THE MIDDLE AGES IN THE LOIRE VALLEY

A visit to the historic town of Angers, with its black and white ramparts will take any visitor back to the 12th Century during which period this town moved to the forefront of the European scene. Indeed, the Count of Anjou, Henry II Plantagenet, succeeded to the throne of England following his marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine. Although born in Le Mans, Henry was buried in the Abbey of Fontevraud with his wife and son, Richard the Lionheart. In the 13th Century, a new cathedral was consecrated in the town of Chartres and shows exceptional workmanship in its stained-glass windows, ornate religious statues and its labyrinth. It was at the Chateau of Chinon that a young Joan of Arc met Charles VII before she helped him to succeed to the throne of France.