Loire Valley
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The Loire Valley is a little slice of 'fairytale' France - a landscape dotted with Renaissance chateaux, vineyards, and picturesque villages. The Loire River winds its way through this land of plenty - where fine food, delicious wine, and historic wonders combine to make this a great introduction to rural France.
It is for the chateaux that the Loire Valley is most famed. These royal palaces, aristocratic follies, and echoes of pre-Revolutionary France are masterpieces of Renaissance architecture.
At Chenonceaux, the chateau stretches elegantly across the river Cher. Framed by formal gardens and with its own wine label, Chenonceaux is justly popular.
The largest chateaux is Chambord - seat of the French Kings during their frequent holiday excursions from Versailles. This huge palace bristles with towers, chimneys, and other architectural flourishes, while the ingenious 'double staircase' will provide plenty of amusement. A popular light show in the evenings uses the huge walls of the chateaux as a backdrop.
The Sancerre and Touraine regions of the Loire are famed for their excellent wines, and wine-lovers will get some great bargains direct from the cellar door. Various wineries have tours of their cellars - many cut deep into the soft hillsides of the region - and this is a 'must do' of any trip to this area of France.
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The major towns of the Loire Valley - Angers, Tours, and Orleans - make excellent bases for exploration and are worth a couple of days each in their own right. As with the smaller towns and villages of central France, the winding streets and medieval architecture remains largely intact, and their restaurants and cafes make excellent spots to relax at the end of the day.
Getting There
The Loire Valley can be easily reached from Paris, which is only one hour away by train. Visit Eurostar and the French rail network SNCF for details.
Even quicker is a short one hour hop from London Stansted on budget airline Buzz, which lands at the small airport of Tours.
More Information
Visit France Tourism, French Connections, Logis de France, or Chateaux Hotels for those who want to 'push the boat out'.
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