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Top Attractions in Centre-Loire valley

Château de Chambord

The royal Château de Chambord at Chambord, Loir-et-Cher, France, is one of the most recognizable châteaux in the world because of its very distinctive French Renaissance architecture which blends traditional French medieval forms with classical Renaissance structures. The building, which was never completed, was constructed by King Francis I of France. Chambord is the largest château in the Loire Valley; it was built to serve as a hunting lodge for Francis I, who maintained his royal residences at the châteaux of Blois and Amboise. The original design of the Château de Chambord is attributed, though with some doubt, to Domenico da Cortona; Leonardo da Vinci may also have been involved. Chambord was altered considerably during the twenty-eight years of its construction, during which it was overseen on-site by Pierre Nepveu. With the château nearing completion, Francis showed off his enormous symbol of wealth and power by hosting his old archrival, Emperor Charles V, at Chambord. In 1792, in the wake of the French Revolution, some of the furnishings were sold and timber removed. For a time the building was left abandoned, though in the 19th century some attempts were made at restoration. During the Second World War, art works from the collections of the Louvre and the Château de Compiègne were moved to the Château de Chambord. The château is now open to the public, receiving 700,000 visitors in 2007.

Grottes Pétrifiantes de Savonnières

Les Grottes Pétrifiantes de Savonnières, also known as the caves gouttières, are two grottoes located in Savonnières, Indre-et-Loire, France. The Romans were present in the caves, as evidenced by the discovery of pottery, manual mills, and a graveyard, with seven gravestones remaining. The grottoes were mostly formed during the Middle Ages, the stone being used to build châteaux. Centuries later, the caves were flooded with water, slowly creating new passages. They were visited by Bernard Palissy in 1547, and an extension was discovered by a speleologist in 1947. In the 1960s, the grottoes were managed by their owner as to allow access to tourists. They were added to ANECAT and have since become a popular tourist attraction. Objects are put under the grottoes' springs for six months to a year, which covers them in limestone, creating a "petrified" look.

Azay-le-Ferron

Azay-le-Ferron is a commune in the Indre department in central France. It is situated in the parc naturel régional de la Brenne, spanning parts of the historic province of Berry and Touraine. Azay-Le-Ferron takes its name from ironworks, from which iron was extracted as late as the nineteenth century, and a deformation of aqua, "water". The Château d'Azay-le-Ferron, upon which the ancient commune depended, ranges from fifteenth century construction—the round tower—to eighteenth century, harmonized by the warm stone of which it is built and the blue-gray slates of its various roofs. The ancestral seat of the family Hersent Luzarche, bequeathed to the city of Tours in 1951, now houses a collection of furniture, both of the French Renaissance and in Empire style. It is surrounded by a series of parterre gardens, some with clipped topiary, and a landscaped park.

Château de Plessis-lez-Tours

The Château de Plessis-lez-Tours is the remains of a late Gothic château located in the town of La Riche in the Indre-et-Loire department, in the Loire Valley of France. Around three fourths of the former royal residence were pulled down during the French Revolution in 1796. Plessis-lez-Tours was the favorite residence of King Louis XI of France, who died there on 30 August 1483. It was also the scene of the 1589 meeting between King Henry III of France and the future King Henry IV of France which resulted in their alliance against the Catholic League. The present building is only a small part of the château originally built by Louis XI in the 15th century. The original château had three wings in the shape of a U. The room where Louis XI died can be visited. It has wooden panelling in the style called napkin folds popular in the 15th century. The first floor has paintings and sculpture devoted to St. Francis of Paola, whom Louis XI summoned to live near him until his death. Inside the château is a display of iron cages which were suspended from the ceiling and used to hold prisoners. The cages were so small that the prisoners were unable to stand. The remaining wing, which had long been used as a dairy farm and a buckshot factory, has been listed as a monument historique since 1927 by the French Ministry of Culture.

Tours Amphitheatre

The Tours amphitheater — also known as the Caesarodunum amphitheater — is a Roman amphitheatre located in the historic city center of Tours, France, immediately behind the well known Tours cathedral. It was built in the 1st century when the city was called Caesarodunum. It was built atop a small hill on the outskirts of the ancient urban area, making it safe from floods, convenient for crowds and visitors, and demonstrating the power of the city from a distance. The structure was an enormous, elliptical structure approximately 122 meters by 94 meters. According to it's design it is classified as a "primitive" amphitheatre. Unlike the famous Colosseum that was made mostly of masonry and built above-ground, the Tours amphitheatre was made mostly of earth and created by moving soil and rock into a bowl shape. Spectators likely sat directly on the grassy slopes, while the masonry was primarily used for the vomitoria and retaining walls. When it was expanded in the 2nd century , it became one of the largest structures in the Roman Empire. It is not clear why the amphitheater was expanded given the population and slow growth of the city at the time. About a century later, this expanded amphitheatre was transformed into a fortress, with an addition of a rampart style wall, typical during the decline of Roman Empire. It gradually fell into ruin during the Middle Ages and canonical houses were built upon it and gradually concealed it. The vomitoria were at some point transformed into cellars. The amphitheater was then completely forgotten until the 19th century, when it was rediscovered . Evidence such as the layout of the streets and radiating lots of the district drew attention to its existence. Surveys and terrain analyses in the 1960s gathered further data on the cellars of the houses which were previously built on the amphitheater walls. Over the past decade, more in-depth studies of the topography and architecture have taken place and are changing the theories and opinions surrounding this monument. The remains of the amphitheater are not protected as historic sites directly; however, some of the houses built upon it are registered as historical monuments. The ruins of the amphitheater are significant as they are among the oldest known ruins in the city and offer clues about the early history and development of the area.

Chartres Cathedral

Chartres Cathedral, also known as Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres, is a medieval Catholic cathedral of the Latin Church located in Chartres, France, about 80 kilometres southwest of Paris. It is considered one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The current cathedral, mostly constructed between 1194 and 1250, is the last of at least five which have occupied the site since the town became a bishopric in the 4th century. The cathedral is in an exceptional state of preservation. The majority of the original stained glass windows survive intact, while the architecture has seen only minor changes since the early 13th century. The buildings exterior is dominated by heavy flying buttresses which allowed the architects to increase the window size significantly, while the west end is dominated by two contrasting spires – a 105-metre plain pyramid completed around 1160 and a 113-metre early 16th-century Flamboyant spire on top of an older tower. Equally notable are the three great façades, each adorned with hundreds of sculpted figures illustrating key theological themes and narratives. Since at least the 12th century the cathedral has been an important destination for travellers – and remains so to this day, attracting large numbers of Christian pilgrims, many of whom come to venerate its famous relic, the Sancta Camisa, said to be the tunic worn by the Virgin Mary at Christs birth, as well as large numbers of secular tourists who come to admire the cathedrals architecture and historical merit.

Blois Cathedral

The Cathedral of St. Louis of Blois, commonly referred to as Blois Cathedral is a Late Gothic Roman Catholic cathedral in Blois, France. It has been a monument historique since 1906. It is the seat of the Bishopric of Blois, established in 1697. This was previously the collegiate church of Saint-Solenne, the original building of which dated from the 12th century. Apart from some traces in the crypt nothing survives of this. The façade and the belltower were built in 1544. The nave was destroyed by a hurricane in 1678, and the reconstruction in Gothic style took place between 1680 and 1700 under the architect Arnoult-Séraphin Poictevin . The Lady Chapel by the architect Jules Potier de la Morandière was added in about 1860. To celebrate the churchs elevation to a cathedral in 1697, Louis XIV presented the organ loft in 1704. The new see thereupon took the dedication to Saint Louis.
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