The best running trails around Le Puy-Notre-Dame

The community's house of worship stands out on the horizon with its tower like a landmark.

Montreuil, or small monastery, and Bellay, named after Lord Berlay installed in 1025 by Foulque de Nerra, founder of the rich province of Anjou, has been a walled town since the 13th century. Located at the crossroads of Anjou, Touraine and Poitou, the city became a strategic and commercial issue from the Middle Ages. This interest is reflected in the construction of fortified enclosures. A first belt (11th century), direct protection of the castle, is completed by an impressive rampart (13th century) encompassing the upper and lower towns, while a third enclosure ensures control of the ford. Six monumental gates, four of which still exist, were opened by the lords of Harcourt. These great builders endowed Montreuil-Bellay with exceptional architecture, which characterizes the appearance of the town even today: tuffeau lacework on the facades of the houses, the bossage of the towers of the Porte Saint-Jean, the tangle of the roofs of the house of the castle, turreted manors, castle chapel turned collegiate church, castles, Saint-Jean hospital... The 15th century is undoubtedly the golden century of Montreuil-Bellay, which can now be discovered in this preserved setting.

A must-see among the castles of the Loire, that of Montreuil-Bellay is very impressive, although less known, with its 15 defense towers and its 600 meters of ramparts. Fully furnished and inhabited by the same family since 1822, the castle located on a rocky promontory can be visited. Just like the gardens, suspended above the Thouet. From the ramparts, you will have a breathtaking view of the vineyards of the château's wine estate.

This historic and picturesque town boasts the Château de Montreuil-Bellay, first built on the site of what was the Gallo-Roman village high on a hill on the banks of the Thouet River. It is listed as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture. During the medieval period the property, consisting of more than 4 km2 (990 acres), was part of a group of 32 villages near-by that created the then known as "L'Anjou". The Mountreil-Bellay fief, first belonged to Gelduin le Danois afterward by regal heredity passed to Berlay le Vieux who became the first Sir of Bellay, in 1025 the castle was seized by Foulques Nerra a Plantagenet making Giraud Berlay his vassal during the second half of the 12th century. After the defeat of the English by Philip II, the fief returned to a descendant of the Berlay le Vieux family Sir of Bellay, Guillaume de Melun, during this period the fief went under a big renovation by the creation of high massive walls construction including 13 interlocking towers, with entry only via a fortified gateway and the name was anglicized from Barley to Balley. During the French Wars of Religion (1562–1598) the town of Montreuil-Bellay was ransacked and burned but the sturdy fortress suffered little damage. Ownership of the castle changed several times including, through marriage, to the Cossé-Brissac family. During the French Revolution the castle was seized by the revolutionary government and used as a prison for women suspected of being royalists. In 1822 the property was acquired by Saumur businessman Adrien Niveleau, who divided the huge property into rental units. In 1860 Niveleau's daughter undertook occupancy and a major restoration campaign, redoing some of the rooms in the Troubadour style. Descendants of her husband's nephew are the current owners of the property. Nowadays, Château de Montreuil-Bellay is also the name of a premium wine made on the property.