Photo : Manfred Heyde / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Candes-Saint-Martin
In Gaulish "candate" means confluence, and it is at the meeting place of the Vienne and the Loire that the village settled. It is of rare homogeneity, its houses are superb, some dating from the fifteenth century. Built in white tuffeau, their decoration seems inspired by the surrounding châteaux, borrowing countless details from them.
Before climbing to the top of the village to discover the troglodyte dwellings carved in the cliff, linger on Rue du Bas, where the Loire boatmen lived when Candes was an active fishing and boating port. Admire the collegiate church of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, built on the very spot where Saint Martin died in the year 397, an event that made Candes a place of pilgrimage. The kings of France and England stayed there, visiting on that occasion the archbishops of Tours, whose residence you can see. Finally, walking enthusiasts can climb the little stone path of the hill overlooking the village: the view over the slate roofs and the two rivers is very representative of the charm of Sweet France.
