Saumur

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Wherever you may be in Saumur, the graceful turrets of the town's 14th century château are never far away from your vision. It stands high on a bank proudly overlooking the Loire River and expanse of white stone buildings spread-eagled beyond, a magnificent survivor of the heavy bombing that took place all around it during 1940. Inside, you can see superb collections of art, furniture and porcelain dating from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance, plus an excellent museum devoted to the history of the horse worldwide.

Horse Riding

This area is in fact known as the Kingdom of the Horse. Just west of Saumur is the National Riding School, which stages regular displays of daring and spectacular horsemanship by the French Army's most skilled riders. Colourful equestrian pageants also figure frequently, and naturally there is a good choice of stables where you can take to the saddle yourself should you be so inclined.

Things to do

Transport of a rather different variety can be seen at the town's tank museum. This is the largest of its kind in Europe, and in addition to over 150 armoured vehicles on display, the collection includes around 700 other examples of military hardware. Prize exhibit is possibly the King Tiger tank, the only working example of this model in the world.

Also just outside of Saumur are large clusters of Troglodyte dwellings - homes literally carved out of the soft limestone cliff faces. It is estimated that during the 12th century more than half of the local population lived in such homes, and while there are some genuinely interesting traditional examples surviving, others have been modernized into Troglo bars and restaurants. Whether or not you approve of this commercialism is up to you. Perhaps you may care to sample a few of the excellent Saumur wines while you consider the matter.