| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Interactive map of The Loire Valley betweenSully-sur-Loire andChalonnes | |
| Location | France |
| Criteria | Cultural: i, ii, iv |
| Reference | 933bis |
| Inscription | 2000 (24thSession) |
| Area | 86,021 ha |
| Buffer zone | 213,481 ha |
  1 2 | |
TheLoire Valley (French:Vallée de la Loire,pronounced[valedəlalwaʁ]), spanning 280 kilometres (170 mi),[1] is avalley located in the middle stretch of theLoire river in centralFrance, in both the administrative regionsPays de la Loire andCentre-Val de Loire. The area of the Loire Valley comprises about 800 square kilometres (310 sq mi).[2] It is referred to as theCradle of the French and theGarden of France due to the abundance ofvineyards, fruit orchards (such ascherries), andartichoke andasparagus fields, which line the banks of the river.[3] Notable for its historic towns, architecture, and wines, the valley has been inhabited since theMiddle Palaeolithic period.[2] In 2000,UNESCO added the central part of the Loire River valley to its list ofWorld Heritage Sites.
The valley includes historic towns such asAmboise,Angers,Blois,Chinon,Montsoreau,Orléans,Saumur, andTours.
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.[4] The river has a significant effect on themesoclimate of the region, adding a fewdegrees of temperature. The climate can be cool with springtimefrost whilewine harvest months may have rain.[5] Summers are hot; however, influences from the Atlantic moderate the temperature with breezes.[6]
Temperature, rainfall and average sunshine time in Angers (Anjou):
| Month | Jan | Feb | March | Apr | May | June | July | Aug | Sept | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average minimum temperature (°C) | 2.1 | 2.2 | 3.9 | 5.6 | 8.9 | 11.8 | 13.6 | 13.4 | 11.3 | 8.4 | 4.6 | 2.8 | 7.4 |
| Average temperature (°C) | 5 | 5.7 | 8.2 | 10.4 | 13.9 | 16.2 | 19.2 | 19.1 | 16.5 | 12.7 | 8 | 5.6 | 11.8 |
| Average maximum temperature (°C) | 7.9 | 9.2 | 12.6 | 15.3 | 19 | 22.6 | 24.9 | 24.7 | 21.8 | 17 | 11.4 | 8.4 | 16.2 |
| Average monthly rainfall (mm) | 62.1 | 50.8 | 51.7 | 44.6 | 54.4 | 41.2 | 43.8 | 44.9 | 52.2 | 59.6 | 64.5 | 63.4 | 63.4 |
| Monthly hours of sunshine (hour/month) | 70 | 92 | 141 | 179 | 201 | 234 | 248 | 237 | 191 | 129 | 89 | 65 | 1877 |
| Source:[7] | |||||||||||||
TheLoire Valley wine region[8] is one of the world's most well-known areas of wine production and includes severalFrench wineregions situated along the river from theMuscadet region on theAtlantic coast to theregions ofSancerre andPouilly-Fumé just southeast of the city ofOrléans in north central France. Loire wines tend to exhibit a characteristicfruitiness with fresh, crisp flavors.[9]
On December 2, 2000, UNESCO added the central part of the river valley, betweenChalonnes-sur-Loire andSully-sur-Loire, to its list of World Heritage Sites. In choosing this area that includes the Frenchdépartements ofLoiret,Loir-et-Cher,Indre-et-Loire, andMaine-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 - thechâteaux - 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]
TheLoire Valley chansonniers are a related group ofsongbooks attributed to the composers of the Loire Valley and are the earliest surviving examples of a new genre which offered a combination of words, music, and illuminations.[10]
A new Contemporary Art offer is developing all along the Loire River fromMontsoreau to Orléans with such places asChâteau de Montsoreau-Contemporary Art Museum, CCCOD Tours, theDomaine Régional de Chaumont sur Loire and theFrac Centre Orléans.[11][12][13] They are a rare association ofRenaissance architecture withcontemporary art.[14]
The architectural heritage in the valley's historic towns is notable, especially its châteaux, such as theChâteau de Montsoreau,Château d'Amboise,Château d'Azay-le-Rideau,Château de Chambord,Château de Chinon,Château du Rivau,Château d'Ussé,Château de Villandry andChenonceau. The châteaux, numbering more than three hundred,[15] include the necessarycastlefortifications 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 theRenaissance and theAge 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 theChâteau d'Amboise. Many of the châteaux had extremely detailed and expensive churches on the grounds, or within the actual château itself.
TheChâteau de Montsoreau is the only château to have been built in the Loire riverbed, it is also the only one to be entirely dedicated tocontemporary art.[16][17][18]
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 theplastics industry.[19] 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.[20]
In April 2019, TheGuardian's travel section included one Loire Valley location in its list of20 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".[21]
According to a 2017 report byCNN, the 42 chateaux that make up the UNESCO World Heritage Site receive over 3.3 million visitors per year.[22] The 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, Chambord, Villandry and Valençay.[23]
Pays de la Loire is a French administrative region located in the western part of France
From a fairytale fortress in the Loire to a clifftop stronghold in Provence, these charming, historic villages make perfect bases for exploring rural France
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47°12′59″N0°03′44″E / 47.21639°N 0.06222°E /47.21639; 0.06222
