Loire Valley Time Travel

02/09/2024

Heritage conservation in action.

We always try to show clients how the heritage of the Loire Valley is maintained by professional conservators, curators, architects and ar...

26/08/2024

The lovely Agnès did not get to star in her own show after all. Kind of a shame.

One of the star objects tucked away in a relatively little known church in the Touraine Loire Valley is the finest tomb effigy of the mid-15...

19/08/2024

The golden months.

Twice a year the Touraine Loire Valley goes bright yellow! In April it is the canola crop flowering, in July it is the sunflowers. Make sure...

12/08/2024

Visiting a wine cellar is always fun.

Wine cellars in the Loire Valley are often underground, in troglodyte caves. We finish most of our chauffeured tours with a visit to a wine...

05/08/2024

You have to be unlucky not to eat well in the Touraine Loire Valley, known as the 'Garden of France' because of its superb fresh produce. It's not just castles...

As well as the bourgeoise tradition of haute cuisine developed by Escoffier and the famous restaurant rating system of Michelin stars, the...

29/07/2024

I'm always partial to sharing the landscape with a bit of sculpture.

One of the restaurants we use a lot with clients is situated right on the river, with a comfortable all weather terrace and great daily chan...

24/07/2024

France of a Lifetime Tours

We are 'just' tour operators, we are not travel agents, so whilst we can give you an unforgettable experience on one of our day trips in a c...

18/07/2024

A fascinating new attraction at Chenonceau.

The Chateau of Chenonceau has a new permanent exhibition. It has become the custodian of an extraordinary collection of over 40 scientific i...

15/07/2024

A versatile grape variety that we will be delighted to introduce you to in the Touraine Loire Valley.

Many people would nominate the Chenin blanc grape variety as the one which best suits the conditions in the Touraine Loire Valley and theref...

08/07/2024

Medieval paintings are full of unexpected details that provide insight into the subjects lives.

Jean Fouquet is without question the greatest French artist of his day. At the 15th century court of the French King Charles VII, based in t...

04/07/2024

From the archives, one of the quirkiest museums in the Touraine Loire Valley.

The Musée de Compagnonnage (Trade Guilds Museum) in Tours houses a remarkable collection of master works by journeymen and master craftsmen...

03/07/2024

From the archives, the glorious gardens of Villandry.

All photos taken mid-June 2014. Villandry's visitor numbers are up by 8% this year, with 10 000 more visitors already than...

02/07/2024

The whites are one of the glories of the Loire Valley in my opinion.

How much do you know about Loire Valley wines? Chances are, not much, but serious wine lovers appreciate them for their diversity, due to t...

24/06/2024

Do you like mysteries?

Where in the Loire Valley can you see this splendid tomb, and who is buried there? Who are the characters depicted and why are they there? I...

21/06/2024

From the archive, the traditional solstice evening of music.

Every year the whole of France celebrates the summer solstice with La Fête de la Musique. Every town and village will stage some sort of liv...

21/06/2024

A lovely review from a very nice client who was fun to work with.

Many thanks to Donna, who took the time to write a review of her 3 hour walking tour of Chenonceau. She was in the Loire Valley researching ...

15/06/2024

From the archive, how the local goats cheese is made.

Limouzin frères is a goat cheese dairy near us. They make prizewinning AOP Sainte Maure de Touraine cheese as well as several cheeses whi...

12/06/2024

The maquis (the armed combattants of the French Resistance) were hidden in the forests all around here.

" During 1944 the Loches and Sud Touraine maquis set themselves up and prepared for resistance actions against the Germans. The following ma...

10/06/2024

Buy your tickets for Château de Chenonceau online or you might miss out.

We advise clients to buy their tickets online for the Chateau of Chenonceau no later than 4 days before they plan to visit, whether they are...

08/06/2024

From the archives, because vinaigre d'Orléans came up in conversation with Alison Juestel the other day.

Vinaigre d'Orléans (Orleans vinegar) is a wine vinegar made using an artisanal technique known as 'the Orléans method'. It is obtained by n...

08/06/2024

A must see in the Touraine Loire Valley.

The restoration of the fabulous 15th century Chapelle Saint Hubert, in the grounds of the the Chateau Royal d'Amboise, is finally finished...

07/06/2024

From the archives, this is a stonkingly good late medieval church, well worth visiting if you want a history break in the midst of your wildlife watching in the Brenne.

16th century busts (looking rather Roman to my eye) and a statue niche above the entrance to the Chapelle d'Anjou, the south funerary chap...

05/06/2024

The next installment of the story of Loches during the Second World War.

"On 11 November 1942 the Germans crossed the Demarcation Line and entered the 'Free' Zone, without opposition from the French authorities....

04/06/2024

From the archives, continuing the graffiti theme.

The local tuffeau stone is so soft, it is inevitable that centuries old buildings are covered in graffiti. Some of the most remarkable is...

04/06/2024

The Loire Valley is frequently ignored in wine tours. Ha! More for us locals who know better...https://daysontheclaise.blogspot.com/2024/06/loire-valley-wines.html

03/06/2024

The Touraine Loire Valley is full of quirky and interesting 19C industrial heritage.

The Loire Valley is not just all about Renaissance chateaux, although no doubt that's what most visitors come for. There is a surprising am...

03/06/2024

From the archives, continuing the recent graffiti theme.

Like most chateaux in the Loire Valley Chenonceau has quite a lot of intriguing graffiti. The most famous is in the doorway of the chapel....

03/06/2024

Five photos of the Touraine Loire Valley. All taken at the Foire du fromage at Sainte Maure de Touraine, the capital of French goat cheese. I was there representing the Association de botanique et de mycologie de Sainte Maure de Touraine (Botamyco37).

02/06/2024

Recently we lost the foremost expert on historical graffiti in the Touraine Loire Valley, and if we are not careful a lot of knowledge and historical insight will be lost with him. I don't claim to be an expert of his calibre, but I wanted to remind everyone that I do historical graffiti tours in Loches and Chenonceau.

Messages from the past scratched into the stone. Graffiti in the chapel of the Chateau of Chenonceau. This one hour long tour takes plac...

02/06/2024

Five photos from the Touraine Loire Valley. I had a rather good day yesterday. First guide to take a group into the newly restored Amboise gem the Chapelle Saint Hubert, then a picnic for our Ukrainian friends that I had organised. Huge thanks to everyone who helped with the picnic.