Geography

Location The confluence of the Maine and the Loire some kilometers south of Angers

Angers in located at the geographical centre of the Maine-et-Loire department, on the road which connects Paris to the Atlantic ocean. The city is situated just south of the confluence of the Loir, Mayenne and Sarthe which form together the river Maine. The Maine crosses Angers and heads south towards the Loire. The confluence of the three rivers and the proximity of the Loire make up a natural crossroads which favoured the foundation of the antique Juliomagus.

Angers is located 91 km from Nantes, 124 km from Rennes, 132 km from Poitiers and 297 km from Paris. It is also 118 km far from Pornic, the closest sea resort, situated on the Atlantic ocean.

Elevation varies between 12 and 64 meters above sea level. Angers is in fact a hilly town, marked by a rocky promontory dominating the lower valleys of Anjou. The antique city was founded on this promontory and it is where stand today the castle, the cathedral and the medieval quarters.

At the north and south, where the river Maine arrives in and leaves Angers, the landscape is formed by islands, ponds and floodplains which are a heaven for birds and a typical flora of the Val de Loire. The étang Saint-Nicolas and Lac de Maine, both artificial, are among the biggest green areas of the city.

Metropolitan area

The commune of Angers is bordered by ten other communes which form various suburbs. These are, clockwise, Avrillé, Cantenay-Épinard, Écouflant, Saint-Barthélemy-d'Anjou, Trélazé, Les Ponts-de-Cé, Sainte-Gemmes-sur-Loire, Bouchemaine and Beaucouzé. 22 other communes situated farther form with them the agglomeration community of the Angers Loire Métropole. All these peripheral communes are situated within 17 km from Angers proper. They unite together c. 272,400 inhabitants.

Climate

Angers enjoys a very mild climate because of its location between oceanic and continental climate. Winters are usually wet, with scarce frosts and snowfalls, and summers are warm and sunny.

Mois Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Year Average high (°C) 7,9 9,2 12,6 15,3 19 22,6 24,9 24,7 21,8 17 11,4 8,4 16,2 Average low (°C) 2,1 2,2 3,9 5,6 8,9 11,8 13,6 13,4 11,3 8,4 4,6 2,8 7,4 Average (°C) 5 5,7 8,2 10,4 13,9 16,2 19,2 19,1 16,5 12,7 8 5,6 11,8 Precipitation (mm) 62,1 50,8 51,7 44,6 54,4 41,2 43,8 44,9 52,2 59,6 64,5 63,4 633,4 Sunny hours per month 70 92 141 179 201 234 248 237 191 129 89 65 1877 Source: Climatology from 1947 to 2008 - Angers, France Urban morphology Angers around 1850, with the river Maine at the middle, the castle and the medieval town on the right bank and La Doutre and its river port on the left bank

The oldest streets and buildings in Angers are located on the promontory where the castle stands. The urban structure there dates back from the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries. A military presence there has been attested since the 3rd century and some remains of an antique city wall are still visible in the castle grounds This wall was built to protect the city from the Germanic invasions of 275-276 AD.

The Castle was during the Middle Ages the core of the city defense system, composed of tall city walls and river chains to prevent enemy ships from going up the Maine. The walls were last reconstructed between 1230 and 1240, on an order of Louis IX of France. Today, portions of wall are still visible in Rue Toussaint and Boulevard Carnot, as well as some towers, like the Tour Villebon and the Tour des Anglais.

Before the first cadastre (1810), the city had maintained much of its medieval limits: on and around the castle promontory, with some dwellings on the other bank of the Maine, a quarter called La Doutre. That part of the city experienced a quick development during the industrial revolution and became a big river port. Industry was encouraged by firms like Bessonneau (textile factories) and Cointreau (distillery). After 1850, many suburbs appeared around the train stations and the farther slate quarries in Trélazé. Despite the port in La Doutre, demographic growth and urban extension were still more important on the eastern bank of the Maine, on which the antique Juliomagus was founded.

The medieval city centre was redeveloped and expanded from 1791. The Place du Ralliement, the main square, was then built in place of three churches destroyed during the French Revolution and, later, ring boulevards planted with trees replaced the city walls. The architectural style used is mainly Haussmanian, but leaves sometimes room for Palladian, Art Nouveau or Art Deco buildings.

After 1945 and the Second World War, several large council estates made of tower blocks were built around the city centre, the first of them being Belle-Beille in 1953. The industrial activities drastically changed; port activity declined whereas new factories, such as Technicolor SA in 1957, emerged. During the 1970s, the modernist approach on urban extension was replaced by a more individualistic point of view and more and more detached houses were built for the middle class. The metropolitan area kept enlarging, commuting became general and new shopping areas were constructed close to the former villages engulfed by the city. Because of the floodplains that surround the city north and south, Angers can only grow significantly on an east-west axis.

The Tour des Anglais, a remain of the medieval city walls

Traditional slated roof

Half-timbered houses in rue de l'Oisellerie

View of La Doutre; the industrial port has become a marina

The Place du Ralliement

A department store on a 19th-century street

A council estate in La Roseraie

Green areas Gardens in the castle moat.

Being both at the edge of the Val de Loire World Heritage site and on the largest river confluence in France, Angers has a high natural potential, notably highlighted by the Saint-Aubin island, situated north of the centre and covering a tenth of the city total surface. Protected, the island is formed of swamps and natural meadows.

The oldest green areas date back from the Renaissance, when the moats of the castle were transformed into pleasure and kitchen gardens. Similar gardens were built by the aristocracy around their hôtels particuliers and medicinal gardens were planted in hospices cloisters. The Jardin des plantes, the first botanical garden, dates back from the beginning of the 18th century. During the 19th century, others were built, for example the Faculty of Pharmacy garden and the Roseraie. The first recreational parks, for their part, were built during the Second French Empire. The étang Saint-Nicolas, made by a sluice on a small river, the Brionneau, was protected as early as 1936.

The Jardin du Mail (Mall Garden), an esplanade situated outside the ring boulevards, was built between 1820 and 1880 on the former Champs de Mars (Fields of Mars, a place where the garrisons used to train and parade). Another esplanade, the Mail François Mitterrand, was built in 1999 together with a garden inside the new Saint-Serge business district. During the 1960s the old gravel pits around the Maine were filled with water to form the Lac de Maine, which now hosts a nautical centre. In 2010, a large amusement park, Terra Botanica, was inaugurated close to Saint-Aubin island.

The Saint-Aubin island protected area

Planted quays around the river Maine

Jardin du Mail

Sunset on the Lac de Maine

Terra Botanica