Save the best for last. That’s what I can say about our stay in Angers. Angers Convention Bureau hand-picked all the treasure venues in the area and surprised us big time on our final night.
As presented in my previous articles, on the weekend we discovered the region and on Monday we were ready to attend the two day Events Innovation exhibition at the Angers Congress Centre (30th June – 1st July). Most of the venues we visited on the weekend also presented at the exhibition and that was the opportunity for us to talk to each venue and address individual questions.
For me that was the first time I attended an exhibition in France and it was an experience I want definitely to repeat (*hint hint*- food).
Prior to arriving I was asked to provide my dress size. That was needed for the final event activity which the organisers tried (!) to keep secret. Even though we figured it out – that was a party in a castle, the surprise element stayed because we didn’t know what type of costume everyone will get.
Very curious and slightly exhausted after the day of the exhibition I rushed to my hotel to discover the dress in my room:
Coming down to the reception everyone had their costume on and we headed to Château de la Perrière for dinner and after-party. Initially that wasn’t clear if it will be a seated dinner, but luckily it wasn’t as I’m sure I wouldn’t feel comfortable seating too long in my fancy dress. When we arrived we gathered to make a group picture, which was taken by a drone to capture the castle in the background and then we were welcomed at the Château (sounds much better than a castle!) for an aperitif and a venue tour.
The Château is situated in Avrillé, a city nearby Angers and dates back to the 17th century. In 1983 it became classified as an historic monument and in 1988 inaugurated an 18h golf course on its ground. Being classified as an historic monument, the restoration took 26 years, from 1982 until 2008 to maintain its heritage and authenticity. From 2008 the venue is open to host events and has an on-site restaurant for the public.
The dinner was a rich buffet of cold and worm appetizers and desserts, sushi station and open bar. Shortly after everyone arrived the DJ opened the dance floor and we just enjoyed ourselves. That was also when I decided to take a break and leave my camera and phone for a while. I gathered photos from all different sources and I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I did!
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