Montsoreau and Turquant between the Loire and the troglodytes

From the Place du Mail car park in Montsoreau, a path and a track run west along the south side of the Loire, with the river to your right a short way off, to Turquant. The hillside at Turquant shelters what the Anjou tourist board calls a remarkable troglodyte ensemble, with workshops in galleries dug into the tuffeau. The line goes through the village, loops west and south onto the plateau by tracks and lanes, and comes back east past vineyards to Montsoreau by the Chemin des Bournais.

It is 8.1 km round with 73 m of ascent; allow about 2¼ hours. Our height data may undercount small climbs: the French national height model (IGN) gives about 85 m for the same line. The grade is Easy: flat or gently rolling, on tracks, minor roads and a riverside path, with about two-fifths of it on roads; the line crosses the D947, the main road along the Loire, near Turquant and again as it returns into Montsoreau. The Anjou tourist board's own loop between Montsoreau and Turquant is 16.9 km (with a 9.1 km variant), about 3.5 hours for the circuit, rated moderate and waymarked blue; ours is our own line along mapped paths.

The tourist board warns that its path is impassable when the Loire is in flood or after heavy rain, so look at the river and the weather before you set out.

Montsoreau and Candes-Saint-Martin, to the east, are both among the Plus Beaux Villages de France, and are joined by the Parc naturel régional's 3.6 km heritage circuit, rated easy at about 2 hours, which starts from the same Place du Mail.

Route drawn by Global Adventurer along OpenStreetMap paths (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), with figures worked out from it. Check the forecast and the ground on the day: paths change.