Quartier de la Cité

Angers


One of the earliest examples of Angevin (Plantagenet) architecture in France, Gothic Cathédrale St-Maurice is distinguished by its striking Norman portal and nave (mid-1100s), 13th- to 15th-century stained glass, humongous organ and supremely baroque baldachin (1758) over the high altar. From the square in front, a monumental staircase, Montée St-Maurice, leads down to a new riverside esplanade (under construction at the time of research) and a gourmet covered market (set to open in 2020).

Right behind the cathedral stands the Maison d’Adam, one of the city’s best-preserved medieval houses (c 1500), which is decorated with a riot of carved, bawdy wooden sculptures.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Angers attractions

1. Cathédrale St-Maurice

0.05 MILES

Angers' austere, mainly 12th- to 13th-century cathedral has a striking Norman porch and nave (mid-1100s); the latter's three convex vaults, forming a…

2. Galerie David d’Angers

0.05 MILES

The Angers-born sculptor Pierre-Jean David (1788–1856), aka David d’Angers, is renowned for his lifelike sculptures, which adorn public monuments such as…

3. Maison d'Adam

0.07 MILES

Right behind Cathédrale St-Maurice stands the Maison d’Adam, one of the city’s best-preserved medieval houses (c 1500), which is decorated with a riot of…

4. Montée St-Maurice

0.08 MILES

The square in front of Cathédrale St-Maurice is linked to a new riverside esplanade (under construction in 2018) and a gourmet covered market (set to open…

5. Musée des Beaux-Arts

0.08 MILES

Has a superior 14th- to 20th-century collection (mainly paintings) that ranges from French masters Ingres, Fragonard and Watteau to the Florentine Lorenzo…

6. Château d’Angers

0.17 MILES

Looming above the river, this forbidding medieval castle – seat of power of the once-mighty counts of Anjou – is ringed by moats, 2.5m-thick walls and 17…

8. Château de Brissac

9.49 MILES

Owned by the Brissac family for 18 generations (since 1502), this seven-storey castle, the tallest in France, has 204 rooms, many of them sumptuously…