For a long time, Anjou was not even a part of France. The region, not far from the Atlantic coast had its own duke who was related to the king of France but an autonomous entity. As the kingdom of the House of Bourbons expanded, more and more principalities were assimilated (for example, Nice became French only in the 1860s before which it was appended to Liguria in Italy). It is ironic that Angers, which was the capital of Anjou, is today regarded as such a cultural hinterland that people say they speak the best French here. The Tourangeaux (inhabitants of Tours) will disagree and vie for the spot (they have Balzac to boast of).

Type: Culture
Best from: Paris
You need: 5 days

Dressed in winter clothes,u00a0locals fish in the flooded Maine. Pics/ Lalit Sultan Farzdan

However, that does not change the fact that with its chateau in the style of the famous castles of the Loire Valley (UNESCO World Heritage properties), important rivers such as Maine and Loire touching it, and its own unique style of church architecture (the Gothic Angevin), not to forget the famous orange liqueur, Cointreau, the city has become a symbol of la vie provinciale. Even today around three O’clock in the afternoon, if you walk into a cafe, you will have a bow-tied waiter calling you Monsieur and fetching you your Perrier with ice (sparkling water) or a glass of white wine, while old ladies in their fur caps discuss the future prospects of their bright grand-daughters.