Explore the Loire Valley - France Today

A two-hour drive from Paris, the Loire – once a favourite day trip is now a cherished getaway, prized for its natural beauty, outstanding cuisine and beautiful lodgings catering to your wellbeing. By Jennifer Ladonne…

So much more than its storybook châteaux, the Loire Valley offers attractions aplenty, and each town and village has a character and pleasures all its own. Travelling by car or bike (on the famous Loire à Vélo bike route) affords experiences inaccessible to day-tripping château-seekers arriving by tour bus.

-In recent years, chefs, hoteliers and local policy makers have sought to broaden the Loire’s appeal beyond its admittedly splendid – châteaux and forge a new identity as a getaway destination focused on nature, sustainable dining and wellbeing, as well as a centre for the arts.

The Loire Valley, as defined by UNESCO’s cultural heritage designation, stretches west from Sully-sur-Loire, just east of Orléans, to Chalonnes-sur-Loire, near Angers, and encompasses one of France’s richest wine regions, extending from Sancerre in the east to Chinon further west. It covers a distance of approximately 155 miles (250km), which can be traversed by car in less than three hours, yet is so stocked with things to see and do, it merits a week or more, depending on your bucket list.

ROYAL BACKSTORY

Since Gallo-Roman times, the River Loire was the region’s main thoroughfare and provided a barrier against invading armies, notably the English. France and England fought over the valley for centuries: it belonged to England under the Anjou Plantagenets between 115 and 1216 and again. during the Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453), before reverting to France at the end of the Hundred Years’ War and later coming into its own under François I.

Towns arose from the early fortifications and many of those medieval edifices were repurposed or gave way to extravagant pleasure castles exhibiting fabulous gardens and all the glories of the Italian Renaissance the splendid châteaux you see today. Travelling the Loire is simple: just follow the river through the major towns of Orléans, Amboise, Blois, Tours and Angers, making forays into the countryside to see the major châteaux and their gardens, visit a wine estate, or wander the region’s picturesque villages, many of which are topped with a château. While visiting the great châteaux is a given, visitors will also find plenty of quirky, off-the-beaten-path museums, often housed in châteaux, that express some of the lesser-known facets of the region’s rich and fascinating history.

Arts festivals and exhibitions at museums and châteaux (both public and private) highlight French and international contemporary art, while garden festivals showcase wildly creative talents that push the boundary between traditional garden design and landscape art. Pilgrims and art lovers can make a beeline for the superb Abbaye Royale de Fontevraud, led by 36 formidable women over six centuries, with its art museum, hotel and Michelin-starred restaurant, or marvel at the incomparable 14th-century Apocalypse Tapestry, its epic story unfurling over 70 luminous panels in the twilight of Angers’ medieval fortress.

A culinary pilgrimage to the new gastronomic temples dotting the towns and countryside is an ideal way to sample the bounty of the Loire’s gardens and vineyards. Every bucket list will be different, and visitors are increasingly choosing a longer stay to explore the richness of the Loire, hasing themselves at one or two destination hotels with the amenities that suit them, whether it’s a fabulous spa, exceptional dining, luxurious trappings, or a relaxing retreat in the heart of nature or all of the above.

EAT, DRINK AND BE RESTED

Besides being one of France’s most diverse wine regions, the Loire is known as ‘the garden of France’ and a new generation of chefs is highlighting its abundance of fruits and vegetables.

Christophe Hay, one of the Loire’s most celebrated chefs, is leading the charge, bringing his love for his native land and all its natural bounty to every item on the plate in his luminous Michelin two-star restaurant across the river from Blois. While his five-acre garden provides everything from asparagus to lemons, Hay is perhaps best known as a champion of the local river fish. “The best inspiration for me is the fish from the Loire,” he says. “In a three-star Michelin restaurant, you always have the same fish (the lobster, langoustine, sole, dorade etc.), but in France you have beautiful fish from the Loire, a UNESCO-classified river.”

The restaurant is housed in the five-star Fleur de Loire hotel, opened by Hay three years ago in a 17th-century building on the banks of the Loire. Along with elegantly contemporary rooms, the hotel has a gourmet bistro, bakery and tea room, all with glorious views of the river. An easy walk to the Château de Blois, the hotel is a quick drive to numerous châteaux, vineyards and villages.

Les Sources de Cheverny, a 15-minute drive from Blois, invites visitors to drop the hectic pace and linger a while. “Guests can relax here, enjoy the spa, the woods, nature and gastronomy,” says Alice Tourbier, who owns the hotel with her husband, Jérôme. “There’s so much to do in the area.” Set on a 110-acre wooded estate, the hotel. emphasises wellbeing through forest walks, tennis, cycling, swimming, spa treatments and gourmet cuisine, partly sourced from the estate gardens. Guests can choose from rooms in the 17th-century château, a stone grange, a barn, or a cluster of contemporary wooden lodges set in the tall grasses around a pond. Sitting directly on the Loire à Vélo bicycle route, the estate is a 10-minute bike ride (provided by the hotel) from the Château de Cheverny and is within riding distance of the Château de Chambord and the Château de Chenonceau.

