Saumur

Saumur's chateau stands on a bluff above the Loire in pale tuffeau limestone, and its silhouette of pinnacles is familiar because it appears almost unchanged in the Tres Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, painted around 1410. The town is the home of the Cadre Noir, the riding corps of the national equestrian school, whose black-uniformed riders train in classical dressage and give public demonstrations. The tuffeau quarried from the hillside left kilometres of caves, now used to age sparkling Saumur wine by the traditional method and to grow button mushrooms, both of which run visitable underground operations.

What you actually see

• The white chateau - the pinnacled castle painted around 1410.
• The Cadre Noir - the national riding school's classical dressage.
• The wine caves - sparkling Saumur aged in old tuffeau quarries.
• The mushroom caves - underground growing beds open to visits.

When to go

April to October; Cadre Noir presentations run on a published schedule and book out, with the main galas in spring and autumn. The chateau closes some days in winter.

Honest expectations

Cadre Noir visits are timed and sell out well ahead; morning training sessions are not always public. The chateau has had long restoration campaigns closing parts of it. Caves are cool year-round.

Nearby

Fontevraud lies southwest; the troglodyte villages are on the same hillside.