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| The beautiful Castle of Saumur is the main sight of the town and it is one of the most scenic castles along the river Loire. |
Saumur is a beautiful and elegant town along the River Loire and marks the entrance to the most famous and popoular part of the Loire Valley, the one where the most known castles are situated, running from Saumur to the West till after Tours.
Instead to head straight to Saumur, we recommend to visit first Nantes Castle (click here to read the post about Nantes Castle) and Angers Castle (click here to read the post about AngersCastle), they are imposing and visiting them will help you understand better the amazing history of the valley.
Undoubtly Saumur Castle is one of the most beautiful castles of the Loire Valley and the little town of Saumur is certainly worth a visit.
The Castle is situated in the town of Saumur on the highest rock, dominating the village and the river Loire below.
As soon as you will come near Saumur you will see the huge castle dominating the landscape, like a king dominating his kingdom.
What to do and see when visiting Saumur:
1. Take time to walk along the river Loire first and enjoy the great views of the castle from there.
2. Then walk in the old town, wonder around in the little cobbled streets before finally ascend towards the castle.
3. Admire the castle from the different prospectives: from the town, from the vineyards and take a coffee at the bar next to the castle for a very nice and relaxed view of the castle.
4. Finally if you have time visit the castle, but remember the best sights of the castle are certainly from outside, its architecture and its tall towers rising against the sky are certainly the main feature of this wonderful building.
5. Consider that a full day is more than enough to visit Saumur and the castle.
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| We absolutely recommend to admire Saumur Castle from different sides and prospectives as the decorated façades are all different one from the other one and all very impressive. Here the main gate of the castle. |
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| It is also the position of the castle to make it special. Saumur Castle overlooks the old town and the river Loire and offers wonderful views above the valley. |
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| On the East Side of the castle vineyards are still exisiting exhalting the unique mix of the Loire Valley: Castles and Wines. |
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| Again a different sight of the castle, this time as seen from the old town below |
It is worth to pay the ticket and visit inside Saumur Castle?
Frankly, if you want our opinion, no!
Let's be clear every amazing building like Saumur Castle is worth a visit, but if you are visiting the River Loire Castles and you dont' have time to visit all of them, we definetely believe that other castles along the river deserve much more a visit inside than Saumur Castle.
Saumur Castle is certainly much more impressive from the outside, for its amazing design, its position along the river and the beautiful surroundings.
Instead than spend your time inside the building, use it to walk around the castle and observe it from different position admiring the panorama around Saumur.
In any case below you find a short history of the castle and a short description of the castle to decide yourself if to visit or not Saumur Castle.
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| The Castle as seen from the other side of the river |
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| The view on the river Loire from the Castle |
A short history of the Castle and what to see inside the castle:
Saumur Castle was a Fortress during the 13th century under the minority of Saint Louis.
Later became residence of the dukes of Anjou.
In 1480 the town and the castle of Saumur returned to the estates of Louis XI, King of France, following the death of King René, the last duke of Anjou.
The castle successively became a residence for the town governors, a prison and a munitions depot.
The monument has been the object of a meticulous restoration campaign and houses the municipal museum since 1912.
The beautiful pieces of the collections are displayed in the Château and in the Abbatial hall.
In the Château du Saumur you can visit the dungeons and the tower and also the Musée des Arts Decoratifs and the Musée du Cheval which are inside the castle buildings.
What is to see in the area after Saumur and Saumur Castle?
Here you can find some posts about monuments and town to discover in the same area of Saumur:
Want to read some posts about French typical food and drinks?
Read:
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