The river Loire flows through the Chateau Country: five centuries of the history of France beautifully preserved in magnificent castles, fortresses and abbeys. Kings and Queens and the nobility, partisans and revolutionaries come to life again in the gorgeous son et lumiere spectacles.
Traveling south by car along the N10 highways, you will come to the fortress castle of Chateaudun; follow the same route and you will reach the Loire and the city of Tours, the center of this region. To the east, along the valley (upstream) you will find Amboise, in whose chateau Charles VIII died and where 1,500 Huguenot conspirators were massacred in 1560; Blois, where you will be shown the death chamber of Catherine de Medici; Chambord, which has 440 rooms, walled-in gardens and the largest estate in France.
Westward along the walley towards the Atlantic, you will come to Azy le Rideau, with one of the most beautiful castles of early Renaissance; Saumur, renowned for the Cavalry School and its Cadre Noir (Black Squadron); Angers, whose chateau with 190-ft high towers is surrounded with 30-ft deep moats and where you shouldsee the Cathedral Saint Maurice and the Museum of Tapestry. There are 120 castles to visit. You must see the vineyards of Vouvray, where some of the finest wines in the world come from, and the Cognac country. If you are in France on 7 and 8 May, go to Orleans for the annual festival of Joan of Arc.
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