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Lazy Days in the LoireBy Beth Ede
Having spent five months in Tours during my student years, for me, the Loire will always be associated with lazy picnics on sunny riverbanks and sorties across expanses of rolling, open farmland to pretty châteaux and enchanting villages all under the guise of improving my French by spending as much time as possible in the company of the speakers of what is supposedly the purist form of French. It’s a hard life, as they say, but it seemed a shame to spend time studying in a library – the landscapes are so alluring and, whatever your interests, there is so much to see and do, whether it’s strolling around a pretty village, cycling along the banks of France’s longest river (the Loire is 627 miles long), tasting wine or visiting a château. The proliferation of châteaux is due in part to the region’s important role in the struggle for control of France but also to the fact that the Loire was favoured by many kings (hence the name ‘la Vallée des Rois’) and thus by many noblemen who wished to live close to the royal court and built their own small châteaux throughout the region.
Then there’s the wine. Though there is great variety due to the different grapes used, most of the region’s wines tend to be refreshingly light. Some of the best known are Pouilly-Fumé, one of the Loire’s dearest wines, Muscadet, perfect with shellfish, and the sparkling whites of the Saumur appellation, made using the méthode champenoise, a good one of which can rival most Champagnes. The five major Touraine appellations – Vouvray, Montlouis, Bourgeuil, St-Nicholas-de-Bourgeuil and Chinon – can usually be relied on for their quality, particularly the Vouvray whites, which have hints of almonds and quinces. Bourgeuil and Chinon reds, made from the Cabernet Franc grape which give them their ruby hue, are quite similar, the first having hints of raspberries, while the second has overtones of violets. You will pass many vineyards as you explore, and many a happy afternoon can be had calling in at producers for tastings, perfect after a morning of sightseeing. We offer several very leisurely walking and cycling holidays in the Loire: Châteaux & Vineyards Walk, Châteaux of the Loire Cycle, and Loire Highlights 4-night Cycle. |
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Gracefully
spanning the River Cher, Chenonceaux is widely considered to be the Loire’s
most beautiful château and was one of the first great Renaissance
châteaux. While I admit that it is strikingly elegant (due in no
small part no doubt to the fact that its construction and subsequent remodelling
was overseen by women), personally I prefer the château at Azay-le-Rideau
(also designed by women), whose fairytale turrets are reflected in the
surrounding lake. It’s fortunate that it is still standing –
in the 19th century a visiting royal came close to demanding that the
place be razed to the ground after a chandelier fell on his head and nearly
killed him. Seemingly every château has an intriguing story to tell,
making for some fascinating visits. It was at the château at Blois,
famous for its superb spiral staircase in a sculpted octagonal tower,
that both Louis d’Orléans and the Duc de Guise were murdered,
and that Catherine de Médici had a study lined with 237 carved
wood panels that concealed, depending on which historian you believe,
jewels and state papers or poisons and secret potions. Catherine de Médici
was also linked to the imposing château built on a river cliff above
the Loire at Chaumont – here, in the turreted tower, she studied
the stars with her astrologer and planned the downfall of her critics.
But she did not like the place, as it was while she was at Chaumont that
she supposedly had a vision in which her three sons all died violently.
Chinon, another château built for defensive purposes, was the setting
of Joan of Arc’s meeting with Charles VII, and was also where many
Templar Knights were imprisoned for three years before being slowly roasted
to death. On a less grisly note, the turreted château at Ussé
provided the inspiration for Perrault’s original tale of Sleeping
Beauty, and it is believed that Leonardo da Vinci may possibly have been
involved in the design of the vast château at Chambord which boasts
450 rooms, 365 windows, 70 staircases and so many spires and gables that
its roof resembles a cityscape in miniature.
But
however fascinating they may be, don’t restrict yourselves to château-visiting.
There are some lovely towns, among them Blois, Amboise, Saumur, Montrichard
and Loches, and many more delightful villages. Be sure too to seek out
some of the many Romanesque and Gothic churches and abbeys – some
of the best examples are the church at St Benoît-sur-Loire and the
magnificent abbey at Fontevraud, the last resting place of Eleanor of
Aquitaine and Richard the Lionheart as well as several other Plantagenets.
For something different, you could visit some of the troglodytic dwellings
scattered across the region – some have been set up as they would
have been when occupied in the Middle Ages and opened up as museums (Rochemenier
is an entire underground village that was inhabited until the 1930s and
gives a good insight into the harsh living conditions suffered by as much
as half the region’s population in the 12th century), while others
are given over to mushroom production – the area around Saumur produces
three-quarters of France’s mushrooms – some of which open to
the public so that you can learn about how they are grown and harvested.