If you’re planning a trip to Loire Valley, there are many different ways to gather information.  One of those ways is the Loire Valley Tourism.  This website features many different things you can do in Loire Valley, where to stay, where to eat, and much more.  You can even use their online booking system to arrange your entire holiday with just a few mouse clicks.

The site is divided into three sections: Discover, Get Organised, and Book Your Holiday.  The Discover section is where you’ll find information about Loire Valley.  They have a great amount of content for both the one-day adventurer and those looking to spend more time in Loire Valley.  If you’re dropping by the valley for a day, you’ll find tips on some of the top sites to see.  If you plan on staying for a weekend, they’ve also got some great excursion ideas that take a little more time.  The site highlights areas like the valley’s lakes, its beautiful gardens, its local art, and, of course, its great vineyards and wineries.

Once you’ve looked through all that Loire has to offer, you can move on to the Get Organised section.  Here, you’ll find information about Loire restaurants, hotels, youth hostels, and more.  They also have information about touring certain sites in Loire, including Loire chateaux, old medieval fortresses, and cathedrals.  A list of activities, excursions, and local events rounds out the section.

Finally, you can make use of the Book Your Holiday feature to actually get your holiday reserved.  The site has a number of different packages, such as the Chateaux and Wines tour, a canoeing and biking excursion tour, and even a hot air balloon and wine adventure.  You can always search their holiday offerings by area, duration, and even price, which makes it very easy to find exactly what you’re looking for.

The website has a few other nice features.  You can check the weather in Loire Valley, download some of their travel brochures, and subscribe to their newsletter to get updates about events and travel to Loire.  All in all, this is a very informative site that has a lot to offer anyone who is thinking of taking a trip to Loire Valley.

Loire valley is home to a number of different restaurants, chateaux, leisure activities, and museums.  If you’re planning a trip to Loire, reading a site like this is one great way of learning about the various things to do and places to see in the area.  This site focuses mainly on Loire chateaux, including where to find them, what features they have, and more. 

Their list of Loire chateaux is fairly comprehensive as far as names and phone numbers go.  However, the site doesn’t feature websites, pictures, or guide opinions for at least half of the Loire chateaux they list.  This means you may have to make several international phone calls to get information about these Lore valley chateaux and other places to stay.  Also note that some of the chateaux are not open year round; however, the site does mark the ones that are.

If you’re into sports and leisure, you’ll find a few things to do in Loire valley.  The Loire sports leisure section of the website gives you information on a golf course in Loire, as well as information on a park you can visit while you’re there.  They include phone numbers, the closes chateaux, and the location.

Looking for places to eat?  The website lists a few different Loire restaurants.   They break these restaurants down by category so you can easily find the type of food you want; however, there are only a handful of restaurants for each category, and there are many a dozen listed overall.  This is one section of the site that could definitely use some improvement since there just isn’t that much information. 

This is, in fact, the biggest drawback to this website.  While it appears to have a lot of information, there are a lot of sections that are lacking.  There just isn’t much content regarding leisure, culture, shows, restaurants, and other things.  While the list of Loire chateaux is very nice and certainly useful if you’re looking to visit one, the rest of the site just isn’t that useful.  If you’re looking for a more general site on Loire, this site isn’t for you.

There are several different types of Loire tours you can take, and many of them focus on bicycling.  France, especially the Loire River valley, is a gorgeous place to bike through.  If you’re interested in this, you can find a lot of information on the MayQ website.  The site hasn’t updated its content since 2003, however, so while much of the information is still relevant, some of it may be a little outdated.

The site starts out with a good amount of information on the Loire River and Loire Valley itself.  It discusses the Loire chateaux and gives information on when to bike through Loire.  While the site itself doesn’t discuss more basic information about bicycling through Europe, it does link to a site that will help first-time bikers learn about touring and transporting their bikes.

You’ll also find some history of the Loire valley and information on many of their attractions, including Loire restaurants and the author’s opinion on which Lore chateaux to visit.  The site includes only a few short sentences about each, however, and does not provide website links, telephone numbers, or other contact information.  While it’s great to get opinions for someone who has been there, more contact information would be nice.

The second part of the site is about organizing your Loire bike tours.  It talks about accommodations, using the trains, renting bikes, and gives some really helpful itinerary suggestions.  If you’ve never biked in the Loire Valley before, these itineraries are going to be very helpful.  They outline where to bike to and from each day and give some suggestions about what to visit and where to stay.

The third section of the site is devoted to a point-to-point itinerary that starts at La Baule and goes to one of several different ending points.  It’s very detailed and provides some very specific directions in some places.  This is really good for anyone who isn’t certain about planning their own trip or wants to follow a recommended path. 

Overall, if you’re looking to take a Loire bike tour, this website has some good information.  If you want more in-depth details about Loire restaurants, Loire Chateaux, or the like, it’s not here.  This site is certainly for bikers only.

