The breeze was dancing about as I stood there watching people take in the awesome sight. The beautiful stately homes in the foreground, the majestic bridge in the background. And the Loire flowing gently through. The young couple lying on the grass seemed to have got the right idea. For me, it completed the picture. "Dream away," I said to them under my breath, "for who knows what tomorrow brings…"

My team and I were in the Loire Valley to do exclusive interviews with the legendary winemakers who inhabit this district, so we could set a trail specially for those of our discerning readers who are wine-crazy enough to follow their hearts. And Saumur was going to be our base.

It's a charming place and rather easy to get by. The main road, quite narrow really, runs parallel to the river and has everything you need on or just off it. Quaint old hotels, classy restaurants, some shops. The St. Pierre square where most of the action takes place is just off this road. Action, as in a place where you go eat some, drink some and then drink some more - sitting in an ambience that takes a few hundred years to recreate.

Two of the nicest places to stay are around here. Anne d' Anjou and the other which takes its name from the square - Hotel Saint Pierre. The latter, an excellent small hotel is housed in a historic building (XV and XVII century Manor) with flawless restoration. The rooms are beautiful, the mosaic bathrooms pure luxury and everything squeaky clean. The breakfast room (a verandah with a nice marble fountain) overlooks the small garden. Breakfast, 'Petit Déjeuner Gourmand' is a surprise each day with particularly nice croissants and coffee. The hotel is situated just walking distance from the castle, and also offers a lot of other places of interest around it, including many good restaurants. The owner is incredibly nice! I should know, for he spent one whole week with us, driving us first from Paris to Saumur and then around the Loire country side where we visited the famous vineyards. Monsieur Georges may own Hotel Saint Pierre, he may also be a rich man, but he is a restless soul and will not allow boredom to take over his life. So while he oversees the general hotel operations, it's his young son who runs the place, hands on. Georges drives people around in his private taxi on tours of his beloved wine country. Hmm, talk of dignity of labour…

Anne d' Anjou right on the bank of the river is another good option to park your suitcases. And your car. The hotel does not do itself justice from the outside, it is a little understated, but on the inside it has been refurbished with the style and elegance of its era. I opted for a room overlooking the river, it's nicer. But if you wish you can also select the one which gives you a view of the Château on the hill and the courtyard and garden below. There is a fabulous, fabulous restaurant at the back of the hotel. And though it is not part of the hotel, they make reservations for you and you can sign for it to get included in the room charges bill. I forget the name of the place but I must admit it had a great atmosphere and it was not inexpensive even by French standards.

But there are several other eating places around place St. Pierre and the old quarter, around the Hôtel de Ville, on the riverbank. The best of which must be the bustling Auberge St-Pierre, Les Forges de St-Pierre which specializes in grilled meat. Towards the southern end of town, L'Escargot is a courteously old-fashioned place serving excellent regional fish and mushroom dishes. For a special treat, head up to the Château, where Les Délices du Château serves the most haute cuisine in town, with menus at €30.50 and €58.

The best place to enjoy the wonderful local sparkling wines is at an outside table on Place St-Pierre, or perhaps on the riverfront - try the bar of Le Cristal hotel.

But from all that I saw and experienced I rather fell in love with Le Prieuré, 6 kilometres out of Saumur. It's an idyllic French retreat standing proudly within the 62-acre woodland park that extends down to the river. The Château dating from the 12th and 16th centuries was converted into a hotel in 1957. An elegant manor house it is all white, with chimneys and an hexagonal turret which gives it its character. The interiors have a spacious grandeur with a magnificent spiral staircase, impressive decorated fireplaces, canopied beds and antique furniture.

I spent an entire lazy afternoon at Le Prieuré, in great company. Patrick Monmousseau, my host and also the spirit behind the Bouvet Ladubay, an excellent wine making company. We first sat at the open-air deck, overlooking the stunning Loire Valley, indulging in some exquisite bubbly and wine tasting, and then at the elegant restaurant eating a very creative meal put together by Chef Jean- Noel Limineau who has 30 years experience in the culinary arts. The area is famous for its mushrooms that come from the nearby tuffeau caves; the salmon, perch and eel from the river. All this washed down by excellent local wines made for a memorable, unforgettable total experience.

SAUMUR is perhaps the most elegantly bourgeois place with its graceful Château lording it over the handsome townhouses spread out below on both banks of the river and on the large island mid-stream. The town has a 250-year association with the military, which was home to the French Cavalry Academy and its successor, the Armored Corps Academy. There is a tank museum, the Musée des Blindés, with more than 850 armored vehicles, wheeled or tracked. Most of them are from France but some were made in other countries such as Brazil, Germany, or the Soviet Union.

The Château is a must visit part of Saumur. You can climb down to the dungeons and up into the watchtower on the cheaper ticket, but it's worth paying the extra to enter the former royal apartments, which are given over to a pair of museums. The Musée des Arts Décoratifs houses an impressive collection of European china, as well as some superb fifteenth-century tapestries, including a series telling the story of the local saint St-Florent, a converted Roman soldier who worked miracles in the fourth century. But it's the Musée du Cheval, in the attic of the Château, that's the real treat. Progressing from a horse skeleton through the evolution of bridles and stirrups over the centuries, you finally end with an amazing and diverse saddlery collection, with elaborately, lovingly worked pieces from Tibet, Morocco, Mexico and all over the world.

Saumur is the horse capital of the country. It is home to the Cadre Noir, the École Nationale d'Équitation (National School of Horsemanship), known for its annual horse shows.

Saumur is pretty. We made this picturesque town our base for the many sojourns we undertook to the various vineyards in the region, sometimes waking up really early to drive long distances in the pale morning sunlight. Driving through French countryside with beautiful old castles dotting the landscape and acres and acres of wineland is so pleasurable.