On the vineyards and panoramas of the Layon wine route

Discover Savennières and its vineyards

Start your trip in Savennières, a village classed as a “Petite Cité de Caractère“, which harbours the oldest Roman church in Anjou.

Amid the vines of Savennières, which are today cultivated by around 40 winegrowers, discover the white wines that have been renowned for over two thousand years.

The famous French gastronome Curnonsky considered these exceptionally elegant wines highly, classing “La Coulée de Serrant” among the five greatest white wines in the world.

Travel through the scenery of the Corniche Angevine

Take the road along the Corniche Angevine where the landscape is a mix of country fields and characterful villages.

On this wine route through the Savennières and Layon vineyards, you’ll find some forty or so visitor-friendly wineries.

Pop into one of them for a stroll through the vines and a tasting of wines like Coteaux du Layon, Quart-de-Chaume, Bonnezeaux, or Crémant de Loire…

The estates in Savennières

Want to learn more about the wines of Savennières ? Meet winemakers at wine estates with the “Caves Touristiques” label. They offer full visits explaining all the secrets of the famous “Savennières”, one of the Loire Valley’s most prestigious wines.

Château des Vaults Domaine du Closel

Épiré Castle

Domaine aux Moines

Wandering around Béhuard

Next head on to Béhuard, one of the only inhabited islands on the Loire. This village classed as a “Petite Cité de Caractère” is just a few kilometres from Angers and lies within the Loire Valley UNESCO World Heritage site.

Wander through its streets to discover one of the village’s most famous features, the tiny chapel of Notre-Dame-de-Béhuard, which is perched on rock. On the outskirts of the village, you’ll find woodland, marshes and the still very much natural banks of the Loire to admire…

Béhuard offers a real breath of fresh air for those who like countryside outings and is the ideal place for a short stop.

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Réserver

Deeper into the Layon vineyards

Continue your route along the Corniche Angevine. La Haie Longue offers a splendid panorama of the Layon vineyards.

Prolong your escape by following the rolling roads to Chaudefonds-sur-Layon, where many beautiful wine estates await. Take a tour around one of them to learn more about their sweet dessert wines.

In Saint-Lambert-du-Lattay, don’t hesitate to stop off at the Musée de la Vigne et du Vin d’Anjou. Through 10,000 artefacts, it retraces the history of the Angevine winegrowing area and the savoir-faire of its producers. Following this, make your way to Thouarcé, passing through Rablay-sur-Layon, a charming artists’ village.

Look out for the vineyard huts in the Aubance vineyards

Why not try and spot the winegrowers’ huts ? Once they used to be common in most winegrowing areas, but nowadays only a few remain. These small sheds were used in the past by winegrowers for storing tools or as a place to rest during breaks.

Most were left to ruin following the introduction of viticultural machinery, however, the village of Vauchrétien has restored some of them (like in Tuloires or in Jambe aux Moines) to help tell the history of the vineyards.

Before returning to Angers, don’t miss a visit to the Château de Brissac, which belongs to the De Cossé family and which has many rooms for you to explore.