This site is dedicated to helping you choose from a collection of Loire bike tours that are sure to invigorate your sense of wonder with amazing interactions of the French countryside and Loire wine country.  The site makes sure to point out that one of the special attractions of this tour is the fact that you get to spend the first day of your vacation going over the history of Loire wines, and you even get to taste some of these wines so you can get the full experience of the bike tour through the Loire Valley.

The description on the site includes the highlights of the tour, as well as a thorough explanation of what you will be doing and of the hotels you will be staying in along the way.  The description is actually very involved, and you can take this opportunity to learn as much as possible about where you will be staying and the interesting history that is tied to the area.  If you are a history buff you can take a little extra time and use the information on this site to fully immerse yourself in the countryside.

On the left hand side of the description is a bar that relays all of the pertinent information like length, price, and activity level involved.  You can use the information on these different Loire tours to help you decide if this is a good option for you and the vacation across the Loire Valley that you have in mind.  Besides offering you a very detailed look at the Loire countryside, the website also offers you some interesting options as well, like riding in a hot air balloon over the Loire Chateaux.  If you are interested you can also get a very detailed map of your planned itinerary.

Also on the left hand side is a link, “What’s Included,” and you can go to this site to find out what the price of the Loire bike tour covers.  This way you can make sure that you plan ahead of time for what extra money you may need as well as the kind of provisions will be provided during your tour.  This is a very helpful option.

Visiting the Loire Valley section of France does require some research, especially since many people are not familiar with the area.  Loire Valley Online contains a number of different types of information about the area.  It should be noted, however, that the website contains a copyright of 1998-1999.  While this doesn’t necessarily mean that the page was last updated on those dates, it does mean you should collaborate any information from the site with a site that you know is up-to-date just in case the content is old.

The accommodations section of the site is very informative and lists a number of Loire chateaux, Loire castles, and restaurants.  The site breaks these down by cities, so you can see only hotels in Cher or in Indre-et-Loire, for example.  Each entry lists the address, phone number, and webpage of the establishment if one is available.  The site also has comments on some of the hotels and restaurants.  There are even some listings for campgrounds, furnished apartments, and bed and breakfasts.

The site also has a good bit of information on Loire wine and viticulturists.  Just like the setup for accommodations, you’ll find contact information for each winery plus a description of what type of wine is produced there.  To round out a great picnic with your wine, the Loire Valley Specialties section includes listings of many different special meats, fruits, vegetables, desserts, and other foods you can find in the area. 

The website includes several other interesting sections.  They have information about the Gien Faience Factory, an art factory, information on gardens in Loire, and some information on the Acadian line, a museum detailing the history of the Acadians.  Links to emergency services, maps of the area, and a weather report are also very useful. 

New Renaissance Magazine is published by the website, and you’ll find their latest features online.  This includes information on Loire castles, gardens, genealogy, and the art of living, which highlights artwork and other goods.  Again, it’s uncertain how recent this information is.  It does, however, make for fascinating reading.  The site overall is good, but double-check any information that appears to be time-sensitive or outdated.

Want to stay in a great Loire chateaux when you visit Loire Valley?  If you do, you’ll want to do some research on the chateaux.  This site has a number of different sections about Loire chateaux and Loire Valley in general.  The site is separated into five main content sections—places to visit, kids in Loire, activities, getting there, and places to stay.

Under places to visit, you’ll find a good number of chateaux.  Each has its own profile page that includes a lot of good, detailed information about the chateaux, what you will find there, and plenty of images.  Unfortunately, there is no address, contact information or website link for any of these chateaux, so once you find one you really like, you’ll have to do another search to find out how to contact the chateaux.  The same is true with the other places to visit, such as the parks, gardens, abbeys, and cathedrals.  The profiles are full of great information otherwise.

If you’re planning on visiting Loire with your children, the kids section gives you some great ideas as to what to do and where to stay.  This section is somewhat more complete, and many of the events and activity profiles do include addresses, websites, and phone numbers as well as admission fees and hours of operation.

The same is true for the activities section, which is split into land (bicycling), water (canoeing and kayaking), and air (ballooning).  While there is only one activity in each section, the information for each activity is pretty detailed with the exception of ballooning. 

If you’re wondering how to get to Loire Valley, the getting there section is very detailed.  You’ll find driving directions and distances for land travel, a list of ferries, a train schedule, and airline information.  You can follow up this information with a look through the places to stay section, which details many different accommodations (including a few chateaux, and in this section, contact information is provided). 

In addition to this main content section, the site also includes information on tours, the River Loire, dining, living, and Loire wine.  You can also watch some great videos, study a map of the Loire Valley, and shop the site’s online bookshop.

There’s an About page for everything, it seems, and the Loire Valley is no exception.  The site is known for having a good amount of information on all topics, but when it comes to Loire, unfortunately there’s just not a lot of content here.  There’s technically only one page of information here, and while it touches on a lot of things, it’s not very detailed.

The first thing you’ll find on this site is a map of Loire.  This map is fairly simple, and while it does list a few Loire chateaux, wineries, tourist towns, and the Loire River, it’s certainly not complete.  In fact, it only shows “the best” chateaux between Bloise and Tours.  Following the map, you’ll find a bit of information on chateaux themselves, following by some information on various Loire cities, including Tours, Blois, and Montrichard.  The content here is limited to about a short paragraph per city.

