At the confluence of the rivers Thouet and Loire and guarded by its magnificent chateau dating back to the 13th century, Saumur is clean, content and bourgeois, home to 35,000 saumurois. It has a large market, many shopping opportunities and excellent restaurants. The creamy white tufa stone buildings topped by shining dark grey slates make this one of the most attractive towns in the Loire valley.
Saumur wines, from the oldest vineyards in France, are produced on the local limestone and have a natural tendency to sparkle, like those from the Champagne region. Every year, 15 million bottles of bubbly, especially Saumur Brut and Cremant de Loire, are exported worldwide from here.
Saumur is famous as the home of the French cavalry, for the Ecole Nationale d’Equitation with its Cadre Noir displays of spectacular horsemanship.
What about the property prices and availability?
Although property prices have risen throughout the Loire Valley over the past few years, it has still represented a sound investment and as well as real value for money. Although very popular, particularly with the French, there were a number of bargains to be found, including for renovation.
Like all areas in France, prices have fallen due to the recent financial and economic problems. In January 2009, FNAIM (the French association of estate agents), reported a 5.8% drop across the whole Maine-et-Loire department. The French comparison site SeLoger.com puts the current mean average price per square metre in Saumur at 1900 euros. Immediately south of Saumur, prices range from 1760m2 (Doué-la-Fontaine) to 1790 m2 (Montreuil-Bellay). Further south, for instance along the Thouet valley, there are excellent value for money properties in some very charming settings, ranging from 1120 m2 (Brion-près-Thouet) to 1450 m2 (Curçay).
How to get there
Well-connected by motorway and TGV, 4½ hours from Dieppe and Caen, 6 hours from the Channel Tunnel and within 45 minutes of Tours airport (Ryanair).
A little history…
A strategic bridging point on the Loire, Saumur has experienced an eventful history. The town was strongly disputed by the counts of Blois and Anjou until king of France Philippe-Auguste seized the city in 1203. The castle was destroyed and rebuilt several times, totally rebuilt by Louis I, first duke of Anjou, at the end of the XIVth century.
In the 15th century, René d’Anjou, king of Naples and Sicily, duke of Anjou, Bar and Lorraine, was an educated patron of the arts, poet and a great organizer of knightly tournaments and promoter of the arts of courtesy and courtly love at the château of Saumur.
In the late 16th and early 17th century, Saumur flourished not only as a prosperous merchant town but as one of the great centres of Protestantism. A Protestant academy was formed in 1599; the general assembly of the Protestant churches met here. Saumur enjoyed a cultural and economic boom as a centre for students, scholars and publishers. However, the golden age of Saumur ended in 1685, when King Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes; many Protestants fled Saumur and the Protestant temple was ransacked.
In June 1940, the officers and the cadets of the College of Cavalry of Saumur heroically defended the bridges of the Loire between Gennes and Monsoreau against German troops from 18 to 20 June.
Famous saumurois: Coco Chanel (1883–1971), internationally renowned fashion designer and Fanny Ardant, (b. 1949), actress
Leisure
Saumur has an active sailing school, excellent sports and swimming facilities, horse riding, cycling, an active arts scene, music school and a breathtaking range of local associations and groups.
In the summer, there are many arts, musical and cultural events and the town is an attractive location for tourists visiting the Loire valley and its châteaux.
Saumur has some very good, not to mention one or two excellent restaurants and numerous high quality eateries of every type and ethnicity, so you won’t go hungry!
What to see
The château terraces, gardens, courtyard are open to the public. It has been undergoing extensive renovation over 10 years. http://www.saumur-tourisme.net/chateausaumur.html
Ecole Nationale D’Equitation and Cadre Noir. This world famous riding academy boasts the largest riding arena in Europe; Saumur is also home to the elite cavalry regiment the Cadre Noir. You can visit the stables, watch training sessions and admire traditional dressage techniques in action.
Musée Des Blindés (tank museum) now celebrating its 25th anniversary. The largest museum of its kind in Europe, displaying not only tanks but a wide range of other armoured vehicles, 800 altogether with 200 in working order. http://www.musee-des-blindes.asso.fr/2blindes/2jpresent.htm
Abbaye Royale De Fontevraud 12th to 19th centuries. The largest surviving complex of monastic buildings in Europe, home to many royal and aristocratic nuns, strongly associated with the Plantagenets. In its heyday the abbey was one of the western world’s key spiritual, cultural and political centres. http://www.abbaye-fontevraud.com/v3/home/reperes.php
Musée Du Champignon Saumur is the French capital of mushroom cultivation. Abandoned tufa quarries, in which relative humidity and temperature (11-14 °C) are quite constant, are extremely suitable for the production of champignons de Paris.
Caves De Saumur, Saumur’s sparkling and still wine makers use traditional methods to produce high quality wines. Red, white and rosé, Saumur-Champigny, Crémant de Loire, and the king of them all, the very dry sparkling Saumur Brut, the perfect choice for special occasions. All these wines mature gently in long galleries tunnelled out of the tufa rock. A visit to one of the producers is a must on a prospecting tour!
Troglodyte houses cut out of the soft rock line parts of the Loire river banks. Some of the houses or caves have been modernised and are still inhabited. Whole settlements such as at Rochemenier make a fascinating visit.
