Hello Loire Valley, good to see you!

“The French air cleans up the brain and does good – a world of good." - Vincent Van Gogh

The Garden of France, or Cradle of the French as it is sometimes referred to lies in the central area of the Loire Rover in Central France; A rich farming region of fruit orchards, fields of vegetables and vineyards, lovely historic towns and architecture. The heart of the area is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and of course, it's frequented almost all year round by tourists. The area isn't a stranger to people though as it has been inhabited since the Middle Palaeolithic period some 100,000 years ago, give or take a few. I'm not sure how many were tourists back then, but these day's there's a few. You can see one, my wife, in this image to the left posing in the garden at a castle called Château de Chenonceau.

We had headed out of Paris and headed south to Orléans and then Blois with the intention to immerse ourselves in the food and wine culture that has sprung up in the region and, as always, to learn about the history and to see the sights.

This image was taken at Chenonceau also. It was owned by the Marques family but was burned to the ground in 1412 as punishment for Jean Marques for the act of sedition. It was rebuilt around the 1430's although was sold due to debts owed in 1513 by Jean Marques heir. It has a rich history involving many famous names like Diane de Poitiers (King Henry II's mistress), Catherine de' Medici (King Henry II's Queen) and Louise de Lorraine (Wife of King Henry III).

Château Chenonceau receives some 800,000 visitors a year so it's busy but I think it needs to be on anyones's list of places to visit if in that area. We toured the inside and gardens and enjoyed a picnic in the grounds which was really nice as the day was spectacular. We found a quiet little spot, shaded, but with a great view of the château and the passersby...Perfect.

Two other notable château's close by are the Château of Chambord and Château of Cheverny seen below. Between these three Château's a visitor can get a really good idea of the different types built throughout the area in different periods. All have their charm, and probably maintenance problems as well, but all are equally interesting.

Unfortunately my photography skills are not the best and so I've added an image sourced as referenced to give you a better concept of these three locations. I can highly recommend a visit to all three and would probably say that you could see them in a day, provided you were staying locally although you would be rushed. We took a day to see each one and ended up having a picnic at each out in the grounds which was really nice. It allowed us to take our time with each place. A word of warning, these spots are popular and so large bus groups arrive non-stop. We were fortunate to time our run inside between bus tours which made our visits more enjoyable.

Chambord image source

Cheverny image source

Chenonceau image source

The Loire Valley is not just castles and history though, there's so many other things to do there; Even doing nothing in the Loire Valley is enjoyable. We spent a couple of days with no fixed agenda and simply drove around stopping when and where we wanted to. We did some wine tasting (despite not being real drinkers), some food tasting of course and took a traditional Loire boat for a little cruise on the Loire River; An amazing way to get a different perspective and very relaxing. For something more unique a World War One bi-plane flight is the way to go though! You will not regret the investment.

Whether it's wine and food, history and château's, river cruises, bike riding through rustic scenery, hot-air ballooning, romantic picnic's...Anything at all, the Loire Valley has something to offer. It's a couple hundred kilometres from Paris and bus day-trips are available however I suggest 4-5 days in the area to fully experience what it has to offer. A few days exploring château's, a day wandering and a day biking, walking, hot-air ballooning and bi-plane flying and you're on your way to creating some great memories just like we did. Of course, a week would be better...