Boulangeries

The best boulangerie closest to us is La Tour des Pains, on the road in to Chinon, with very easy parking and a big orange awning. It’s on the left as you approach the town and is hard to miss. It used to be open every single day, but is now shut on Mondays. It IS however, open Sundays and public holidays from 8am-12.30pm and from 7am-6.30pm Tuesday - Saturday (45 Avenue François Mitterrand). It is possible to eat your breakfast ‘sur place’, although the interior is most definitely geared for function over form.

To soften their new Monday closure, they have installed an emergency baguette vending machine (seriously) right outside the door. Should that be out of bread, out next nearest machine is in Saint-Benoît-la-Forêt, not comparable in terms of quality, but useful if you’re desperate. There’s a back-up one in Avoine, by the wine shop - and yet another one by the train station in Chinon.

Fournil du Chateau is excellent and sits on the cobbled street just around the corner from the Café des Arts in town. It justifies the queue that sometimes snakes out of the door. Try their tarte abricot which is not too sweet (16 rue Jean Jacques Rousseau; closed Sundays - which means they’re open Mondays). Also good is the La Tour de l'Horloge found in Place Mirabeau.

Avoine, in the opposite direction, also has a decent boulangerie, as well as a good wine shop called La Reserve and a handy, medium-sized supermarket (Carrefour Contact).