Angers

This is what I wrote about it in 2019. I would pick a nicer hotel when I go back to Angers, but it was very handy & no issues with it.

ANGERS: I described Chartres as strikingly beautiful; Angers can only be described equally as outpouring awe! A fortress castle like none I’ve ever seen contains the medieval tapestry of 1375, illustrating the Book of Revelation Apocalypse tapestry - the reason I was willing to do another 1-night stay. I had so much fun at the fortress! First, the tapestries were even better than I anticipated with just small groups of people there when I went in both times. Then, the fortress was a climbing adult playground with so much to see! I ate at the café inside the fortress and tried my first citron presse. Hours later after I exited the fortress and was taking photos of the towers outside from ground level with the beautifully designed gardens, it still was surreal even photographing them!

For Angers, I stayed at Hotel Continental which is located behind the Opera House on Place du Ralliement square – a very handy location since the tram from the train station stops at the square. This hotel is a no frills but perfectly adequate hotel. I purchased their breakfast since my train was leaving late morning. A funny discovery was that the L’Arelequin shop that I wanted to photograph ended up being right next door to my hotel!

Angers has a young vibe and Parisian architecture. I really enjoyed walking around town and being at the Place du Ralliment in the evening and could picture it as a possible city if staying for several days.

Angers is right up there on my 'hmm, I think I could live here' places I've visited. For me, it's the right size, with lots of greenspaces, even in the city itself.

I have stayed at the Hotel Marguerite d'Anjou. It's right across from the chateau--you can have breakfast while staring out the window at it. Easy walk or bus from the train station. Nothing fancy, but nice. Right next door to the the hotel is a very good boulangerie (Ma Petit Boulangerie.) I passed on the hotel breakfast most mornings and picked up freshly-made pastries instead. For lunch, they put out some yummy sandwiches (I had a tomato and mozzarella sandwich, with crispy onions on a ciabatta roll, that I still remember!) Down an alleyway close to this hotel is the Crêperie Marie mil'goules. I suggest reservations for weekend dinner. It was quite tasty! Also fairly close to this hotel is a chocolate shop, La Maison du Quernon d'Ardoise, which sells a candy unique to Angers (the quernon.) If you are tiring of French cuisine, or just have a hankering for Italian, there is Le Napoli, with pretty good pizzas.

Nature/birding....Parc Sant Nicolas. It's an easy, short tram ride from downtown. It's huge, plenty of trails. Using the same tram exit, but in the other direction is Parc Balzac, which is even bigger.
In town, I also really enjoyed the Jardin des Plantes.

Michelin Green Guide (Chateaux of the Loire) has a nice walking tour of the old town that will take you past most of the highlights.

If you see and like the tapestries in the chateau, there are more modern tapestries in a different museum...the Jean Lurçat, which I found a nice complement to my chateau tapestry visit. Back downtown, there is the small Gallerie Davide d'Angers, a sculpture museum. There is a lovely courtyard just outside this museum, a great place to eat a picnic lunch. Another small museum is the Pincé, which is right downtown and in a nice older building. If you're already going to the main fine arts museum, ask about a combo ticket.

Enjoy your time in Angers!

Thank you, Jean and Eric!
Very helpful. Glad we chose to explore Angers.

Hello. For Angers, don't forget to visit "la Doutre", on the other side of the river Maine, which is the other historic district of Angers. And for "birding", if you mean birdwatching, there is the lake named "Lac de Maine", especially the east bank. On the other side, on the west bank, there is also a beach, all this at a thirty-minute walk from the castle. You can also rent a bike and go to the island of St Aubin, north of Angers. As mentioned, the pond of St Nicolas is also very pretty. And for wine, you can also take a TER train to Savennières, 15 minutes away, and visit vineyards. It's also possible to go there with a bike, along the river.