0:00 Intro
0:35 A short walk in Tours
2:15 Amboise castle, gardens and Loire
5:59 Clos Luce castle, gardens and Loire
7:28 Why castles were built in the Loire valley?
7:45 Cont’d about castles, walk in Chaumont-sur-Loire and Chaumont castle
9:10 Blois castle
11:28 A walk in Blois
14:14 Orleans
Loire Valley is quite a unique area in France with about 300 castles and a very reach history which simply made us to visit at least a few places during the weekend trip from Paris. We only scratched the surface by stopping by the Amboise, Chamont, Clos Luce and Blois castles and quickly visiting Tours, Blois and Orleans. Although each of these places do deserve much more time than we had during our trip – we are still very happy to be able to see all of them in person! And – we definitely will be back!
And, quoting Wikipedia:
The Loire Valley (French: Vallée de la Loire, pronounced [vale də la lwaʁ]), spanning 280 kilometres (170 mi),[1] is located in the middle stretch of the Loire river in central France, in both the administrative regions Pays de la Loire and Centre-Val de Loire. The area of the Loire Valley comprises about 800 square kilometres (310 sq mi).[2] It is referred to as the Cradle of the French and the Garden of France due to the abundance of vineyards, fruit orchards (such as cherries), and artichoke, and asparagus fields, which line the banks of the river.[3] Notable for its historic towns, architecture, and wines, the valley has been inhabited since the Middle Palaeolithic period.[2] In 2000, UNESCO added the central part of the Loire River valley to its list of World Heritage Sites.