Local shops, supermarkets and markets

In the village you’ll find a good baker and very small supermarket.  Beware – the bakery is closed on Mondays outside the main season, and the supermarket - Proxi – is also closed on Mondays.

Montsoreau also has a good baker and a slightly larger supermarket as well as a butcher. 

Montsoreau has a very good market on Sunday morning which is popular and friendly.  Apart from the usual fruit and veg stalls, look out for the excellent fresh fish stall and the ready roasted chickens.  Join the locals in sitting at a café to enjoy your breakfast croissants bought from the baker (or really join in with a glass of the local Crémant de Loire!).  On the 2nd Sunday of the month there is also a very popular flea market along the river side.  Fontevraud has a smaller market on Wednesday mornings in the village square (outside the mairie).

Full size supermarkets are on the edge of Saumur and there is a Super U on the edge of Chinon.

If you go to Chinon look out for the terrific fruit and veg market/store on the roundabout about 4km out of town on the Fontevraud side of town (“Rond point des Brégélles), called “les 4 Saisons”.

Saumur and Chinon are small towns with a range of small shops and restaurants.  For a large town with a wide selection of shops – including dozens of clothes shops - go to Angers.

Restaurants – plenty of wonderful options; these days it’s wise to book ahead

Fontevraud

• La Licorne – off the back of the square – follow signs.  Excellent haute cuisine.

• Chez Mimie – on the square – very good and friendly local restaurant now offering tapas-style dishes, but also excellent large steaks and a menu du terroir.

• La Croix Blanche (formerly Le Plantagenet) in the square – smart bistro style

• L'Abbaye 'Le Délice' – at the bottom end of our road serves straightforward local cooking and does pizzas on Friday nights. 

• Le Comptoir des Vins, the wine bar on the square, is great to sit and have a glass or two and something to eat – quiche and salad, confit de canard etc.

• Beside the baker on the corner of the square, try the local Foués – a nice lunch.

• Le Garage – next to La Licorne – buzzy bar with snacks, wine from their own vineyard and amazing (little) home-made ice creams

Montsoreau and Candes St Martin

• Ververt - locally-sourced high-quality cuisine and an extremely extensive and well-researched wine list

• La Dentelliere – at its best as a lovely creperie in the evenings (a real favourite of ours); tarts/ quiches and other such fare at lunchtime

• Le Petit Bar - good classic street-corner brasserie.

• Auberge de la Route d’Or (Candes St Martin) – another fine restaurant, in the shadow of the minster church

Further afield

There are so many to choose from but we have enjoyed meals at:

Saumur :            

• L’Alchemiste – smart top-notch food at a very good price

• La Reine de Sicile – very welcoming small restaurant serving meals of a high standard

• Auberge St Pierre – a relaxed, quirky restaurant serving every form of meat and offal you can imagine, in the central square

Chinon:              

• Les Années 30 – excellent high-quality dishes with a well-priced set menu and charming service in a characterful old town house

• Oceanique – very good fish restaurant

  
  

Tourist Offices – Helpful advice is available at -

Fontevraud - behind the Mairie, opposite the entrance to the village church

Montsoreau – the Maison du Parc – at the T junction by the river, turn left (heading for Saumur) and it’s just past the run of shops including the boulangerie

Soap (!)

Savonnerie Martin de Candre is down a small road on the left between Fontevraud and Montsoreau with an extraordinary (but not cheap) collection of handmade soaps for sale. 

Walk, cycle, canoe - You are spoilt for choice!

There are some maps and guides in the file marked “maps” on the shelves in the upstairs sitting room.  Please free to borrow but remember to replace for the next guests.

From the house you can pick up the circuit of the village.  Turn right onto Rue St Mainboeuf and head into the woods up the hill.  There is a viewpoint about 50 metres up – walk off the path and go along as far as you can to the left to see good views of the Abbey and village.  Return to the path and follow until a T junction.  If you turn left you can walk over to Montsoreau and Candes.  Turn right for the village circuit.  You will catch glimpses of the Abbey after a while as you go round the village.  When you reach a lane turn right onto it and follow that to a T junction by a tiny, historic chapel with information about the Abbesses of the Abbey.  Either keep a lookout for the walking sign which takes you across a field behind the Abbey or continue on the road to another T junction where you turn right again to climb up to the square. 

There is also good walking and cycling the other side of the village between Fontevraud and Montsoreau.  You can also cycle down through the military area and then cut back to the Varenne river – see the maps.

Otherwise look out for the well signed cycle paths and explore.   Generally the roads are safe; cars and lorries are used to lots of families cycling, but where you can you may want to avoid the main road between Saumur and Chinon as it is used by large vehicles.

Further inspiration can be found at:

https://www.ot-saumur.fr/Circuits-pedestres-SAUMUR-VAL-DE-LOIRE_a37053.html

https://www.chinon-vienne-loire.fr/tourisme/sentiers-pedestres (we’ve only tried the one at Thizay so far and that is lovely – look out for the Neolithic Dolmen).

https://www.ot-saumur.fr/Autres-circuits-et-boucles-velo_a38151.html - for example, you can find a good cycle route between Montsoreau and Saumur avoiding the main road under “Autres Propositions”.

Cycle hire – La Petite Reine has recently (2021) opened in Montsoreau. For cycle hire for a few days, they may be willing to deliver early one morning if you ask in advance. La Petite Reine – Magasin de vélo Montsoreau : vélo tourisme, vente vélo tourisme, vente vélo électrique, randonnée vélo

Canoeing on the rivers –

There are a number of places where you can hire canoes or kayaks for a few hours or the day. Our favourite is at Chinon – they drive you up the river and you paddle back down to Chinon. Location Canoë Kayak Stand Up Paddle et Vélo à Chinon- CLAN (chinon-canoe.fr)

In high summer, do not bathe or let your dog paddle or drink in the rivers, as the water courses round here are prone to dangerous algae.