Angers Travel: France

Angers is a city in France in the departement of Maine-et-Loire, 191 miles south-west of Paris.
Angers is an industrialized city housing 150,000 people in the city proper, and close to 250,000 within the metropolitan area. The city traces its roots to early Roman times. It occupies the slopes on both banks of the Maine, which is spanned by three bridges. The district along the river is famous for its flourishing nurseries and market gardens. With its wide, straight streets, gracious public gardens, and ample, tree-lined boulevards, Angers is one of the more pleasant towns in France. It is well known for its fresh produce and cut flowers.

Attractions in Angers
The site of a massive and ancient Chateau, the city is also noted for the impressive twin spires of the twelfth-century Cathedral of Saint-Maurice. Other noteworthy churches around Angers include St. Serge, an abbey-church of the 12th and 15th centuries, and the twelfth-century La Trinite.

The famous abbey of St. Aubin has a courtyard with elaborately sculptured arcades of the 11th and 12th centuries. The tower there is also splendid.
Ruins of the old churches of Toussaint (thirteenth century) and Notre-Dame du Ronceray (eleventh century) are also nearby. The ancient hospital of St. Jean (twelfth century) is occupied by an archaeological museum. The Logis Barrault, a mansion built about 1500, houses the public library and the the municipal museum, which has a large collection of paintings and sculptures. The mansion also contains the collection of Musee David, consisting of works by the sculptor David d’Angers, who was a native of the town. One of his masterpieces, a bronze statue of Rene of Anjou, stands outside.

The Hotel de Pince or d’Anjou (1523-1530) is the finest of the stone mansions of Angers. There are also many curious wooden houses of the 15th and 16th centuries. The Palais de Justice, the Catholic Institute, a fine theatre, and a hospital with 1500 beds are the more remarkable of the modern buildings of the town. Angers is the seat of a bishopric, dating from the 3rd century, a prefecture, a court of appeal and a court of assizes. It has a tribunal of first instance, a tribunal of commerce, a board of trade-arbitrators, a chamber of commerce, a branch of the Bank of France and several learned societies