Things to see and do within the Loire Valley | EUROtoday

LOIRE FESTIVALS

The Festival International des Jardins, held on the lovely Château de Chaumont-sur-Loire, is the main backyard pageant in France. Every 12 months, the highest worldwide names in backyard and panorama design are given carte blanche to let their creativeness run wild. Held from May until November, the pageant is famend all through Europe for the extraordinary high quality of its reveals.

domaine-chaumont.fr/en/international-garden-festival

Each 12 months the Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire Center d’Arts et Nature invitations internationally acclaimed artists and photographers to create unique, site-specific works on the theme of nature. Set throughout the château and throughout its 32 hectares, you may uncover prime inventive expertise alongside the château’s distinctive everlasting assortment.

domaine-chaumont.fr/en/centre-arts-and-nature

Orléans’s biennial Festival de Loire is Europe’s largest gathering of conventional riverboats, and it magically recreates the bustling Nineteenth-century port life alongside the Loire, that includes maritime exhibitions, regattas, reside performances, rowing races, boat jousts and native gastronomy.

www.tourisme-orleansmetropole.com/en

Held every autumn, the AR(t]CHIPEL up to date artwork pageant, in partnership with Paris’s Center Pompidou, pairs artworks from the Pompidou assortment with works by native artists at historic websites throughout the Loire Valley, a lot of that are usually closed to the general public.

www.centrepompidou.fr/en/lieu/artchipel-festival

CYCLING

Among the world’s most lovely biking paths, Loire à Vélo’s 560 mile (900 km) route runs previous storybook châteaux, scenic rivers, and the gorgeous UNESCO-designated panorama of the Loire. Along the way in which, cyclists can get pleasure from motels at each consolation degree, meals, wine tastings, restore stops, parking and a particular transport prepare. Check the web site for bike leases.

www.loirebybike.co.uk

Every 12 months, gravel biking fans flock to Angers to take part within the Nature is Bike pageant, held in late May. This citywide celebration highlights the 1,000 km of gravel paths that lead from the middle of Angers to the ocean and past.

natureisbike.com/en

VINEYARDS & TASTINGS

The Loire Valley is certainly one of France’s most numerous wine areas and scores of winemakers provide tastings and wine experiences. The Vins de Loire web site is a wonderful useful resource to discover a tasting, tour or different wine-themed exercise alongside the Route de Loire or close to wherever you propose to be.

www.vinsdeloire.fr/en

Wine tasting in a troglodyte cave is an expertise to not be missed whereas within the Loire.

tinyurl.com/troglodyte-wine

GUIDED TOURS

Bilingual information Aurzelle da Silva leads tailor-made excursions, spinning bygone instances right into a riveting story – with a refreshing humorousness. With a grasp’s diploma in medieval artwork historical past, and articles revealed in French scholarly journals, Da Silva can get as fascinatingly geeky as you want.

www.loirepassionguide.fr

BOAT TOURS

For 80 years, La Bélandre -Chenonceaux en Bateaux has navigated the romantic River Cher. Boats forged off close to the village of Chisseaux, 2km from Château de Chenonceau. Join a tour on a sightseeing boat or rent a silent electrical boat for 4 to meander underneath the citadel’s arched bridge and consider its well-known reflection. Parking is plentiful and boats depart often.

www.labelandre.com

HOT AIR BALLOON RIDES

Positive Altitude’s balloons take you over Cheverny, Chambord, Chaumont-sur-Loire, or Chenonceau, relying on the wind path, in addition to many different gems. Flights price from €200 to €680 for a non-public VIP tour.

www.positive-altitude.fr

From France Today Magazine

Lead picture credit score: Meta-Nature AI, set up by Miguel_Chevalier on the Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire, 2025 © M. Chevalier