The
landscapes sud as a world
heritage by the UNESCO. The unspoiled river is a main element of this
heritage. Therrounding the Loire Valley Chateaux are liste Renaissance Chateaux are embellished by French-style gardens that give the visitor a feeling of relaxation and peace.What is the Loire Valley? 280 listed kms of river, a unique patrimony of Chateaux – Azay-le-Rideau, Chambord, Cheverny, Chaumont sur Loire…, of medieval manors and abbeys, an “art de vivre” labeled by many different wines – Vouvray, Sancerre, Pouilly fumé, Chinon, Bourgueil, Saumur, Anjou, Muscadet, Touraine… and high-quality gastronomy.
In the garden of France, our ancestors valued traditions, art, and nature. Their lifestyles have become our “art de vivre”. A mild weather and a generous sun give birth to some of the most famous wines in the world. Wine is a real art of living.
The Plantagenet dynasty understood that perfectly. Queen Eleanor and Richard the Lionheart rest there, in the largest monastery of the Western world.
Benjamin Franklin was also particularly keen on this exceptional valley.
Paris
The city of light, is bound to another major French river, the Seine.
Known for its view from the Eiffel Tower, this European capital is brimming
with numerous other panoramic viewpoints just waiting to be discovered.
Paris embraces nearly 400 parks and gardens which complement its 2,000
years of architecture. Paris, the home of fashion, city of art and the
picturesque, is teeming with districts that each have their own character
and atmosphere : from the vines of Montmartre to the creativity of its
galleries, from its exceptional antique sales to its department stores…
and at night, it really takes on its dimension as the City of light.
Tour example : Loire Valley and Paris
Azay-le-Rideau
In the 15th century, a medieval fortified dwelling stood on the small
island in the middle of the Indre river, protecting the crossing on the
road to Chinon. In 1518, Gilles Berthelot, a financier in the King’s
service, undertook to build a mansion in the style of the Renaissance,
which would be even more innovative than the château of Blois built
by King François 1er.
The new chateau offered all the reffinements of the dazzling architecture
of the day. It was a combination of the charming features of the French
tradition (high roofs, slender pepperpot towers, the vertical of the windows
and roof lights...), and the rigorous discipline of the Italian style
(imposing symmetry and continuous horizontal lines).
Tour example : Loire Valley and Paris
Blois
During
more than 4 centuries, a succession of Kings and Queens of France, made
their royal residence one of the great masterpieces of French architecture.
Louis XII rebuilt his chateau, blending the late Gothic style with Italian
art. François 1er built a new wing with its famous staircase tower
and the loggia façade. Catherine de Médicis and her son
Henri III often resided here during the second half of the XVIth century.
Gaston d’Orléans, exiled in Blois, gave the chateau its classical
wing.
Now, you can visit all the castle, some rooms
are for the Museum of Fine-Arts and a museum of architecture. In the Gaston
d’Orléans‘s wing five rooms are available for conference,
seminar, reception,private dinner.
Tour example : Loire Valley and Paris
Chambord
A day at Chambord is barely enough for a visit to the domain of the most
fascinating château in the Loire valley. At the age of 25, François
1er realised a dream by having this magnificent palace built in the middle
of an estate populated by stags and wild boar. In 1519, the ambitious
young king needed to establish his power. Chambord was therefore designed
as a genuine fortress with a keep and a surrounding wall with broad towers.
But it is also an architectural masterpiece combining the tradition of
French master masons with the lightness of Italian Renaissance buildings.
Attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, its design is distinguished by its magnificent
double-return stairs.
Tour example : Cooking lesson and wine tour
Chaumont sur
Loire
Dominating
the Loire Valley in a strategic position, the château was rebuilt
in the late 15th and early 16th century by the Amboise family. The property
of Catherine de Médicis in 1560, it passed to her rival, Diane
de Poitiers. At the end of the 19th century, the princes of Broglie luxuriously
refurbished the château and in 1884 had the very beautiful grounds
designed by Henri Duchêne.
Tour example : Loire Valley and Paris
Cheverny
The chateau has been open to visitors since 1922, and was Hergé’s
model for Moulinsart. You will be enchanted by the richness and abundance
of its furnishing and the authentic and refined charm of its decoration.
The most magnificently furnished château in the Loire Valley...Among
the many masterpieces to the seen are : painting by old masters, tapestries
from Ateliers de Paris, 17th century Flemish tapestries, a remarkable
Louis XV grandfather clock, a rare Louis XIV commode, the lying-in-state
bed in the King’s bedroom and a thousand others.
Tour example : Cooking lesson and wine tour
Fontevraud
Considered
as one of the largest monastic city in Europe, royal necropolis of the
Plantagenêt, whose polychrome recumbant statues are resting in the
Abbey’s Church, the Abbey of Fontevraud strikes as well as from
its size than its originality. Founded in 1001 by a Breton hermit, Robert
d’Arbrissel, Fontevraud was a double order, with nuns and monks.
Directed by 36 abbesses, who were depending only from the Pope and the
King, Fontevraud was, during seven centuries, a privileged witness of
France’s History. It was the most wealthy and powerful Abbey of
France at the eve of the Revolution. Napoléon transformed it into
a prison, saving it from destruction.
Fontevraud was inscribe as World Heritage in 2001 by UNESCO with
the inscription of the Loire Valley.
Pontlevoy
In
1034, Gueldouin, vassal of the Comte of Blois, founded a Benedictine abbey
dedicated to the Virgin Mary. It was an educational centre. It was destroyed
and restored several times. In 1625, the Cardinal of Richelieu was appointed
Abbot of Pontlevoy. His reformation of monastic life gave birth to the
congregation of Saint Maur. His successor that he appointed, Abbot Pierre
de Bérulle, restored the Abbey to its original religious and educational
function. In 1776, under Louis XVI, the Abbey became a Royal Military
School, but in 1793, Military Schools were shut down.
Since 2002, this abbey has been revived thanks to the European-American
Center for International Education.
Val de Loire Prestige and the Abbey of Pontlevoy closely collaborate in
organizing tourist and business tours with accommodation and seminar facilities.
Villandry
Villandry is renowned for the harmony of its architecture and its gardens
and is the last great Renaissance Chateaux built on the banks of the Loire.
The inside rooms were refitted in the 18th century and should also be
visited. You will be able to access the top of the medieval tower, from
which you will enjoy splendid view points on the gardens and on the Loire
Valley.
Tour example : Gardens and wine tour
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