Loire Valley (France)

...and their retinues to the Loire Valley - the desire to assert their authority over an area not long since liberated from the English, its agriculturally rich royal estates, its good hunting and relatively easy accessibility from Paris - have largely lost their relevance unless you happen to be a Parisian. But by a stroke of good fortune the upsurge of royal interest in the area coincided with a high point in the evolution of Renaissance architecture, ...
...main reason for visiting the Loire Valley today, together with the parks and gardens that surround them, and the historic riverside towns along the way. By contrast, despite orchards and vineyards, and some wooded hills on the southern bank, the natural landscape is rather uninspiring. The Loire is not a particularly pretty river, or at least not in its lower, more frequented reaches. It is a remarkable river, the longest in France at over 1000km ...

torr 10.10.2005 (13.10.2005) · Read full review
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Review of Loire Valley (France)

When I think of the Loire Valley, I think of one of the most enjoyable Family "touristy" days i've ever had. Sometimes, when we go on holiday with our families, we can have a good time together. Yet there usually is always something that goes amiss. How often have you been vacationing somewhere gorgeous where you waste hours and hours arguing amoungst your family about "where to go", and "what to do"? Or, how many times have you gotten into a little ...
...is. Our trips to the Loire Valley have always been...amazing. We continued to find something new to do, and never disagreed about where to go. It was as if the place had some magical "getting along together", hold over us. In the Loire Valley......you dont fight.....you don't argue.....you don't get bored.....you don't whine.....you don't feel tired.....you don't frown. My mother said " The Loire Valley is like Brigadoon". You'll only get that statement ...

i_heart_elo 05.03.2009 · Read full review
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Review of Loire Valley (France)

...in France situated in the Loire Valley. This however was not an ordinary trip as I will describe to you further down. The trip was to cost me (or my parents you choose) £500. At first I thought hmmm that’s a tad pricey for what I’m getting here but I was desperate to go as I felt my French speaking could benefit from the practice after all this was the supposed point of the trip! Le Mans was the chosen destination because it was apparent that English ...
...to various points in the Loire Valley which is famous for its chateaus although all of these places are nice and easy to get to from Le Mans. The first full day of the holiday was what was described as a getting to know the family day which to me was more of a hell day. We did however get the opportunity to see some of the town we wouldn’t if we were just normal tourists. Le Mans in the way we were shown it on this Sunday was not a posh touristy ...

jenni_a 30.05.2004 · Read full review
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Review of Loire Valley (France)

Loire Valley Experience. Many people would agree that returning for a second or third time to a particular holiday destination is an obvious indication of its popularity and my wife and I have found such a place in the Centre region of France. We had visited many areas of this interesting and diverse country but were drawn back to the Loire Valley due to the numerous attractions the area has to offer and the friendliness of the local people. The ...
...world heritage site. The Loire River (the longest in France) is the thread that holds this area together but its tributaries of the Cher, the Vienne, the Indre and other rivers in the region such as the Cruese give an added dimension to the region by providing attractive valleys and landscapes to stimulate interest. You are in an area where you can be on a plateau with what seems like endless horizons, surrounded by sunflowers, in a deep valley, ...

jimpi 02.10.2006 · Read full review
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Review of Loire Valley (France)

...decided to venture into the Loire Valley. I must admit I didn't do a lot of research before I made the booking so I opted for an area that looked easy to get too and then opted for a caravan site that looked promising. The Loire Valley is in fact separated into several departments and we were actually staying in the Anjou region, very close to Touraine, the closest large town was Saumur. ===Getting There=== We sailed overnight to St Malo and then ...
...of about 5 hours. Due to the fact we tow a caravan we tend to stick to the A road and pay tolls ( about 25 euro) when necessary because it makes our journey easy even if a little longer, if you are using the ordinary roads there is a very direct route. ===Introduction to the area=== Our first impression of the area was that it was very flat. We had decided not to take our bikes this year as we had not got around to buying new roof bars after changing ...

Meggysmum 15.09.2009 · Read full review
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Review of Loire Valley (France)

...runs through Nantes, and the Loire is on the outskirts. You can hire canoes or electric powered boats to explore, or go on an organised trip. The river is so pretty, and gets prettier as you go away from town towards Petit Port. There is a Chinese water-garden type idea on an island in the river. It is accessible by bridge, and is so pretty. You can feed bread to the fish in a pond and the fish are massive and really pretty. There are also loads ...
...Near the train station is an open air botanical gardens, which is one of the most gorgeous, relaxing places I've ever been. There are thousands of plants aswell as terrapins, deer and birds. The place has a spooky silence about it, because even the children sense that being noisy would spoil the beauty of the place. 5. Shopping The town is quite nice for shopping. There are loads of lovely little boutiques and chocolatiers, aswell as big department ...

