Marché de la Place Louis Imbach
Every Saturday morning the Place Louis Imbach and the surrounding streets of the Quartier de la Gare fill with the colours and aromas of one of the best weekly markets in the Maine-et-Loire. Local producers drive in from the surrounding bocage and river valleys with produce that reflects the genuine richness of Anjou's larder.
What to Buy
Anjou is prime mushroom country — look for plump champignons de Paris grown in the region's famous troglodyte caves, alongside girolles and cèpes in autumn. The cheese stalls carry Camembert, aged chèvre from the Loire valley and the creamy, ash-dusted Sainte-Maure-de-Touraine.
The fruit and vegetable stalls are a riot of colour in summer: white Anjou asparagus in spring, mirabelle plums in August, and the famous Reinette du Mans apples in October. Pick up a tub of rillauds d'Anjou — slow-cooked pork belly chunks, a hyper-local charcuterie you won't find easily outside the region.
Wine & Drinks
Several Loire wine producers set up stalls selling Anjou Blanc, Anjou Rouge and the honeyed Coteaux du Layon dessert wine directly from the domaine — prices are noticeably lower than in Paris wine shops. Ask for a taste before you buy; producers are almost always happy to oblige.
Pick up a bottle of Cointreau-based local liqueur or a jar of Guignolet d'Anjou, the cherry liqueur that has been made in the region since the 18th century.
Getting the Best of It
The market runs from roughly 8 am to 1 pm. Go before 9:30 am for the best selection and a more relaxed atmosphere; by 11 am the cheese and charcuterie stalls are mobbed.
Combine the visit with a coffee at one of the pavement cafés on the Place de la Visitation just a short walk away, where locals retreat with their paper-wrapped hauls.
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