Le Tilleul - Things to Do

Things to Do

The Local Area

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Getting Here

Things to Do

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Many of our visitors prefer to alternate their days out. They might visit a château or two one day, then spend the next day at Le Tilleul just relaxing on the comfortable garden chairs enjoying the peace and quiet...

Local Wildlife & Nature

Whilst the Loire is famous for its wine and châteaux, it's also a wonderful area for birdwatchers. The loudest noise here is often the birdsong (although our chickens and ducks occasionally disturb the beauty of the larks warbling overhead)! There are egrets and terns on the river, buzzards and hen-harriers over our fields and hoopoes and golden orioles in the woods and quiet lanes. In late summer, if you're lucky, you can see osprey fishing in the Loire. And nightingales sing at Le Tilleul on warm summer nights.

For budding botanists, both wildlife and plants offer amazing diversity. Cowslips, wild orchids and primroses fill the verges in Spring. And in autumn, the leaf colours are spectacular.

Huge fields of roses suddenly explode with colour in the summer - Doué-la-Fontaine is the rose-growing centre of France. There is an amazing Rose Festival set in old stone tunnels in mid-July, and also a 'Conservatoire of roses through the ages' which is open all summer.

For animal lovers, the internationally-famous Zoo at Doué isn't just for children! Their record for breeding baby animals from endangered species is one of the best in the world, and they often release the animals into the wild. There are no cages, so the landscaped grounds give the animals and birds a natural setting, which makes it un-missable - even if (like us) you don't like zoos:
www.zoo-de-doue.com

Museums

Museum lovers, forget the old image of a museum - here you can see everything from a mushroom museum to a museum of tanks - and most other things in between!

This area is famous for its 'troglodyte' cave-dwellings and many are still lived in today. You can visit two sites near Doué-la-Fontaine.

And try a 'troglo' restaurant - lit by candles and warmed by a huge stone bread oven - for the traditional 'fouaces' which is fresh-baked hot bread with a variety of stuffings. Prices, including excellent local wine, are around 20 euros a head - but you do need to go hungry to gain maximum benefit because it is VERY filling!

Local tourist offices are very good (with English-speaking staff if needed) – our nearest are at Le Puy Notre Dame (about 5 minutes by car) or in Doué itself (around l5 mins).

Castles, Churches & History

Over a hundred sites are easily reached from Le Tilleul and all of them will fascinate and delight you...

For history lovers, there's the fairy-tale castle at Chinon, with its memories of Joan of Arc; the Abbey at Fontevraud housing the painted tombs of Richard the Lionheart, Henry II, Eleanor of Aquitaine and Isabelle of Angouleme; Montreuil-Bellay - the last walled town in Anjou with its charming little château overlooking the river.

For gardener lovers, the unforgettable gardens of the Château at Villandry offer a great day out for gardeners, artists and photographers alike:
www.chateauvillandry.com

Music

Classical music lovers will find a range of concerts in superb settings all year round, such as the abbeys at Cunault and Fontevraud. Both abbeys host music festivals which attract many of Europe's finest musicians. The acoustics at Fontevraud mean that a wide range of CDs have been recorded there - many of them for sale in the Abbey shops.

For other music lovers, Saumur has jazz and military music festivals, as well as varied choral and orchestral performances, especially in summer.

Sport & Leisure

For classic car lovers, our local town, Le Puy Notre Dame, hosts a 'Retro Grand Prix' in the third weekend of July. The narrow streets of the medieval town are transformed into our own 'mini Monaco' - it's very, very noisy, very, very exciting, but we're still not sure about the straw-bale safety barriers...!

For water lovers, there is a superb indoor pool at Saumur, and open-air pools at Montreuil-Bellay and Doué (which are closer). The Canoe Club at Saumur arranges kayak trips on the Loire.

For lovers of more gentle activities, there is an equestrian centre nearby.

There are good golf courses at both Angers and Fontevraud.

Walking and cycling are a real pleasure on the quiet roads and marked forest tracks and you can walk or bike from Le Tilleul itself. "The Barn" includes use of two all-terrain bikes, but additional bikes can be hired in Saumur by the day or by the week. Many local towns and villages also offer organised walks in the summer.

Theme Parks (for big or small children)

An hour's easy drive gets you to "Futuroscope", near Poitiers - the world-famous theme park of cinema and film. Allow at least a day though, and avoid going in the height of summer when the queues can be very long:
www.futuroscope.com

For lovers of Medieval times, try "Le Puy du Fou" which is a medieval village by day (with jousting and falconry), and "Cinéscenie" at night (a light-and-sound show with a cast of hundreds of local people which depicts the Vendéen Wars which ravaged the area just after the Revolution):
www.puydufou.com

Paris

City lovers can take the train to Paris from Saumur (as long as you don't mind leaving at 7.30am!) and be there in 1 hour 20 minutes! The train back leaves at around 6.45pm, leaving you with a carefree (and car-free) day to explore and enjoy the capital of France.

The Seaside

In the summer, you can reach the Vendée coast along quiet roads in under 2 hours, so a day at the seaside is perfectly possible - perhaps stopping for a leisurely meal on the way home.

Wine

Wine lovers, what can we say? Many experts (and quite a lot of non-experts like us) believe that the Loire wines are hugely under-rated. Our local town, Le Puy Notre Dame, has 52 winegrowers alone. The sparkling wine houses in Saumur all provide great guided visits and generous tastings - champagne style on a beer budget!

Some of the local late-picked white wines are almost like liqueurs in their richness and depth. They can be very expensive indeed but will keep for years and years, getting steadily better. A wide range of reds and rosé wines, as well as some superb dry whites, are all here waiting to be discovered. Chinon, Bourgeuil and St Nicholas de Bourgeuil are only a short drive away and are just a few of the better-known reds, but you will get a warm welcome wherever you go - a chance to share and taste great wines prepared by great experts.

For uncomplicated wine-tastings, the Cave Co-Operative at St Cyr en Bourg buys wine, or juice, from hundreds of local winemakers. There's a fascinating guided tour (including a trip thirteen floors underground in old stone mines) and a variety of wines for you to try afterwards. They make some terrific wine and there is a 'self-service' shop, should you decide to treat yourself. When we first went, everyone drove their cars down the tunnels to visit the wine-making area and the tasting was at the very bottom. Not great planning – the tunnels coming back up needed Armco barriers on the walls to prevent cars bouncing off the rocks!

Wine prices range from around 25 euros for a 10-litre 'bag in a box' (easy to take home and no risk of broken bottles - the present Customs rules allow you 90 litres per person, if your car can take the weight)!

A few other famous attractions include...

Montreuil-Bellay - pretty river, château, restaurants and shops

Brissac-Quince - the château and gardens there deserve a whole day trip

Ussé - the "Sleeping Beauty" château

Azay-le-Rideau - perhaps the most-photographed château of all, with its enchanting stonework reflected in the moat

Le Cadre Noir - the French Cavalry HQ and school with Gala Evenings in summer, guided visits, displays of dressage and the famous "Airs Above the Ground":
www.cadrenoir.tm.fr

We always try to keep visitors posted of what's on during their holiday - from Galas at the Cavalry school, to colourful local village festivals. We will always book tickets for concerts or other events with pleasure.