The Château de Pignerolle, in the satellite village of ST-BARTHELÉMY D'ANJOU, to the east of Angers (signposted off the N147, or take bus #3 to stop Pasteur, then it's a 10-minute walk), is home to the Espace Européen de la Communication (April–Nov daily 10am–12.30pm & 2.30–6pm; Nov–March Sat & Sun 10am–12.30pm & 2.30–6.30pm; €7), a typically histrionic French science and technology museum. It's quite good fun, with everything from Leonardo's helicopter drawings to German submarines brought into play, and fantastic scenes of the future, but don't expect to come out much the wiser. For something completely different, you could go on a guided tour around the Distillerie Cointreau, just off the ring road between Angers and St-Barthelemy d'Anjou (guided tours: July & Aug daily 10.30am, 2.30pm, 3.30pm & 4.30pm; May, June, Sept & Oct Mon–Sat 10.30am & 3pm, Sun also 4.30pm; Nov, Dec & Feb–April Mon–Sat 3pm, Sun also 4.30pm; call 02.41.31.50.50 for tours in English; €5.50; take bus #7 from Boulevard Maréchal Foch), where the famous orange liqueur has been distilled since the mid-nineteenth century. You'll learn a lot about the Cointreau brothers and how marvellous the drink is, a little bit about distilling techniques, and nothing, of course, about the recipe. You get a little sip of a cocktail at the end, but the highlight is definitely the rows of gleaming copper stills.
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