Explore Loire Valley

Why visit Loire Valley

The Loire Valley is essentially an open-air museum of French royal architecture set in some of the most pleasant countryside in Europe — a 280km ribbon along the country's longest river with around 300 châteaux to choose from, of which a dozen are unmissable. The mid-river fairy-tale of Chenonceau — the so-called 'Château des Dames', spanning the Cher river on a series of arches and famously redesigned by Catherine de Médicis after the death of her husband Henri II — is the most photogenic. Chambord, with its 426 rooms, 282 fireplaces, and double-helix staircase reputedly designed by Leonardo da Vinci (who spent his last three years in nearby Amboise), is the most extravagant. Don't miss Cheverny (the inspiration for Tintin's Marlinspike Hall, with its working pack of hunting hounds), the cliff-dwelling village of Trogô just upstream, the fortress of Chinon (where Joan of Arc met the Dauphin in 1429), and Villandry's geometric Renaissance gardens — some of the most beautiful formal gardens in Europe. The valley is also a serious wine region (Sancerre, Pouilly-Fumé, Vouvray, Chinon, and Saumur all flow from here) and the home of French goat-cheese culture; combine a few castles with cellar visits and a slow bike ride along the 800km 'La Loire à Vélo' cycle route.