Pouancé

The first time I visited Pouancé I thought what a scruffy, unprepossessing, little town it was.  That was almost exactly thirteen years ago.  My opinion since then has changed little.  I still think it is a scruffy, unprepossessing, little town - but I have really come to like the place despite its less than attractive appearance.

Pouancé is situated just in the Maine et Loire département of France (almost the equivalent of our counties) facing into Brittany.  In the way back, a Duke of Anjou built a castle there to defend his dukedom against marauding hordes of Bretons and nowadays the town proudly proclaims its château-fort - despite the fact that there is very little of it left, although it does look somewhat better when seen from the airfield.

Not far from the castle is the 15th century town gate, the Porte Angevine seen here from both sides.



Delusions of grandeur persist in the meant-to-be-impressive hôtel de ville - but it's only one room deep!

And despite the town being on the back road to nowhere, the junction in front of the hôtel de ville has been named  "the crossroads of Europe"!

All the same, there are some very attractive or intriguing little corners.