Centre–Val de Loire

For about a century and a half, from the end of the Hundred Years’ War to the Wars of Religion, the French court lived along the Loire rather than in Paris. Kings and their financiers built and rebuilt here, and the result is the densest collection of Renaissance châteaux anywhere: Chambord, Chenonceau, Blois, Amboise, Chaumont, Cheverny, and dozens of smaller manors. Many were built as hunting lodges, which is why the region’s forests are still so large.

The region took the name Centre-Val de Loire only in 2015, and the river is still its spine. The Loire is often called the last wild river in France: unruly, braided with sandbanks, flooding in winter and nearly dry in late summer. The stretch between Sully-sur-Loire and Chalonnes is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Away from it lie quieter countries: the ponds and forests of Sologne, the wheat plain of Beauce with Chartres cathedral rising out of it, and the green hedgerows of the Berry.

Most visitors see three châteaux in a day and leave. Better to rent a bicycle and follow the riverside routes for a few days, sleeping in small towns, tasting Vouvray or Sancerre at the source and arriving at the great houses early, before the coaches. The region is close enough to Paris for a weekend, yet it rewards a week.

• Sandbanks and islands of the Loire
• Ponds and hunting forests of Sologne
• Wheat plain of the Beauce
• Hedgerows and hills of the Berry
• Vine-covered slopes of Sancerre and Vouvray

Facts

• Called simply ‘Centre’ until the law of 16 January 2015 added ‘Val de Loire’ to its name; its borders were unchanged by the 2016 reform.
• The Loire Valley between Sully-sur-Loire and Chalonnes was inscribed by UNESCO in 2000, shared with Pays de la Loire.
• Chartres Cathedral (1979) and Bourges Cathedral (1992) are both UNESCO World Heritage sites.