The Ancenis region, a taste of life here
It's a land dominated by green and blue. It is this joyous countryside bordered by a river to the south, the Loire, and a river to the north, the Erdre, where the landscapes take on a thousand colours according to the variations in the sky.
Together with Saint-Nazaire, Nantes and Angers, it forms the outline of a gentle, balanced metropolis in the fertile Pays de la Loire region. A metropolis in tune with the aspirations of both urban dwellers and country lovers. A city where family life and professional aspirations can be harmoniously reconciled.
The Pays d'Ancenis has a long history of industrial and agricultural success, but for a long time it kept a low profile compared with its close neighbours in Nantes and Anjou. Today, we're proud to unveil what makes up its happy addition!
Living in the Pays d'Ancenis, what if that was happiness?
Between Nantes and Angers, on the banks of the Loire, our region has long cultivated discretion and humility. Today, we want to showcase these towns and countryside, hitherto too secretive, and give the Pays d'Ancenis the place it deserves alongside Nantes, Saint-Nazaire and Angers.
Find out more about our deep attachment to this region, where everything comes together to create a happy balance that will enrich your life.
Our towns and villages
in the countryside
One + one + one + ... equals 20! Twenty towns and villages make up the Pays d'Ancenis and its community of communes, COMPA, home to 70,000 people.
It's an area well-balanced between town and country, where dynamism meets peaceful nature. A landscape of hedged farmland, its architecture marked by its Breton history and its proximity to neighbouring Anjou. Here, you can make the big leap between Le Pin, to the north and the smallest village in the Ancenis region, and Ancenis-Saint-Géréon to the south, the town centre where 11,500 people live, 12,000 work and 5,300 study. Do you dream of living on the banks of the Loire? Why not put down your suitcases in Ancenis-Saint-Géréon, Ingrandes-le-Fresne-sur-Loire, Le Cellier, Montrelais, Oudon or Vair-sur-Loire? On the Erdre, the river to the north, the towns of Joué-sur-Erdre, Le Pin, Riaillé, Trans-sur-Erdre and Vallons-de-l'Erdre are just as charming. If you're the kind of person who prefers the centre, so you're never far away from anything, then Couffé, Ligné, Loireauxence, La Roche Blanche, Mésanger, Mouzeil, Pannecé, Pouillé-les-Côteaux and Teillé are the places for you!
Along the water,
between the Loire and the Erdre
We don't have the sea here, but we do have the Loire! France's last great wild river has always played a central role in the Ancenis region, with its moods, colours and mirror effects. It is to the Loire that we owe this almost fairytale-like setting, bathed in a mysterious light that sometimes decorates our landscapes with mist. The royal route of river trade in the 18th century, the Loire remains a symbol of our openness to the world, and people sometimes come from far and wide to explore it by foot, bike or boat.
In the upper Erdre valley to the north, the river of the same name, considered by François 1st to be "the most beautiful in France", takes centre stage. Along its banks, visitors can visit manor houses, parks and châteaux, as well as water mills and wash-houses that bear witness to the abundance of our small heritage.Here, water is everywhere! Even in the lakes and ponds that dot our landscape. And for some, the chance to take a dip and laze on the beach!
With all that, you'll feel like a fish in water here, won't you?
The desire
to do things together
If the African proverb "Alone we go faster, together we go further" inspires you, there's no doubt you'll feel right at home with us!
We wouldn't go so far as to say that everyone here knows everyone else, but living and working in an area as human-scale as ours inevitably encourages connections between people and gives rise to that special feeling of belonging to a community. A community of people who are welcoming, persevering, pragmatic and willing to share. Living in the Pays d'Ancenis means benefiting from and contributing to this intelligent network, this openness that has always characterised our region.
Here, we like to do things with and for others, as demonstrated by the tremendous energy of our many associations. Here, we like to work as a team to find solutions - our famous Système A!
Pleasure
on your plate
Here, agriculture is everywhere.
In our fields, our vineyards, our factories, our plates... It has always shaped our landscapes and our economic development. Alongside the agri-food industries, which have succeeded in transforming themselves, we are witnessing a boom in the activity of young winegrowers and market gardeners, and a craze for short distribution channels and the guinguettes of the banks of the Loire. Proof that our love of the land translates into a love of its products, let's start our gourmet bill with our wines of course, matured on the Ancenis hillsides: Muscadet Coteaux de Loire with its mingled shades of yellow and green, Malvoisie with its golden hues, Gamay rouge with its ruby or cherry colour. The perfect accompaniment to pike-perch, eel, mullet and other Loire fish, as well as Ancenis farmhouse poultry.
Would you like a dessert? Then l'Authentique, our gourmet addition, is the perfect recipe from a collaboration between bakers and patissiers who have combined their skills to create this unique cake, made in the Ancenis region!
