Montsoreau

Montsoreau is a commune of the Loire Valley in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France on the Loire, 160 km from the Atlantic coast and 250 km from Paris. The village is listed among The Most Beautiful Villages of France and is part of the Loire Valley UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Montsoreau was identified under the name Restis at the end of classical antiquity as a port on the Loire at the confluence of the Loire and the Vienne. It has taken its name Mount Soreau from a rocky promontory situated in the riverbed of the Loire and surrounded by water on top of which was built a fortress in 990. There have been three major buildings on this promontory, a Gallo-Roman temple or administrative building, a fortified castle, and a Renaissance palace.