Next is a list of some top chateaux.  Again, each has only a few sentences, and there is no contact information or website links to be found.  If you want a place to start your Loire information-gathering, you can get a short list of chateaux here.  However, it’s not extensive, and it’s certainly not that useful if you want to actually see what these places look like.  There is a link to the Loire Valley wine page, which is helpful if you want to know about that. 

This is followed by a Loire tours section.  The link to the Loire Valley tours directory looks good, but once you get to that page, you’ll only find a handful of different tour options.  A little further down is a link to the Loire Valley Travel Guide page.  This page is just a list of links to sites about Loire, but at least these links are pretty useful.  The other information on the page is focused on learning about French rail passes and links to pages about nearby cities, including Paris, Nantes, and La Rochelle. 

All in all, this page isn’t that detailed, and there’s not a lot of content here.  If you want a really in-depth look at Loire, you’re not going to find it.

If you are looking for a website that offers professional photographs of the Loire Valley and the Loire Chateaux, then this is a good site for you.  That’s because this site houses several different professional photographs of the Loire region.  At the top of the page there is a brief description of Loire and all that it has to offer, and below that is a gallery of photographs.  When you scroll over the different photographs an information bar will pop up that lets you know the professional name of the picture, as well as the information that you need to either order a print or to download the photograph as wallpaper to use for your computer.

There is not much information on the site, so it would not be a good one to go to if you were trying to find out about travel possibilities and tours in Loire.  However, many people who have visited Loire (or are about to visit the area), might want to browse through the gallery to see if they could find a picture of the Loire Chateaux that they were interested in.  This is an easy way to get a piece of memorabilia without having to go through a lot of hassle. 

There are two gallery pages of castles that can be found within the Loire Valley, but if you want to view them all on one page, then you can simple click the link labelled “All” at the top of the page.  This will put all of the pictures on one page, and you can browse through them in a comparative style so that you can decide which ones will work best for you.  If you decide to order a print, you can either click on the thumbnail image, or you can click on the link that appears when you move your mouse over the image.  If you do click on the image it will take you to a page where it is larger, so that you can see all of the Loire Chateaux in greater detail and decide which of these photographs would work best.  Under each enlarged picture is a brief description of where it was taken.

There are many beautiful Loire Chateaux in the French countryside, and this site has them all listed with photographs.  When you go to the main site you will see that it is all written in French.  If you want it translated to English then you need to click on the picture of the British flag on the upper left hand side of the screen.  After you do this then you will be able to read all about the Loire castles that are featured on the site.  Also on the right hand side of the screen is a navigation bar that will allow you to see information on a variety of chateaux that can be found in the Loire Valley.

For example, if you wanted to find out more information on the Amboise castle then you can click on that link and it will take you to a separate page that lists a short history of the chateau and some interesting pictures.  This site is intended to help you make sure that you understand the different sites to visit while you are in Loire, so it is full of information.

Also on the navigation bar is a section marked “Tours.”  Go to this link to find out more about Loire Tours, the capital of Touraine.  You might confuse this with a section for touring possibilities, but this is not the case.  Instead you will find the information on Loire tours in the “Your guide” link.  There is not a lot of information available on the site, but there is a link for rates and one to email the tour guide so that you can learn more.

There is also a lot of useful information on Loire in the navigation bar as well, including a map, hotels and restaurants, and links that could be helpful.  One of the downsides to this information is that much of it is still in French.  There does not appear to be an English translation for these sections, and many of the sites that you are linked to are also in French so you may have trouble deciphering them.

If you are looking for a site that organizes a lot of the information on the Loire Valley into one location, then this is definitely one to consider.  That’s because it has organized all of the pertinent information that you might need if you were planning a trip to Loire in the near future.  Not to mention the fact that you can also find out about Loire Chateaux that you might want to visit and Loire restaurants that you will likely want to eat at while you are in this beautiful section of France.  There is also a section in the middle of the screen, about halfway down that has a lot of pertinent news information relating to the Loire Valley.

At the top of the page there is an advertisement bar for a Loire tours company.  You can click on this to navigate away from the page you are on and to learn more about possible Loire tours that you might be interested in taking.  If you decide to stay on the main page and learn more about the Loire Valley, then one thing you can do is to go to the tab called “Organize your Holiday” and choose “The whole tourist offer” from the selection.  This will take you to a page where you can choose a town or an area and find out what this region of Loire has to offer, and if that selection fits your vacation needs.

If you are just looking for general information then you can go to the “Discover Touraine” where you can find out about everything from the types of Loire restaurants that you can visit and what they serve.  Not only that, but you can also learn about the Loire Chateaux that you can visit and find out about the kind of history that makes up this region of France.  If you want to see the Loire Valley for yourself you can go to the section marked “Images of Touraine.”  And, if this isn’t enough then you will want to register for the newsletter on the main page so that you can keep up on all of the news of the region.