Best known and least known at the same time, the Loire Valley is often referred to as the garden of France. The Loire is France’s longest river at 620 miles, extending from the Atlantic to Burgundy and was once a thriving waterway. It was connected by canal to the Seine basin in 1642 and its importance as a trading region was only undermined at last by the arrival of the railway. The centuries of prosperity centred on the region are still in evidence today. So many of the famous chateaux of France are along its banks, built by France’s kings and courtiers - Blois, Azay, Chenonceaux, Chambors and Valencay to name but a few.

Leaving the larger, more famous renaissance chateaux to one side, so many smaller towns have beautiful buildings, churches, battlements, and smaller manoirs still in good repair. Many tributaries of the Loire are as intriguing as the main river itself and also boast splendid chateaux. In fact, the Loire region has over 1000 grand chateaux.

The real character of the area and its inhabitants is best found off the beaten track, perhaps along these tributaries, the Rivers Cher, Indre and Vienne where, most buildings are built of the soft Tufa stone, hewn out of the river banks and hills and fashioned into blocks. The area is also renowned for troglodyte houses. These can be simple or elaborate structures with a meter of quite conventional house sticking out of a cliff adorned with a TV aerial sticking out of a tuft of grass further up the hill, and behind, several metres of living space on two or three floors, hollowed out of the hillside behind the squared facade! To the south of the Loire is the Sologne, abundant in moors and lakes and therefore a paradise for hunting and fishing.

Prices for property are still quite reasonable except perhaps if you get too close to Tours and you will find that a euro or pound will buy you a considerably more amount of space than in the UK!