galerie David d'Angers, sculpture set inside a roofless abbey church glazed over in the 1980s. Then head out: the Carré Cointreau at Saint-Barthélemy-d'Anjou for the orange liqueur, Terra Botanica for families, or a tasting in Savennières or the Layon valley, 20 to 30 minutes' drive away. With a full day, Saumur and its castle are an easy train ride along the Loire.
Rillauds, crémet d'Anjou and quernons in Angers
Pork, Loire fish, cream and Anjou wine are the base of the cooking in Angers. Try rillauds, slow-cooked pork belly, and pike-perch in beurre blanc, then crémet d'Anjou for dessert and a box of quernons d'ardoise, the blue-chocolate slate sweets. Savennières and the Coteaux du Layon are the wines to order, and the old centre and the Doutre hold most restaurants.
Anjou cooking is pork, river fish, cream and wine, and it is rustic. The local charcuterie to try is rillauds, chunks of pork belly cooked slowly in their own fat and served warm or cold, often with a glass of chilled white. Rillettes appear on every apéritif board. River fish such as pike-perch comes with a beurre blanc, the butter sauce of the Loire.
For dessert, order crémet d'Anjou, a light whipped mixture of cream and fresh cheese, served with red fruit or a coulis. Then buy a box of quernons d'ardoise, nougatine squares coated in blue chocolate to look like the slate roofs of the town.
Wine is the other half of the meal. Savennières makes dry, long-lived Chenin Blanc; the Coteaux du Layon and Quarts de Chaume give sweet whites; Anjou rosé and Cabernet d'Anjou are the easy summer bottles. Cointreau, made on the edge of town, turns up in cocktails everywhere.
Where to eat: the old centre between the castle and Place du Ralliement has the brasseries and wine bars, while the Doutre has smaller, quieter tables. On the road to Saumur, troglodyte restaurants cut into the tufa serve fouées, small breads puffed in a wood oven and split open for rillettes or goat's cheese.
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How we research our Angers travel guide
Tram, TGV and château details for Angers are compared with Irigo, SNCF and the Château d'Angers before each review. Background comes from angers.fr and France.fr, entry rules from the EU's Entry/Exit and ETIAS portal.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Quick answers to the questions travelers ask most before visiting Angers.
Timing & weather
Between 90 minutes and two hours, depending on stops. Saint-Laud is a 10-minute walk from the old centre.
The best time to visit Angers is May to Sep. Highs of 20-26C and the driest months for the riverbanks, the castle gardens and wine visits.
- Best overall: May - September (Highs of 20-26C and only 45-60 mm of rain a month; the Lac de Maine, the Loire cycle paths and vineyard tastings are at their best)
- Winter: November - February (Mild for the north, around 9-12C by day but grey and wet with 70-75 mm a month; the tapestries and museums carry the visit)
General
A set of medieval tapestries woven in Paris between 1377 and 1382, now about 103 m long in total with 71 scenes from the Book of Revelation. They hang inside the Château d'Angers.
Yes. From Nantes Atlantique (NTE) take the shuttle to Nantes station, then the train to Angers, about 45 minutes; allow around an hour and a half in all.
Yes, the Angers City Pass from the tourist office opposite the castle comes in 24, 48 and 72-hour versions with free entry to local attractions.
The city's signature sweet: squares of nougatine coated in blue chocolate to look like the local roof slates. Chocolate shops in the old centre sell them in boxes.
Yes. One day covers the castle, cathedral and Doutre; the second leaves time for the David d'Angers gallery and a tasting in Savennières or the Layon.
The old quarter across the Maine from the castle, home to the former Hôpital Saint-Jean and the Jean Lurçat museum.
Yes, the Carré Cointreau at Saint-Barthélemy-d'Anjou, on the eastern edge of the city, runs guided visits; book ahead.
At Stade Raymond Kopa, about 1 km southeast of the centre. The club returned to Ligue 1 in 2024.
From the castle, the cathedral is a few minutes' stroll, and the Doutre is just over the Pont de Verdun. For anything further, the Irigo network runs three tram lines, A, B and C, through the centre and across the river to Avrillé, Monplaisir and La Roseraie, with buses filling in. Tickets come from machines at tram stops or from some shops, and on every tram and urban buses 1 to 12 you can simply tap a contactless bank card, with a daily cap set at the day-pass price.
Getting there
Three tram lines, A, B and C, cross the city and the Maine; buy tickets at stop machines. On trams and urban buses you can also tap a bank card, with the daily total capped at the day-pass price.
Everything comes into Angers-Saint-Laud, the station a short walk south of the castle. TGVs from Paris Montparnasse take between 90 minutes and two hours, and some TGVs also start from Charles de Gaulle airport, skirting Paris. Regional trains link Nantes in about 45 minutes, Le Mans in 40 and Tours in 55.
Visa & documents
France belongs to the Schengen area. Citizens of the EU and of many other countries, including the US, UK, Canada and Australia, can visit visa-free for up to 90 days in any 180-day period; other nationalities need a Schengen visa. The EU's Entry/Exit System (EES) records non-EU travelers' fingerprints and a photo at the border.
Health & safety
Crime against visitors to France is mostly petty. Pickpocketing is common in Paris on the Metro, especially line 1, and around the Eiffel Tower, Montmartre and Gare du Nord. Rail and air strikes and street demonstrations can disrupt transport, so check before travel days and keep away from protests.
