chateau de montreuil-bellay

Gorgeous small chateau with fabulous church as well. Grounds are lovely and they also have their own vineyard with great wines - the family still live there so feels 'alive'. Well worth the visit

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the Château. We were we were taken on an extensive tour by a very well-informed guide really brought life to the castle. The gardens were beautiful as was village.

The interesting thing about this chateau is that it is still currently occupied. The only way to see it is via a guided tour and these are only at certain times, so before you drive out there make sure you know what time the tour is. That said, it's a little difficult to follow if you don't speak French. They have small booklets they hand out to those of us who do not speak French so we could follow along. But they are very lengthy and a lot of reading and you find yourself looking down at the pages rather than at the sights. The guide did stop every so often and ask us (and several other English speakers), in English, if we had questions. The booklet was very informative, just a LOT to follow while trying to follow the tour at the same time. The chateau also makes its own wine which you can taste, and purchase.

We visited this chateau at the end of our holiday in Fance. We were told that all visitors had to tae part in the guided tour which was only conducted in French but we were given a large A4 folder of typewritten information. The guide was very talkative and spoke French atsuch a speed that even some French people had difficulty in keeping up with her. We read our information but it was impossible to look at the items inside the chateau and some of the ones we heard the guide talking about were not even mentioned in our guide.At the end of the tour the French people were given information bout visiting extra rooms but the guide totaly ignored us and we were so fed up by this time, we decided to give it a miss.There are many more interesting and visitor-frindly chateaux in the area and I would recommend givin this one a miss.

A very interesting place, a great guided tour whilst it was in french as most of the visitors were french the guide was very helpful and explained in English when we asked. Nice that the place is still used by the family that own if which gave it a great feel.Gardens and views from the ramparts well worth a look.Nice restaurant outside for a meal we arrived around lunch time, Chateau was shut so we had a meal overlooking it, very nice.

Very helpful and informed guide with excellent English. Beautiful gardens. We didnt do the tour as it was in French but plenty to see in gardens.Tasted wines and bought 3 cases only to discover that there was an offer with 3 cases and we got another free!!

We had a great guided tour of the chateau in English. The guide was jolly and the tour was very interesting and amusing.

This was spectacular, we joined a tour with a guidebook in English, which was really interesting. The interior decor was first class. There is a wide variety of restaurants and kayaking on the river. It is a lovely town.

Lovely old castle full of interesting historical things and in a stunning location with super views.However, the guided tour was spoilt by the fact that the English speakers were given notes in plastic laminated sleeves. The guide, who spoke French and some English mostly ignored us and so our understanding of the stories and history of the chateau was very limited.

We visited the chateau during our stay in the area, lovely setting and the inside of the chateau was beautiful. The rooms we saw were beautifully furnished with some very interesting historical artefacts. The guide, Thomas, was very good and ensured that the non french speakers in the party got to know the most relevant information relating to the tour. There was also a very comprehensive guide in English that was very well written and contained lots of interesting facts.

Wonderful privately owned chateau with an impressive history. Reasonably priced at €9.80 and although the guided tour was in French we were given an English translation to read and return. The guide was able to take questions in English.

Another group of English people turned up for the tour of the chateau so the guide gave the tour in English - very helpful! The chateau is beautiful, with wonderful views and a fascinating history. Our guide, Charlene, was friendly, charming and helpful. We also loved the gardens and the walk on the ramparts with the stunning views over the River Thouet. It is also possible to buy wine from the chateau's private estate.

Great place to start your visit of Chateaus around Saumur! We had a very interesting guided tour with the nicest and the most welcoming guide who spoke excellent English. The tour runs for a bit more than an hour and is a must because the Chateau is privately owned: you are not allowed to explore on your own. The chateau grounds are not huge and you can enjoy a short walk looking at Loire river from the walls of the castle. After you are done, continue your drive to Chateau Breze - do not miss it!Parking is available right in front of the Chateau.

Nice views of village and river below. They have tours of old part of chateau only, but the tourguide was pleasant and did a good job on the history and its important role in Anjou. The gardens are small but pleasant and varied. Impressive Lebanese cedar in courtyard.

We visited the Chateau as a family day out with our 2 year old son. Although our 2 year old would not be very overly interested in the Chateau tour, he would definitely have enjoyed the grounds to explore, if only we felt welcome! On first arrival, we waited a few minutes before the lady behind the counter finished tinkering and actually said hello to us. She then told us that the tour was an hour and would we really want to do this with our toddler. At this point I did not think much of it and said it was fine. He is generally well behaved and we have done many similar activities with no issues. About half way though the tour, the guide asked me to leave the tour with my son because apparently he was disturbing the other visitors. I was genuinely shocked and upset. Although he was not silent throughout the tour, he certainly wasn't causing a disturbance. I was so upset we left straight away and therefore was not even able to enjoy the grounds. Never before have I felt so unwelcome. If the Chateau does not want toddlers on their tours (who are obviously going to chatter and make a little noise during he tour) they should be explicit about this and not cause embarrassment and upset to their visitors.