Five years' work at the end of the fifteenth century produced the fortress of Le Plessis-Bourré (guided tours only: July & Aug daily 10am–6pm; April–June & Sept Mon, Tues & Fri–Sun 10am–noon & 2–6pm, Thurs 2–6pm; Feb, March, Oct & Nov daily except Wed 2–6pm; closed Jan & Dec; €7.50), 17km north of Angers, between the Sarthe and Mayenne rivers. It still looks as if it expects an attack any day from across its vast, full moat, spanned by an arched bridge with a still-functioning drawbridge. The treasurer of France at the time, Jean Bourré, built the Château to receive important visitors, among them Louis XI and Charles VIII, and it's appropriately flamboyant.The first three rooms on the ground floor are a surprise, beautifully decorated and furnished in the Louis XVI, XV and Régence styles respectively, but things revert to type in the huge Gothic Salle du Parlement, with its earthenware-tiled floor and massive sculpted fireplace. The highlight of the tour comes in the Salle des Gardes, just above, where the original, deeply coffered ceiling stems from Bourré's fashionable interest in alchemy. Every inch is painted with allegorical scenes: sixteen panels depict alchemical symbols such as the phoenix, the pregnant siren and the donkey singing Mass, while eight cartoon-like paintings come with morals attached – look out for "Chicheface", the hungry wolf that only eats faithful women, whose victim is supposed to be Jean Bourré's wife. You leave via the 36-metre-long library, with its collection of fans, and the serene Chapelle Ste-Anne. Alternate spellings:: France, Château du Plessis-Bourré, Château du Plessis-Bourré, Chateau du Plessis-Bourre
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