Loire Valley

The Castle of Chambord was already a separate WHS since 1981. In 2000, this site was extended with the culture landscape of the Loire Valley, containing historic towns and villages, great architectural monuments (the châteaux), and cultivated lands. Inclusion of this new site was deferred once in 1999 by the WHC, because the designated area also included a nuclear power plant.

Reasons for inscription are: the cultural landscape along a major river in existence over two millennia, the representation of ideals of the Renaissance and the Age of the Enlightenment, and the quality of its architectural heritage, in particular in its world-famous castles, such as the Château de Chambord.

Year Decision Comments
2000 Inscribed Reasons for inscription
1999DeferredDeferred due "to the disturbing presence of the nuclear power plant"; 12 out of 19 WHC members voted to inscribe the site, where a 2/3 majority (13) was necessary

Reviews

Philip T.K. (Canada):
The best way to explore the "Val de Loire" is by private car and that's exactly what we did. Renting one from Paris, we spent a day and half exploring the valley. The road signs in France were excellent and it was much less of a hassle than we expected.

On the first afternoon, we visited Chambord which turned out to be my favorite chateau in the region. Surrounded by forest, it evokes images from childhood fairy tales. It is simply beautiful. From the top of the chateau, you can really see how isolated the place is. After it closed in the evening, my brother and I spent an hour rowing around the castle (highly recommended, it costed $11 for two) which really enhanced the experience. Any visit to the Loire without Chambord would be a shame. That being said, there are many other places worth visiting in this WHS.

After staying in Tours for the night, we visited the ruined castle at Chinon and Fontevraud Abbey, which contains several royals tombs such as Henry II of England and his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine among several others, for the morning. In the afternoon, we visited Amboise and Blois. Frederik Dawson has done a great job of describing the former so I don't think I need to go any further on that. Blois, on the other hand, is a nice chateau from the outside but I wouldn't recommend visiting the interior. Most of it is 19th century restoration and I was slightly disappointed with my visit especially considering that it was our last one before heading back to the French capital.

The Loire Valley is a French treasure not to be missed. I visited many other places in this WHS-rich country and it still remains one of my favourite places in France.
Date posted: July 2008
():
I Saw 2 Chateaus: Cheverny and Chambord. Chambord is the better of the two, it is incredible. the roof is amazing. there is a double winding staircase. Cheverny is smaller and simpler, it's orangery is where the french hid the Mona Lisa during world war 1.
 
Frederik Dawson (Netherlands):
Watching the film Da Vinci’s Code made my Asian friends came to Europe to see all places, which related to Leonardo’s life. After their Leonardian pilgrimage in Italy, they came to Holland for tulip fields and invited me to join their trip to France’s famous Loire Valley. An offer I hardly refused as I wanted to see another world heritage site.

As the trip was mainly about Da Vinci, our destination was Amboise, the last home of this influential man. Amboise is a very beautiful town on the banks of the Loire with many pretty houses decorated with many flowers. The view from the north bank toward the south side is unbelievable as the beautifully chateau d’ Amboise perched on the hill above the whole town like a fairly tale. The exterior of the chateau is really nice and the interior also lovely with acceptable amount of furniture and interesting history. It is important to note that Chateau d’ Amboise is the first renaissance style chateau in France, so this place is quite important for architectural history. The Chateau also has lovely French style garden and nice chapel. This chapel was the main reason for this trip as the remains of Da Vinci were supposed to be here. The tomb of Da Vinci is just a plain white marble on the floor of the Chapel with some inscription, but for the fans’ emotion (my friends) this place was quite overwhelming.

Not only the chateau that has link with Da Vinci, the manor name Le Clos Lucé near Amboise town centre was his home until his last day. This manor has nice museum and large park with many reconstructed Da Vinci’s inventions. My friends and I played all these replicas with great fun and we were amazed by the genius of Da Vinci. As my friends are great fans of this man, their enthusiasm to explain everything made this trip became really fun and opened my eye on this region. I really want to come back again to this great place in the near future.
Date posted: September 2006
Klaus Freisinger (Austria):
There are, as far as I can see, four cultural landscapes in Europe featuring river valleys, and I´d say the most famous is the Loire Valley (the others are the Rhine Valley in Germany, the Danube Valley in Austria, and the Douro Valley in Portugal). An incredible mixture of history, architecture, and culture, it is worth visiting for any number of reasons, but the chateaux certainly beat all the others. They are all masterpieces of Renaissance (and partly Baroque) architecture, especially the famous castles of Chenonceaux and Chambord (the most beautiful of them, with the famous double staircase by da Vinci). Together with great historic cities such as Angers, Tours, Blois, and especially Orléans, the Loire Valley captures the essence of French history and culture and is definitely worth a visit (more visits really).
Date posted: June 2005
Jose Gomes (Portugal):
I'm used to visit several UNESCO's World Heritage Sites by car (from Portugal). To visit a so large area a car or moto is really necessary. Then, you would be able to enjoy so wonderful castles transformed in so nice palaces. This Valley is one of the most interesting sites in France.
Date posted: June 2005
Graeme (UK):
In 1999, rented a car with friends and toured around the Loire Valley as a day trip from Paris. Visited the main attractions (Chambord and Chenonceau) along with some lesser known chateaux. The views, both architectural and pastoral, were wonderful, but I think the highlight of the trip was enjoying several bottles of the local Sancerre wine over a lengthy lunch. Was certainly a worthwhile excursion.
 


Have you been to The Loire Valley between Sully-sur-Loire and Chalonnes? Share your experiences!

Add your own review