Loire Valley Travel Info

History

It is there in the Loire Valley that the king Francois Ier (1515-1547) and his court chose to build castles for leading a life style inspired by the new humanist values of the Renaissance and by the cults of the beauty, of the luxury and the refinement. These elegant chateaux with their gardens celebrated the pleasure of life. The castles of the Renaissance were not built to defend against enemies. They were built for decorating the landscape and to illustrate the new prosperity of France.

For centuries, the Loire river was linking up with important tributaries such as the Indre and Cher. The Loire river was a highway between the Atlantic and the heart of France.

Geography

The Loire river marks the symbolic division between the north and the south of France. This quiet river, the longest of France ( 1012 km), crosses the beautiful regions of Touraine and Anjou, in which these harmonious landscapes invite the "douceur de vivre", meaning the "sweetness of life".

L'Anjou and the Touraine: The valleys of Anjou (region close by Angers city)and Touraine (region close by Tours city) are covered of prairies with savory and fruited vineyards. It is the land of the rose wine and where the roofs of houses are made of slate.

The Sologne: At the south of the Loire River, in the loop formed by the river, the landscape changes. The Sologne is planted with pines and is a region of fishing and hunting.

What about the castles...?
The biggest castle of the Renaissance, the royal Chateau of Chambord, was built by Francois Ier from 1519 to 1544. It is located in the middle of a big forest where the king and his court could hunt. It took 1800 workers to build this magnificent chateau which counts 440 rooms, 365 chimneys, and 63 stairways! Chambord had to be "a residence of the dimensions of glory", marking the period.

More typical of the new sophisticated life style of the Renaissance, are the little chateaux of Azay-le-Rideau (1524-1527) and of Chenonceaux (1515-1581). Both of them use the reflection of the water of the river on which they are built to create a charming and harmonious ambiences.

The gardens played an important role in the life style of this époque as well. The gardens of the last big chateau built on the border of the Loire river, the chateau of Villandry, are the best example of the geometric organization adopted at the Renaissance for the formal gardens, called " a la francaise", or in the French style.

Food/Drink

What good "stuff' can you eat?
Tourte soufflé au Crottin de Chavignol (cheese pie) Fricassee d'escargots au Sancerre (snails cooked in wine) Mousse de Rhubarb au coulis de framboise (Rhubarb mousse with raspberry sauce) Warm fresh goat cheese on a bed of greens...Just delicious!
Cheese specialty: the Crottin de Chavignol and the Valancay. Both are very good goat cheese. They are also probably the best-known. It is not a joke... Crottin means a horse-dropping!!

What about a drink?
Well, the Loire Valley is a wine country. But you probably know that already!

Muscadet ( dry white) Rose d'Anjou ( dry or semi-dry) Saumur (bubbly white and light red) the Bourgueil and the Chinon( red): good wines with cheese!. Vouvray ( both dry and sweet) Sancerre ( dry white and also rose) Pouilly Fume (dry white Sauvignon).