The Loire Valley (French: Val de Loire, pronounced[valdəlwaʁ]; Breton: Traoñ al Liger), spanning 280 kilometres (170 mi),[1] is a valley located in the middle stretch of the Loire river in central France, in both the administrative regions Pays de la Loire and Centre-Val de Loire. The area of the Loire Valley comprises about 800 square kilometres (310 sq mi).[2] It is referred to as the Cradle of the French and the Garden of France due to the abundance of vineyards, fruit orchards (such as cherries), and artichoke, and asparagus fields, which line the banks of the river.[3] Notable for its historic towns, architecture, and wines, the valley has been inhabited since the Middle Palaeolithic period.[2] The oldest knownNeanderthal engravings have been found a cave in La Roche-Cotard which have been dated to more than 57,000 years ago.[4][5] In 2000, UNESCO added the central part of the Loire River valley to its list of World Heritage Sites.[1]
The climate is favorable most of the year, the river often acting as a line of demarcation in France's weather between the northern climate and the southern.[6] The river has a significant effect on the mesoclimate of the region, adding a few degrees of temperature. The climate can be cool with springtime frost while wine harvest months may have rain.[7] Summers are hot; however, influences from the Atlantic moderate the temperature with breezes.[8]
Temperature, rainfall and average sunshine time in Angers (Anjou)[9]
On 2 December 2000, UNESCO added the central part of the river valley, between Chalonnes-Sur-Loire and Sully-sur-Loire, to its list of World Heritage Sites. In choosing this area that includes the French départements of Loiret, Loir-et-Cher, Indre-et-Loire, and Maine-et-Loire, the committee said that the Loire Valley is: "an exceptional cultural landscape, of great beauty, comprised of historic cities and villages, great architectural monuments - the châteaux - and lands that have been cultivated and shaped by centuries of interaction between local populations and their physical environment, in particular the Loire itself."[1]
The Loire Valley chansonniers are a related group of songbooks attributed to the composers of the Loire Valley and are the earliest surviving examples of a new genre that offered a combination of words, music, and illuminations.[12]
The architectural heritage in the valley's historic towns is notable, especially its châteaux, such as the Château d'Amboise, Château d'Azay-le-Rideau, Château de Chambord, Château de Chenonceau, Château de Chinon, Château de Montsoreau, Château du Rivau, Château d'Ussé, and Château de Villandry. The châteaux, numbering more than three hundred,[17] include the necessary castlefortifications built in the 10th century but also the splendour of those built half a millennium later. When the French kings began constructing their huge châteaux here, the nobility, not wanting or even daring to be far from the seat of power, followed suit. Their presence in the lush, fertile valley began attracting the very best landscape designers. In addition to its many châteaux, the cultural monuments illustrate to an exceptional degree the ideals of the Renaissance and the Age of the Enlightenment on western European thought and design. Many of the châteaux were designed to be built on the top of hills, one example of this is the Château d'Amboise. Many of the châteaux had extremely detailed and expensive churches on the grounds, or within the actual château itself.
Economy
The European Commission reported that in 2016, three categories accounted for most of the economy in the Pays-de-la-Loire region: services (including tourism) provided 66.7% of employment, industry 26.5% and agriculture, 3.9%. The unemployment rate was 8.8%. In 2015, the region ranked eighth in France in terms of economic performance producing 5.0% of the gross domestic product. Important economic sectors included leather goods, textile, shipyard/construction and aeronautics, agriculture and food-processing as well as the plastics industry.[18] The EC did not produce a report for the larger Loire Valley region.
According to another source, tourism in the Loire Valley was supported by over 700 hotels and 550 restaurants in the region. In addition to the chateaux and some 700 other listed Historic monuments, attractions included three Regional nature Parks, 550 km of cycling tracks, 800 listed Historic monuments, over 100 museums and 30 golf courses.[19]
In April 2019, The Guardian's travel section included one Loire Valley location in its list of 20 of the most beautiful villages in France: Montrésor, "a fairytale village with a rich history" evidenced by "the wool market, the Halle de Cardeux, ... the 16th-century Logis du Chancelier, ... a riverside walk, Balcons de l'Indrois, [and] ... Jardinier Bridge".[20]
According to a 2017 report by CNN, the 42 chateaux that make up the UNESCO World Heritage Site receive over 3.3 million visitors per year.[21]The Daily Telegraph newspaper (2014) listed the following as the premiere chateaux for tourists: Chinon, Cité royale de Loches, Chaumont, Blois, Meung, Chenonceau, Rivau, Lemeré, Amboise, Clos Lucé, Amboise, Chambord, Villandry and Valençay.[22]
^ abTockner, Klement; Uehlinger, Urs; Robinson, Christopher T. (2009). Rivers of Europe. Academic Press. p. 183. ISBN978-0-12-369449-2. Retrieved 11 April 2011.
^Williams, Nicola; Boone, Virginie (1 May 2002). The Loire. Lonely Planet. pp. 7–10. ISBN978-1-86450-358-6. Retrieved 12 April 2011.
^"Pays-de-la-Loire". EC. 1 November 2017. Retrieved 13 April 2019. Pays de la Loire is a French administrative region located in the western part of France
^"20 of the most beautiful villages in France". The Guardian. 13 April 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2019. From a fairytale fortress in the Loire to a clifftop stronghold in Provence, these charming, historic villages make perfect bases for exploring rural France
