Souzay-Champigny

Parnay (French pronunciation: [paʁnɛ] ) is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. It is known for its 11th Century Church. Parnay is one of the nine communes that is in the AOC Saumur-Champigny and fruit Red Wine made from Cabernet Franc.

Villebernier (French pronunciation: [vilbɛʁnje] ) is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. It is located on the Northern bank of the Loire river, between Angers and Tours. A couple of architectural treasures can be found in the village. A Romanesque church and the manor of Launay was built by Roi René in 1414. The chapel Notre-Dame-des-Eaux, built in 1843 by priest Théar, has a unique round architecture. In 2018, the village had 1464 inhabitants.

Turquant (French pronunciation: [tyʁkɑ̃] ) is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France.

Varrains (French pronunciation: [vaʁɛ̃] ) is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France.

Varennes-sur-Loire (French pronunciation: [vaʁɛn syʁ lwaʁ] , literally Varennes on Loire) is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France.

The Musée des Blindés ("Museum of Armoured Vehicles") or Musée Général Estienne is a tank museum located in the Loire Valley of France, in the town of Saumur. It is now one of the world's largest tank museums. It began in 1977 under the leadership of Colonel Michel Aubry, who convinced both the French military hierarchy and the local political authorities. Started 47 years ago with only a few hundred tracked vehicles, it has become a world-class collection which attracts visitors interested in the history of multinational tank development as well as professional armor specialists. From the very beginning, Colonel Aubry had made it a key policy of the museum to restore to running condition as many historically or technically significant vehicles as was feasible. The museum has the world's largest collection of armoured fighting vehicles and contains well over 880 vehicles, although the British Tank Museum has a larger number of tanks. Because of shortage of space, less than a quarter can be exhibited, despite the move to a much larger building in 1993. Over 200 of the vehicles are fully functional, including the only surviving German Tiger II tank still in full working order. It often performs in the spectacular armor demonstration for the public, called the Carrousel, which takes place in the summer every year. Saumur was the traditional training center for cavalry for over a century but now holds the current Armoured Cavalry Branch Training School which is entirely dedicated to training armor specialists. The tank museum had its early origins in a study collection. It is still a State institution funded by the Army, but it is managed by the Association des Amis du Musée des Blindés which publishes a substantial yearly magazine and encourages membership from the public. There is also a separate traditional horse cavalry museum in the town of Saumur.

Chacé (French pronunciation: [ʃase] ) is a former commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune Bellevigne-les-Châteaux.

Bellevigne-les-Châteaux (French pronunciation: [bɛlviɲ le ʃato] ) is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. It was established on 1 January 2019 by merger of the former communes of Chacé (the seat), Brézé and Saint-Cyr-en-Bourg.

Allonnes (French pronunciation: [alɔn] ) is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. The village is located North of the town of Saumur, and the small river Authion passes through it.

Montsoreau (French pronunciation: [mɔ̃sɔʁo] ) is a commune of the Loire Valley in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France on the Loire, 160 km (99 mi) from the Atlantic coast and 250 km (160 mi) from Paris. The village is listed among The Most Beautiful Villages of France (French: Les Plus Beaux Villages de France) and is part of the Loire Valley UNESCO World Heritage Site. Montsoreau was identified under the name Restis (rope or fishnet) at the end of classical antiquity as a port on the Loire at the confluence of the Loire and the Vienne. It has taken its name Mount Soreau (Mont Soreau) from a rocky promontory situated in the riverbed of the Loire and surrounded by water on top of which was built a fortress in 990. There have been three major buildings on this promontory, a Gallo-Roman temple or administrative building, a fortified castle, and a Renaissance palace. Montsoreau was, until the seventeenth century, a center of jurisdiction and the seigneury of Montsoreau stretched from the river Loire to Seuilly-l'Abbaye and Coudray castle in the south. After the French Revolution, the exploitation of a building stone, the tuffeau stone, abruptly increased its population of 600 inhabitants to more than 1000, maintained during the first half of the nineteenth century. This stone, easy to work, was gradually exhausted, and the population decreased to stabilize again around 600 people. Montsoreau then concentrated its activities on agriculture, wine and river trade until the end of the nineteenth century. During the Twentieth century, Montsoreau has seen river trade replaced by terrestrial trade and the rise of a tourism economy.

Saint-Cyr-en-Bourg (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃ siʁ ɑ̃ buʁ] ) is a former commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune Bellevigne-les-Châteaux.

The Château de Saumur, originally built as a castle and later developed as a château, is located in the French town of Saumur, in the Maine-et-Loire département. It was originally constructed in the 10th century by Theobald I, Count of Blois, as a fortified stronghold against Norman attacks. It overlooks the confluence of the rivers Loire and Thouet. In 1026 it came into the hands of Fulk Nerra, count of Anjou, who bequeathed it to his Plantagenet heirs. Following its destruction in 1067, the castle was rebuilt by Henry II of England in the later 12th century.