Quartier de la Cité Angers

One of the earliest examples of Angevin (Plantagenet) architecture in France, Gothic Cathédrale St-Maurice is distinguished by its striking Norman portal and nave (mid-1100s), 13th- to 15th-century stained glass, humongous organ and supremely baroque baldachin (1758) over the high altar. From the square in front, a monumental staircase, Montée St-Maurice, leads down to a new riverside esplanade (under construction at the time of research) and a gourmet covered market (set to open in 2020). Right behind the cathedral stands the Maison d’Adam, one of the city’s best-preserved medieval houses (c 1500), which is decorated with a riot of carved, bawdy wooden sculptures.