Angers is lively and lovely

An arch at Château  d'Angers provides a framed view across the Maine River. 

 My sister and I recently spent a few days in Angers, a beautiful city located at the edge of France's Loire Valley. Currently ranked as one of the country's greenest cities, Angers is known for its environmental focus as well as its rich history. The centerpiece of that history is Château d'Angers.

From fortress to palace to prison to royal residence,
Château d'Angers is now a monument and an exhibition space.  

The castle has been an important fortress and home to various royals since the 13th century. Its most notable resident was King René who expanded the legacy of the Plantagenet dynasty and turned Angers into an important European intellectual capital. Good King René (le bon roi René) was, among his other accomplishments, a poet, composer, and all-around patron of the arts. 

The royal residence at Château d'Angers was built by
King René in the 15th century.

Formal gardens surround the base of Château d'Angers.

Angers Château is an impressive collection of buildings including a royal residence, which now is an exhibition space, a chapel, courtyards, formal gardens, and, most importantly, the Apocalypse Gallery. This modern space houses the oldest and largest surviving set of tapestries, collectively known as the Apocalypse tapestry. 

The 100-meter long Apocalypse tapestry was created during the
Hundred Years' War, a period when France was struggling with 
famine and plague.

The Apocalypse tapestry originally comprised six 6 x 23-meter panels.
It is made entirely of wool.

We probably should have opted for a guided tour in order to more fully understand the tapestry's story, which is based the Book of Revelation in the New Testament. In a nutshell: St. John had visions, Good and Evil struggled, catastrophes ensued, and Christ emerged triumphant. 

 Le Musée Jean-Lurçat in Angers originally was a hospital.
It now houses exhibits of contemporary tapestries.

The connection between Angers and tapestries continues in another exhibit at the château, as well as in a delightful exhibition at Le Musée Jean-Lurçat. We can't pass up the current show: a sampling of tapestries on loan from Aubusson based upon the stories of J.R.R. Tolkien. (And yes, I'm a LOTR super fan.) I think I need to make another trip to Aubusson, a town in the Massif Central that I visited and wrote about in 2014. 

The reverse side of a canvas illustrates how tapestries are created. 
It is part of the Tolkien exhibit at Le Musée Jean-Lurçat in Angers.

Boats, including the one we have lunch on, are moored at
Quai des Carmes in Angers.

A feature of Angers that makes it such an appealing place for outdoor activities is its huge green space. We aren't here long enough to walk along the Maine River, but instead enjoy it from the water during a scrumptious lunch cruise on L'Hirondelle Bateau Promenade Restaurant. 

Our bateau lunch cruise on the Maine River heads back to Angers.

This 15th-centry half-timbered house is located at Place Sainte-Croix in Angers. 

Le Jardin des Plantes in Angers dates back to the 18th century.

With its population of 150,000, about 25,000 of whom are university students, Angers is a lively and affordable city. One evening, we skip dinner and instead share a bottle of wine and a platter of vegetarian dips (with delicious bread) at a Les Trois Pinardiers, a wine bar around the corner from our apartment. Earlier that afternoon we check out Jardin des Plantes, where flowers are blooming and families are frolicking. After several recent trips where I saw more rain than sunshine, it's especially great to have some good weather.

Sculptures are found throughout the Jardin des Plantes in Angers.

Oh, and I usually mention the local tourist office at the beginning of my posts, but it isn't too late to give a shout-out to the one in Angers. We arrived in Angers by train and  had a few hours before our lodging was available. After we had a great lunch at a Thai restaurant, we headed to the Office de Tourisme hauling our luggage on our backs. The staff there is super-friendly and we were able to stow our backpacks in a locker there (for a small fee) while we visited the château.  

The Office de Tourisme in Angers ranks high on my list of tourism
offices for its friendliness, helpfulness, and storage lockers.