Chalonnes-sur-Loire France
146
Cruises availables
At departure or passage at this port
CroisiEurope (146 Cruises)
MS Lafayette
48 Cruises
Image not available
| 19 June | 5 days | Round-trip The Loire Valley, a Royal legacy |
| 24 June | 5 days | Round-trip The Loire Valley, a Royal legacy |
| 29 June | 5 days | Round-trip The Loire Valley, a Royal legacy |
Ms Loire Princesse
98 Cruises
Frequently Asked Questions
At the foot of the boatmen's houses, on quays that run some 600 metres facing the sandbanks and islands. This Anjou town sits at the confluence of the Loire and the Layon.
Yes, it is shaded and flat, suitable for a stroller or a wheelchair. The steeple of Saint-Maurille church, standing at the water's edge, serves as a landmark from one end of town to the other.
The tangle of narrow lanes behind the quays serving the old boatmen's houses. A marked trail tells the town's river history, from the great days of Loire barge traffic to the local workshop where flat-bottomed traditional boats are still built.
Tuesday or Saturday depending on the season, on the square. You will find rillauds, goat cheeses and seasonal strawberries; the stallholders are easy to talk to and generous with advice.
One of the largest still-inhabited Loire islands, opposite the town: ten kilometres of meadows, farms and pollarded ash between two arms of the river. A loop on foot or by bike gives you the feel of it.
Yes, in every season: the Anjou valley is one of the country's main migration corridors. Terns nesting on the sandbanks in spring, geese and lapwings in winter, kingfishers all year round.
One of the finest drives in Anjou, starting south of the town and winding along the hillside towards Rochefort-sur-Loire, above the vines and slate roofs. Shore excursions head there readily.
The Coteaux du Layon, known for sweet whites made from chenin. A tasting at an estate facing the corniche view sums up Anjou better than any speech.
The town marks the western edge of the Loire Valley World Heritage listing. The landscape of sandbanks, willows and hillsides is part of it.
It plays neither the monument card nor the spectacle card: there is no major site to tour. What it offers is a day at the river's pace, between barge-hauling memory, a secret island and hillside wines. This is a call for people who know what they are looking for.
