The Loire Valley is also known as the Royal Valley because of the many chateaux the kings of the French Renaissance and their vassals built along the river
Centre Val de Loire
Chateau de Chinon – Loire Valley – History
Chateau de Chinon, restored ruins of the fortress built by Henry II of England where Joan of Arc came to serve King Charles VII during the Hundred years War
Cycling along the Loire River
The best cycling routes along the Loire River, a series of trails that follow the river from its spring in Auvergne downwards to its mouth in the Atlantic
Villandry Renaissance Chateau – Gardens
The Renaissance Chateau and gardens of Villandry in the Loire Valley, fully restored by Joachim Carvallo, and today registered as UNESCO’s World Heritage
Royal City of Loches – Agnes Sorel’s castle
Royal City of Loches, a masterpiece of medieval Military architecture with one of the oldest and best preserved stone dungeons in Europe, where Agnes Sorel lived
Traveling to the Loire Valley from the UK
Traveling to the Loire Valley from the UK by air, sea and land is easy as the region is served by 3 airports, ferry links and railway and road networks
Richelieu – Utopian city – Indre-et-Loire
Richelieu off the Loire Valley, the ideal city of Cardinal de Richelieu, a walled city built in the 1630s on a grid plan and surrounded by ornamental moats
Chateau du Rivau – The fairytale gardens
The fairytale Chateau du Rivau, one of the first castle built in the Loire Valley was restored to its past glory and boasts fourteen fun thematic gardens
Loire Valley architectural styles
A brief overview of the evolution of the Loire Valley architectural styles, which produced so many exceptional castles and religious buildings
St Benoit sur Loire Church – Fleury Abbey
St Benoit sur Loire Church is all that is left of the Abbaye de Fleury built on the site of a pagan sacred ground which was the geographical centre of Gaul
Chateau de Cheverny and cartoonist Herge
The Chateau de Cheverny, a masterpiece of Classical architecture used as model by Hergé for Captain Haddock’s Chateau de Moulinsart in his Tintin books
Chateau de Chenonceau – The Ladies’ Chateau
Chateau de Chenonceau, a masterpiece of French Renaissance architecture known as Wonder of the Loire Valley and Ladies’ Château as owned by women only