NATI 08.03.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Loire Valley (France)

...15 miles west on the Loire if you favour slightly sweeter wines and wines made by the Champagne method. Visit the caves of the wine producers sample the products and you'll discover some great wines at very cheap prices. We also prefer the Rose wines of the area but do not forget the Reds not a great area for the reds as I see it (just a drinker not an authority) but I was truly amazed at the quality of some of this type of wine and now look for ...
...the spring and early summer, never later than the beginning of July. There are other hotels in the town some in the Logis de France group but not all have the views of the river. Finally for those who have never taken advantage of the 'Logis de France' they can be easily spotted with there yellow fireplace symbols on a green background and there in nearly every village apart from I believe the really big cities. Enjoy ...

Tramp 02.08.2000 · Read full review
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Review of Loire Valley (France)

Wow. This is THE place to go for every sort of break I can imagine. There's loads to see and do, rolling countryside, great food, friendly people, not to mention the great roads. You must get a guidebook before you go to make sure you don't miss anything out :) Try and plan your trip too so you don't have to do more miles than you have to. Queues into the main attractions can be quite long so take a drink and be prepared to wait. It will go down ...

Snuggy99 16.07.2008 · Read full review
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Review of Loire Valley (France)

Most people visiting the Loire tend to go to the area around Tours and Saumur, often travelling through Mayenne to get there. They should really stop in Mayenne and see what this fabulous department of France has to offer. Mayenne has beautiful chateaux, many private chateaux open their doors to the public during the summer months, water parks, zoos, boating, museums, music, arts, golfing, fishing, medieval towns; everything that the southern Loire ...
...and families alike. The scenery is stunning, the weather temperate, the people friendly and with excellent travel links to the UK. Well worth a visit - and if you must go to Tours/Saumur - they're only a day trip away. Also worth a visit out of season for the music and arts festivals, Christmas markets, wonderful X-mas lights at Laval and dinner cruises on the Mayenne river. Mayenne is also ideally placed for visiting Normandy, Brittany, Sarthe ...

DebzC 17.10.2005 · Read full review
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Review of Loire Valley (France)

I have been a regular visitor to France since I was young, and recently stayed in the small village of Ste Catherine de Fierbois. The weather was lovely (apart from a couple of thunderstorms), and the locals friendly. Just north of my campsite was the city of Tours, which I found to be a beautiful, bustling city with an excellent shopping centre. I would advise visitors to France to buy a phrasebook and try to speak French to the locals - they ...
...free just by asking for 'un verre de vin rouge si'l vous plait'). The phrasebooks come with pronunciation guides in them, but if this confuses you I would suggest a short course or even a beginners French tape. Overall, the place was beautiful and had ample places to eat out (be careful to check opening times, as some places are shut on particular days, or even shut for the annual holiday during August-September.) Good places to shop are large ...

Laura_Ellis 29.09.2002 · Read full review
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Review of Loire Valley (France)

...from a holiday in the Loire Valley with my friends a few weeks ago. Our primary reason for visiting France - apart from it being an extremely cheap holiday was to have a trip (or two) wine tasting around the chateaux's of the Loire Valley. We thought it would be difficult to get them to hand over their wine without paying a penny, but we couldn't have been more wrong. They welcomed us with open arms plying us with free wine - be warned, they do ...
...But at an average price of £2.50 per bottle who can say no?? The French were very helpful in directing you to the next chateaux, where you could sit and sample this wonderful drink. Also in the region, there is a tourist trail for you to follow, it takes you all around the vineyards and wine tasting houses. Some of the people we encountered did not speak English too good, so don't forget your phrase book, others though spoke excellent Eniglish. We ...

kerryL 26.07.2000 · Read full review
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Review of Loire Valley (France)

loire valley - doue, is located near the north west of France. Is quite, its not really for singles, its more for couples and familys. Doue has about 5 bars though out the town and has around 3 resturants (which all of good quality). There is also a out side swimming pool,with three diving boards which get higher and higher! The people out there are friendly and sometimes when you are in a resturant they try and talk in english to you (which makes ...
...by the friendly locals. All the Chateaux in the Loire Valley are big and beautiful. If you family has teens (18+)then there is a night club in a town called Viehier nearby. in every small town there is a big supermarket, a bread shop, a bar and a small resturant. ...

esmo69 28.07.2004 (30.07.2004) · Read full review
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Review of Loire Valley (France)

...a few days in the Loire valley a couple of years ago en route to the South of France. It is a very beautiful area, the main feature of the area being the exceedingly beautiful Chateaux for which the area is quite rightly famous. Chambord is the biggest of them, and is most peoples idea of a fairy tale castle, but my personal favourite is the smaller Chenenceau. There isnt just Chateuax to see in the area however. There are some nice market towns, ...
...good wines, and there are always vineyards to visit! Food in the area is also very good, with lots of things like wild boar on the menu from all the large estates! It is a lovely area to visit, however Im not sure that I would like to spend a couple of weeks there, and I think perhaps young children would get bored of visiting so many castles! It isnt far from the channel ports however. ...

dlpugh 03.07.2000 · Read full review
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Review of Loire Valley (France)