The lovely Loire

Advantages: Lovely tranquil area, iseal to relax in
Disadvantages: No wild nightlife or beach (actually an advantage to me!)

...I have visited France with my family several times in the last 8 years but we have always stayed by the coast. This year we thought we would like a change so we 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 found we had an easy drive down to our destination 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...

Meggysmum 15.09.2009 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Loire Valley (France)

Loire Valley Experience

Advantages: Good food, good wine ,friendly people and great country.
Disadvantages: Lack of french

...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 area is known as the 'Garden of France' and benefited through history from its popularity with the French Royal Families who have left a wonderful legacy in the form of its many chateaux, gardens and parks. Such has been their influence that UNESCO has designated the whole valley a world heritage site. The Loire River (the longest in France) is the thread that holds this area together but...

jimpi 02.10.2006 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Loire Valley (France)

Great Food, Great Wine, Great People In the Loire Valley!

Advantages: Great Wine, Great Castles, Great People.....those are kick a** advantages
Disadvantages: It's not really easy to access via Train, you really do need to have a Car to fully appreciate it

...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 skirmish with someone your travelling with? What about when you were sick that one time and had to stay at your hotel/villa, and your family went sightseeing without you. Then it turns out they met a famous person and had the best day of their entire trip on that day you were sick? Yeah.....sometimes, it's not always CRAZY FUN to go on holidays with your entire family. Then...

i_heart_elo 05.03.2009 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Loire Valley (France)

Mayenne - the forgotten Loire

Advantages: Beautiful, rural countryside, unspoilt, but with plenty to do
Disadvantages: Must have transport to visit

...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 region has, without the crowds of tourists. Ideal for couples 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...

DebzC 17.10.2005 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Loire Valley (France)

Loire Valley

Advantages: Scenery, weather, people
Disadvantages: Petrol prices

......

Snuggy99 16.07.2008 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Loire Valley (France)

  Valley of the Kings

Advantages: Chateaux and gardens, old towns and local cuisine
Disadvantages: Unexciting landscapes, well-trodden tourist trail

...Where is the best place in France to get away from it all, to slip off for a few days (or a few weeks, or months), perhaps to your second (or third, or fourth) home? With a country so rich in attractive regions, this could be regarded as a tough question, but the kings of the Valois dynasty in the late 15th and early 16th Centuries were in no doubt about their answer. They picked on the lower valley of the Loire, and in particular the stretch between Orleans and Tours, to site their out-of-town chateaux and hunting-lodges. Where they led the court naturally followed, and soon any ambitious aristocrat felt the need to have a prestigious pied-a-terre nearby from which to keep in touch with current intrigue and to curry favour with the king. The reasons that attracted the Valois kings and their retinues to the Loire Valley...

torr 10.10.2005 (13.10.2005) · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Loire Valley (France)

Elephants and Castles in Nantes

Advantages: Pretty city, some good attractions, good places to eat out, transport links
Disadvantages: Everything comes to a standstill on Sundays

...I have been living in Nantes for the past six months as part of my university Year Abroad, so I thought I might as well write a review on the city itself! **General Info** Nantes is situated in western France, on the Loire River. It's the 'prefecture' of the Pays de la Loire region, which is sort of like the 'capital' of the area. It's the eighth largest city in France, and is only a short journey away from the coast. **The Town Centre** The city centre of Nantes has a very French feel to it - there are cafes and bars with pavement tables everywhere; old cobbled roads and little narrow streets with traditional French architecture. The main part of the city centre isn't very big at all; you could take a walking tour of it in one afternoon. There are several squares, or "places" in the city centre, the biggest being...

amytheduck 28.02.2008 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Nantes, Loire Valley

TOURS - the Loire Valley

Advantages: Beautiful place
Disadvantages: Not by the sea :(

......

Laura_Ellis 29.09.2002 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Loire Valley (France)

And Tonight Jennifer We Eat The Chat!!

Advantages: Some lovely places to visit
Disadvantages: you have to be interested in the subject matters specifically

...Most of my holidays in my lifetime have been made through my school as my family has pet dogs and unfortunately we cannot go on holiday leaving them behind in kennels for too long and so we are limited. In October of 2003 I made a visit along with my classmates to Le Mans 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 wasn?t a widely spoken language and so the sentence ?Parlez-vous anglais sil vous plait?? couldn?t act as a quick fix...

jenni_a 30.05.2004 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Loire Valley (France)

I'd Love A Hunting Lodge Like This

Advantages: A very impressive, historical location
Disadvantages: The audio guide isn't really worth the money

...The Loire Valley located in Central France is famous for its historical towns such as Blois and Amboise, however it is probably more famous for the famous Chateau?s. Perhaps the most famous of these would be the Chateau de Chambord. Designed in the French Renaissance style the Chateau is the best known within the region. The Chateau was originally built as a hunting lodge for King Francois 1st. Situated within 13,000 acre forest the setting for Chambord couldn?t be any more impressive. From your first view of the Chateau it is a truly magnificent building. Positioned on the side of an expanded River the Ford around the front of the Chateau adds to the overall impression of the Chateau. The front of the building looks exactly as you would expect a Chateau or Castle to look as it towers above everything in the area and really gives that...

Andy.mack 23.09.2009 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Chateau de Chambord, Loir-et-Cher