Ten minutes from Tours by car, Loire Valley Lodges takes unwinding and unplugging a step further in 18 wi-fi-free treehouses perched among towering oaks in the heart of a 750-acre forest. Each artist-designed cabin comes with a giant outdoor terrace, a whirlpool spa and wraparound floor-to-ceiling windows for full immersion in nature. Breakfasts are delivered in picnic baskets raised from your terrace on a pulley. Forest-bathing walks are encouraged and there’s an outdoor swimming pool and bikes for traversing the estate’s miles of wooded trails, which are dotted with sculptures from the owner’s contemporary art collection. Loire Valley Lodges is an easy drive from Amboise, the Cité Royale de Loches and some of the Loire’s most famous châteaux: Chenonceau, Azay-le-Rideau, Amboise, Clos-Lucé, Chaumont-sur-Loire, Chambord, Cheverny, Villandry and Langeais.

LIVE THE CHÂTEAU LINE

For those who crave the royal touch, the Loire’s newer château hotels have upped the ante in royally catering to your every need. “Above all, we want you to feel completely at home,” says Mira Grebenstein, Château Louise de La Vallière’s chatelaine who greets every guest with a glass of the estate’s refreshing sparkling wine. Though I doubt many guests have homes like this one: the extravagant interiors and sumptuous rooms are filled with precious antiques, tapestries and artworks. The gastronomic restaurant’s multiple course-menu is served according to 17th-century protocol, with a wine list geared toward connoisseurs. The spa features top beauty brands, a sauna, hot tub and pool. A 1940s Morgan touring car is on hand to explore the countryside.

TROGLODYTE DWELLING

The Loire is riddled with prehistoric caves. As the mighty medieval and Renaissance châteaux arose, built from the region’s snowy tuffeau limestone, a shadow world of cave dwellings took shape. Many visitors never notice this strange and fascinating aspect of the region, but it’s a delight to explore: you can sleep, dine and taste fine wines in caves hewn deep into the cliffsides.

Part manor, part prehistoric cave, Les Hautes Roches, set on a high perch overlooking the River Loire, exudes a quiet luxury. With generous windows, cool limestone walls, chic furnishings, carved fireplaces and bathrooms, and lovely views of the Loire, you’ll hardly know you’re in a cave (you can also opt for a contemporary room in the manor). The acclaimed gourmet restaurant serves its refined fare inside or on a spacious stone terrace overlooking the river. The pretty riverside village of Rochecorbon is an easy walk away. Here, you can visit the pretty château, taste Touraine wines at the troglodyte Maison Lacheteau and have lunch at a guinguette, a traditional riverside tavern. Les Hautes Roches is on the outskirts of Tours, making for an easy drive to a dozen of the great châteaux and some lovely villages.

Nearer Amboise, at the medieval Château de Pray hotel, Chef Arnaud Philippon’s Michelin-starred restaurant is set in a soaring troglodyte dining room lined with artworks and lit by romantic candlelight in the evening.

MOST BEAUTIFUL VILLAGES

It’s easy to overlook the Loire’s quieter pleasures when visiting its blockbuster châteaux. If you’re travelling by car, be sure to stop at a few of the region’s 12 Plus Beaux Villages and others that carry the Village Fleuri classification for their exceptional flowers and gardens.

Tiny Chédigny is best known for its profusion of flowers spilling over doorways and arbours, and growing wild along its picturesque stream. Wander through the village to discover charming boutiques and cafés. Saint-Dyé-sur-Loire, an ancient port town on the River Loire, was a popular meeting place for Parisian painters, writers and poets thanks to photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson, who lived here. Pablo Picasso owned a house here, too. Wander the cobbled streets of ravishing Montrésor, winding up to the Château de Montrésor, one of the Loire’s loveliest private châteaux. On the way, you’ll enjoy picture-perfect views of the village and countryside. After your wander, enjoy a fabulous home-cooked meal at charming L’École Gourmand restaurant.

At the eastern border of the Loire, a stone’s throw from Burgundy, charming Sancerre is the perfect getaway, especially for wine lovers, who will enjoy the many tasting rooms of the wine-rich region. The exquisite Les Hauts de Sancerre hotel, which opened in July 2025, is an ideal bolthole.

From France Today Magazine

Lead photo credit : Destination Grand Sancerrois © Philippe ARMANET - Panorama Vignes sur Sancerre