Despite my best planning efforts, sometimes our travel adventures do not go according to plan.

That was the case during my first free day in Paris, France, while Brian was attending his tradeshow. I had mapped out several day trips to towns across northern France, but when I showed up at the Montparnasse train station that morning, I discovered that train tickets for every destination I’d researched were sold out!

I’ve been traveling in Europe for almost 20 years and have never had this happen before. But if there’s anything I’ve learned through travel it’s that sometimes you must relinquish all control and go with the flow. As someone who places a lot of pressure on herself to be perfect – and perfectly under control – travel has been an absolute gift and forced me to be flexible and spontaneous in ways that constantly benefit my rigid thinking.

Thus, I headed to Starbucks, bought a coffee, hopped on their WiFi, and quickly looked into other options that were a short train trip away. I landed on Angers, France. The 1.5-hour journey gave me an opportunity to look up things to do on my Kindle so I had a semblance of a plan when I arrived.

One Day in Angers, France

Angers was an unexpectedly perfect place for a leisurely day trip from Paris. It ended up being a short visit – because of my last-minute change of plans, I didn’t arrive until 11 a.m. and had to catch the 4 p.m. train back to Paris. Even so, I managed to hit a few highlights and make the most of my day.

Exploring Chateau d’Angers and the Apocalypse Tapestry

I spent the majority of my time at the Angers castle. While this site has been occupied since the 9th century, the fortress present today dates from the 13th century and has undergone numerous changes over time.

I loved the bright flower gardens in the area that used to be a moat, and was interested to learn that the towers and ramparts visible today were leveled in the mid-1500s to better adapt to advances in artillery.

After crossing the draw bridge and entering the interior courtyard I was surprised to see additional gardens and interestingly stunted trees. I made my way through the plantations of medicinal plants, past the 18th-century governor’s lodgings, and over to the old field gateway and portcullis where there is now a small eatery.

Walking the parapets back toward the fortified royal residences, I had incredible views to the northwest overlooking the town and river. I even spotted a hot air balloon rising and falling in the distance that I managed to capture in one of my pictures!

I really enjoyed touring the royal residence / museum, which includes several models of the fortress and how it has evolved over time. There was some information about how the rooms were used by the royals, but very limited furnishings.

I also popped into the nearby chapel, built around 1410, which has some residual tapestries still hanging about the single nave.

One of the reasons people go out of their way to visit Angers Castle is to see the famous Apocalypse Tapestry. The oldest surviving tapestry of this size, the Apocalypse Tapestry is made entirely of wool and nearly met its demise in the late 18th century when – considered old-fashioned – it was severely mutilated. In the mid-19th century it was rediscovered, restored, and relocated to the Angers Castle.

The Château d’Angers houses a major masterpiece of the mediaeval era, namely the Apocalypse Tapestry. It consists of six sections, each divided into seven tableaux. It was at the request of the Duke Louis I of Anjou that Nicolas Bataille, the famous 14th century tapestry merchant commissioned the monumental work from 35 weavers. Their work can still be admired today. The original patterns that were used in the making of tapestries were designed by Hennequin de Bruges, who was the official painter at the court of King Charles V at the time. Seven long years were needed to complete the tapestry.

The Apocalypse Tapestry is inspired by the last book of the Bible and depicts the various symbols presented by Saint John. Two of the original six panels are now complete. Originally, the total area of this impressive work was 850 m². Nearly 100 m of the original 150 m are now displayed to the public after an extensive campaign of restoration.

https://www.briottieres.com/en/activities/apocalypse-tapestry/

This massive tapestry hangs in an L-shaped gallery at Angers Castle. A couple of my photos below show the two sides of the L – the tapestry wraps around and seems to go on forever.

I really enjoyed spotting the four horsemen of the apocalypse, dragons, skeletons, and other elements corresponding to the plagues outlined in the Book of Revelations.

Taking a self-guided walking tour of downtown

After several hours touring the castle, I popped in the Tourist Information Center across the street and picked up a map for a self-guided, historic center circuit walking tour. There was a literal line painted on the ground to guide me from site to site, and the brochure provided some commentary on what I was seeing.

Several of the buildings were completely under scaffolding and undergoing repair. One that was undergoing some maintenance was the Cathedral Saint Maurice, which was built between the 11th and 13th centuries.

This Gothic-style cathedral towered over the small homes in the immediate area, and there was some active construction underway blocking the entrance. I was able to follow another family on their own walking tour through a gate and over to a well-hidden side entrance, which allowed us into the quiet church. I read that the oldest medieval glass window inside dates back to 1165 – quite impressive!

My walk also led me by a number of old half-timbered homes – some dating back to the 15th century – interesting murals, and old hotels.

Another highlight was the Grand Theater, which opened in 1871 as part of an ‘urban renaissance’ of this main square. In the early 1900s it was converted into a cinema, but today it is back to hosting live theatre performances.

The square was busy with people enjoying the nice weather, having a late lunch, briskly walking to their next activity, and even a few families enjoying a small carousel. I sat for a little while, taking it all in.

After finishing my walking tour loop, I headed back to the train station where I had an uneventful (thankfully!) trip back to Paris and on to my hotel north of downtown.

Although nothing like I had originally planned, my day-trip to Angers ended up being a great way to spend a day of solo travel!