Step Outside: Château d'Angers

The walls of Château d'Angers are still a formidable obstacle to anyone thinking of scaling them. It's hard to believe these towers are only two thirds of their original height.

When the castle was in use there would have been several armoured doors and porcullises in this gatehouse, which any attacker would have had to break their way through.

Parts of the living quarters of the Château d'Angers date back to the 9th Century. Originally founded by the Counts the castle was expanded to its current size in the 13th Century.

Today, the castle has been converted to a museum housing the oldest and largest collection of medieval tapestries in the world, with the 14th-century Apocalypse Tapestry as one of its priceless treasures.

In 1405, Yolande d'Aragon added a chapel and royal apartments to the castle. The chapel is a sainte chapelle, as it once held a relic of the True Cross.

The Château d'Angers is well known for its formal gardens. These are found inside the grounds of the castle, as well as in the former moat that surrounds the walls.

From the top of this gate tower you have a commanding view of Angers and the River Maine. Some of the buildings seen here were actually made using the stones of the old towers.

Today, you're more likely to find flowers than cannons. Take a walk along the battlements and imagine how it must have once looked.