Lazing around the Loire and its tributaries between visits to vineyards can fill a good summer week around Angers, as long as you have your own transport. Otherwise it's a two-buses-a-day problem, or no buses at all. Worthy exceptions are the Savennières vineyards , which you can reach by train , and St-Aubin-de-Luigne , 20km southwest of Angers and just south of Rochefort, where you can rent rowing boats during the summer at the tourist office, next to the campsite.

 

If you have your own car, you can easily reach of a couple more châteaux in these parts: Brissac-Quincé , 20km south of the town (also bus #9), and Le Plessis-Bourré near Ecuillé (impossible to get to by public transport), 17km to the north. For a more accessible glimpse of a real monster of a mansion, head for the Château de Serrant , just outside St-Georges-sur-Loire, on bus route #18 from Angers. Baugé , north of the Loire and over to the east, is famous for a religious relic and is a pleasant little town for a short stopover, with four or five buses daily from Angers.