La Cave Aux Moines

Useful Information

Location:	At the D751 Rue du Ducs d'Anjou along the Loire. In the small village Préban.
Open:	Tour: Easter tp mid-JUN Mon-Fri, Hol 10-18:30. Mid-JUN to mid-SEP daily 10-18:30. Mid-SEP to Easter Sun 10-18:30. Restaurant: Fri evening, Sat, Hol noon, evening, evenings before Hol. Mid-JUN to mid-SEP daily noon, evening. Only after appointment. Nightclub: All year Fri, Sat, days before Hol 22:30-. [2010]
Fee:	Tour: Adults EUR 5, Children (7-14) EUR 3, Children (0-6) free, Students EUR , Family (2+2) EUR . Groups (10+): Adults EUR 4, Children (7-14) EUR 3. Restaurant: n/a. Nightclub: free. [2010]
Classification:	Cave House
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
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Guided tours:
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Address:	La Cave Aux Moines, Préban, 49350 Chênehutte-Trèves-Cunault, Tel: 0241-679564, Fax: 0241-387575. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

Description

The Cave aux Moines was once a tufa quarry, beginning with the 17th century the rocks were mined for buildings and the famous castles of the Loire. Today this quarry is primarly a restaurant, but unlike the other similar "troglodytic" restaurants along the Loire this one offers a tour. The tour explains the quarrying, the resons, the techniques. In early times some of the caves were used for living. Those people were called troglodytes (cave people). The exhibition shows how people and animals lived together underground.

Then the cellar was once used to cultivate mushrooms. There is an exhibition on the origin of mushroom cultivation in this cave. It also explains modern mushroom cultivation with the typical edible mushrooms: mushroom (mushroom of Paris), the oyster mushroom (pleurote), the blue stam (pied bleu) and the shi-také (asian mushroom).

Then there is an exhibition on snails. Actually it is not typical to grow snails underground in a cave, but snails are one of the specialities of this restaurant, so they decided to creat an exhibition about snails too. The last stop of the tour is the wine tasting, the cellar which is called la cave in French. It is possible to taste various wines of the Loire and also buy them.

The restaurant is called Les Pieds Bleus and is also located underground. It offers various specialties, including mushrooms, snails and the local bread called fouée. The restaurant is named after the mushroom pieds bleus (lépista nuda). It is necessary to pre-book.

In the next cellar there is a nightclub Club of The Cave Aux Moines.