pierre et lumiere

Happy_midwesterners

We never would have visited if our hosts hadn't encouraged us but were really glad we made the stop. The sculptures are beautifully done and lit and well worth a visit.

Mothewanderer

Well worth a visit for all interested in local Historic Churches and Chateaux, or just those impressed with skillful sculpture & architectural detail. The sculptor has recreated scale models of many historic buildings in the region. I believe they were all carved on-site and many are cut directly into the Tufa Stone in the caves. There is also the explanation in English (sadly quite rare in the area) of the exhibits, including challenges for the sculptor and technical details. A very impressive array of carvings - I was particularly impressed by the riverscape of Saumur town with it's reflections in the water, and the Tours Cathedral. A fascinating and unusual place to visit, especially to escape the sun or rain, but take a sweater if you want to linger, as it is a damp and cool 12-13 degrees inside.

257michellee

Something a little bit different, local sites carved in miniature in the local Tufa stone. A definite fill in activity if you have an hour to spare.

nomadafrik-li

Sculptor Pierre Cormand has lovingly recreated a miniature park out of the local "pierre de Tuffeau". The result is an impressive collection of sculptures replicating a number of landmark monuments found along the Loire. My favourite, the Tours Cathedral and its impressive stained glass front.

Canard52

Lacked atmosphere and hardly any other visitors.Some exhibits were not even marked up as to what they were and frankly too many of them!

746christineg

We visited this attraction with a combined ticket with the Museum du Champignons 300 metres away. Both are worth visiting with this the better one in our opinion. Both attractions are in caves hollowed out of the cliffs long ago to extract the stone for building purposes. In this cave are scale models and landscapes all sculpted in minute detail by one man, sometimes spending months in wet, cramped conditions sculpting directly into the cave walls. Each sculpture is described on a panel in both French and English and the complete tour takes about an hour. All sculptures are set in the Loire valley and afterwards we drove through some of the villages and saw for ourselves the beauty of the buildings we had seen in miniature.

GazdeVere

As the title says, this wasn't what we expected, but was ok nonetheless. Some pretty good sculptures of buildings in the region. It took us less than 20 minutes to go around and we're pretty sure we saw everything :) A bit awkward if you're not very mobile. As others have said, a fairly interesting way to shelter from the rain for a little while.

jone310

We only went here as a combined ticket with the musee de champignon, whilst the sculptures were very well made, we did find it a little repetitive (especially having visited the actual chateaus they had modelled) worth a look, but don't make a special trip to see.

PKatVCR

We visited along with our one year old son (in his pushchair) on a hot summers days. It's a nice cool temperature inside the caves so it was a pleasant respite from the heat outside.Easy to get around with the pushchair and it was good to see all the spectacular buildings of the Loire all in one place as you can then decide which places you'd like to visit.We combined our visit with a visit to the mushroom caves which are literally a few hundred yards along the road. You can get a discounted combined ticket for this.

Gpy14

This is a nice family adventure. It's also great on a hot summer day as the caves are nice and cool.

roy13

This is an amazing experience. Nothing prepares you for the experience of viewing these caves. The sculptures are so detailed and the information is well displayed. Do not miss this attraction!!

Kangalis

Very interesting but relatively short visit. Going with an octogenarian opens ones eyes to potential hazards. It has good access for disabled visitors so long as they are strong or have a strong helper! The sculptures are beautiful in detail and setting with interesting boards in French and English giving information about the sculptures themselves, the subject and other interesting information. Other languages also available in guide book form. Visit can also be combined with the nearby mushroom caves, they offer a reduced price duo ticket. if I have any criticism, it seemed a little expensive considering that the visit only takes only just about an hour but it was worthwhile just the same.

qppstudio

We visited the Pierre et Lumiere exhibition almost as an afterthough, after visiting the neighboring Musée du Champignon, and we are glad we did.The exhibit runs in a series of caves carved out of the side of the Loire's riverbanks, and shows miniatures of all the major architectural landmarks of the Loire Valley. The attention to detail is phenomenal, the way each piece is set is tasteful and original and lighting is varied to break any risk of monotony.One of the most interesting sets was one where the same monument was shown in 5 intermediate steps of carving, from the original square slab of granite, all the way to the finishes sculpture ... fascinating.Well worth visiting.

parisfornia

What a pleasant surprise. Truly, this is a showcase of one man's passion for carving stone. It was amazing to see so many of the sites we had visited in the Loire Valley recreated in stone. It was a bit pricey... but nevertheless enjoyable. (I would skip the musee de champignons next door as that was definitely overpriced for the experience unless you enjoy seeing room after room of mushrooms growing).

mayajigua

Great display of an artist's personal work that showcases many of the chateaux from the Loire valley. Incredible detail and architectural accuracy.