Angers is the capital of the historic territory of Anjou on the Loire, with an impressive castle, quaint old town and substantial art treasures. Anjou, the landscape on the lower reaches of the Loire, is a sunny region where fruit, vegetables and fine wines flourish. Angers lies approx. 2.5 miles to the north of the Loire on the Maine, a confluence of the Mayenne, Sarthe and Loir, north of the town. The town enjoyed a glorious era with the rise of the Fulks, the ancestors of the mighty house of Anjou, particularly under Foulques Nerra (972-1040). Geofiroi V (1113-51) was the first to use the name Plantagenet, taken from the stylized gorse branch that adorned his helmet; his son married Eleanor of Aquitaine and became king of England as Henry II.
