35 Best things to see & do in Loire Valley

An 900km waymarked cycle route through the Loire’s beautiful countryside, stopping off at fantastical chateaux, vineyards, and picturesque villages.

The Loire’s extraordinary chateaux are a vision of architectural splendour and stunning gardens, and offer an insight into the lavish lifestyles of France’s 16th- and 17th-century royalty and bourgeoisie.

The Loire’s most visited chateau remains magical for its fine late Gothic and Renaissance architecture, its outstanding collections of furniture and art, and its colourful history at the hands of extraordinary women.

The Loire’s grandest chateau, an astonishing 440-room, 16th-century Renaissance colossus filled with a vast collection of furniture, tapestries, antiques, objets d’arts, and a double helix staircase thought to have been designed by Leonardo da Vinci.

Dubbed the ‘Garden of France’, the Loire Valley boasts a world-class array of fascinating and unusual decorative gardens.

Imposing vaulted, history-rich chateau built in the 15th century that became the favoured residence of French kings and queens. The tiny vaulted Gothic chapel contains the tomb of Leonardo da Vinci.

A vast, yet easily explored wine region with 7,000+ winegrowers producing all types of wine, and curious troglodyte wine cellars.

A postcard-perfect, medieval town famed for its troglodyte wine cellars (filled with excellent wines) and majestic hilltop chateau.

Thousands of kilometres of tunnels – originally dug out of the soft, underlying, tufa strata as part of Middle Age stone quarries – are now chapels, houses, farms and hotels.

One of the world’s most beautiful gardens, including a truly remarkable vegetable garden, in the grounds of a UNESCO-listed chateau.

Leonardo da Vinci’s final residence reveals fascinating insights into the enigmatic painter, engineer and inventor.

A serene, dreamy way to appreciate Loire’s stunning countryside and some beautiful waterfront chateaux. Trips range from several hours to multi-day.

Boat tours on the Loire River are a serene way to appreciate the Loire’s unique and idyllic countryside landscapes, peppered with fairytale chateaux.

Our summary of the typical foods, ingredients and flavours, cooking styles, dining scene and best foodie experiences in the Loire Valley.

Float gently above the Loire Valley, a captivating vista of verdant vineyards and charming villages, peppered with fairy-tale, turreted chateaux. The meandering Loire River, glitters in the early light, weaving a silver thread through the tableau.

A perfect fairy-tale castle, built in 1527, with historic portraits, tapestries and carved four-posters that beautifully capture the Renaissance lifestyle. One of the Loire’s most beautiful and romantic chateaux.

Travel back to the Middle Ages in this vast monastic complex and splendid Romanesque church. It’s home to the sculpted tombs of Henry II of England, Eleanor of Aquitaine and Richard the Lionheart.

Richly decorated 17th-century chateau showcasing six centuries of family history, with good wine tasting and a kennel of 100 hounds.

Weird and wonderful experimental garden festival where conceptual gardens touch urbanism and ecology.

This oriental treasure is the largest Japanese garden in Europe features rolling lawns, sculpted trees, shrines, and more than 300 species of plants.

Europe’s first theme park devoted exclusively to plant life hosts 275,000 tropical trees and plants over 17 hectares, with plant-themed attractions and dazzling displays of horticulture.

An unique, Jules Verne-inspired family attraction with monumental mechanical animals to ride, from elephants and sea snakes to giant spiders. 

Smack bang in the middle of Tours this wonderful covered market houses 38 stalls piled high with the best of the region’s produce. You can sign up for cooking demonstrations too and learn how to make the regional classics.

A fairytale castle of medieval architecture straight from a storybook, with 14 superb, sculpture-strewn gardens and its own wine.

Set along the edge of the Loire River, in the shadow of the Chateau d’Amboise, this famous outdoor Sunday food market hawks local goats cheese, meats, fish and wine, plus fresh fruit and vegetables from farms around the region.

A dramatically-sited fortress-chateau, with a fascinating royal history. Joan of Arc came in 1429 to persuade the Dauphine Charles to go to Reims to be crowned.

Beneath this attractive Renaissance and neo-Gothic chateau is a remarkable 9th-century fortress, a troglodyte labyrinth complete with drawbridge, stables, and guardrooms. The chateau is also known for excellent wines, which you can taste in Les Caves de la Comtesse de Colbert in the chateau grounds.

A 16th-century chateau with captivating gardens, which includes 150 vegetables and a remarkable ‘conservatoire’ of almost 630 varieties of tomato.

This annual wine fair in Tours, held at the start of June, celebrates local wines with wine workshops, music, fireworks and countless opportunities to taste and buy direct from producers.

Built in the 12th century, this stunning Gothic masterpiece is famed for its architecture, intricate stained glass windows, and the iconic labyrinth on the floor.

Seek out bargains at this riverside fleamarket held on the second Sunday of each month at Montsoreau. Old books, trinkets, lace, furniture and more.

Just south of Chinon, this small specialist manufacturer of goats’ cheese offers guided tours of their farm, explaining their traditional manufacturing process, followed by tastings paired with Chinon wine.

The troglodyte houses more than 70 species in enclosures dug out of the surrounding rock, creating dramatic enclosures. Open daily February-October.

This series of cool, dank caverns in Montsoreau is said to have once been inhabited by loups (wolves), then exploited as quarries, before being turned into a champignonnière (mushroom farm). Button, oyster and shitake mushrooms are cultivated here today.

A fabulous specialist chocolate manufacturer offering guided tours of its workshop and chocolate-making lessons, plus a bar entirely dedicated to chocolate drinks and cakes.