What to see in the Loire Valley, where it is located and what are the routes not to be missed in this region of northern France, characterized by famous tourist resorts, castles, rocky coasts and landscapes.
Turistic itineraries
Nantes, a city with many architectural beauties, Angers and Saumur, are among the numerous historical monuments and art cities rich in history.
The Castles of the Loire are over 300 and were all built from the 10th century onwards, as the summer residence of the French kings who, taking their own court with them, needed spacious environments that were able to support the role of branches of power beyond outside of Paris.
But in the sixteenth century the sovereign Francis I decided to return to concentrate power in Paris and for this reason some important architects, who had settled in the Loire Valley, decided to leave.
It was after the establishment of Louis fourteenth in power, in the mid-seventeenth century, that the French capital won the definitive role of sovereign seat with the construction of the Castle of Versailles.
What see
Today some Loire châteaux can still be visited, at least in part.
Among them we must mention the Chenonceau Castle, which is certainly one of the most beautiful castles in the world, located a short distance from the village of Chenonceaux, the Chambord Castle, which is a huge Renaissance masterpiece, and the Blois Castle, which was the residence of many French kings and the place where Joan of Arc was blessed.
The castles of Chaumont, Amboise and Angers are also of considerable artistic value.
