Wikipedia

Loire Valley

(Redirected fromVal de Loire)

TheLoire Valley(French:Vallée de la Loire,pronounced[valedəlalwaʁ]), spanning 280 kilometres (170 mi),[1]is avalleylocated in the middle stretch of theLoireriver in centralFrance,in both the administrative regionsPays de la LoireandCentre-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 Frenchand theGarden of Francedue to the abundance ofvineyards,fruit orchards (such ascherries), andartichoke,andasparagusfields, which line the banks of the river.[3]Notable for its historic towns, architecture, and wines, the valley has been inhabited since theMiddle Palaeolithicperiod.[2]In 2000,UNESCOadded the central part of the Loire River valley to its list ofWorld Heritage Sites.

The Loire Valley betweenSully-sur-LoireandChalonnes
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Château d'Azay-le-Rideau
LocationFrance
CriteriaCultural: i, ii, iv
Reference933bis
Inscription2000 (24thSession)
Area86,021 ha
Buffer zone213,481 ha
Loire Valley is located in France
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class=notpageimage|
Limits of the World Heritage site: 1 =Sully-sur-Loire,2 =Chalonnes-sur-Loire
Sunset on theLoire Riverfrom theChâteau de Montsoreau-Museum of Contemporary Art

Geography and climate

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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 themesoclimateof the region, adding a fewdegreesof temperature. The climate can be cool with springtimefrostwhilewine harvestmonths 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]

Wine

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Main article:Loire Valley (wine)
Vineyards in the Loire Valley

TheLoire Valley wine region[8]is one of the world's most well-known areas of wine production and includes severalFrench wineregionssituated along the river from theMuscadetregion on theAtlanticcoast to theregionsofSancerreandPouilly-Fuméjust southeast of the city ofOrléansin north central France. Loire wines tend to exhibit a characteristicfruitinesswith fresh, crisp flavors.[9]

Culture

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Château de Valençay

On December 2, 2000, UNESCO added the central part of the river valley, betweenChalonnes-sur-LoireandSully-sur-Loire,to its list of World Heritage Sites. In choosing this area that includes the FrenchdépartementsofLoiret,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 chansonniersare a related group ofsongbooksattributed 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 fromMontsoreauto Orléans with such places asChâteau de Montsoreau-Contemporary Art Museum,CCCOD Tours, theDomaine Régional de Chaumont sur Loireand theFrac Centre Orléans.[11][12][13]They are a rare association ofRenaissance architecturewithcontemporary art.[14]

Architecture

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Main article:Châteaux of the Loire Valley
The Château de Chambord
Orléans
Tours
Angers

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 VillandryandChenonceau.The châteaux, numbering more than three hundred,[15]include the necessarycastlefortificationsbuilt 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 theRenaissanceand theAge of the Enlightenmenton 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 Montsoreauis 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]

Economy

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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, Amboise, Chambord, Villandry and Valençay.[23]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ab"Whc.unesco.org".
  2. ^abTockner, Klement; Uehlinger, Urs; Robinson, Christopher T. (2009).Rivers of Europe.Academic Press. p. 183.ISBN978-0-12-369449-2.Retrieved11 April2011.
  3. ^Williams, Nicola; Boone, Virginie (1 May 2002).The Loire.Lonely Planet. pp. 7–10.ISBN978-1-86450-358-6.Retrieved12 April2011.
  4. ^"Loire Valley".hall.org.Retrieved12 April2011.
  5. ^J. Robinson (ed.)The Oxford Companion to Wine,Third Edition pp. 408–410, Oxford University Press, 2006.ISBN0-19-860990-6
  6. ^"Loire Valley weather".Retrieved12 April2011.
  7. ^Climatology from 1947 to 2008 - Angers, FranceArchived2008-10-13 at theWayback Machine
  8. ^Vineyard in the Loire ValleyArchived2012-05-31 at theWayback Machine,map.
  9. ^C. Fallis, editorThe Encyclopedic Atlas of Winepg 168-176 Global Book Publishing 2006ISBN1-74048-050-3
  10. ^"Short Description for Songs, Scribes, and Society".bookdepository.Retrieved11 April2011.
  11. ^"Largest Art & Language Collection Finds Home - artnet News".artnet News.2015-06-23.Retrieved2018-02-12.
  12. ^"MACBA banks on History".Artinamericamagazine. 2011.
  13. ^"Art & Language Uncompleted".macba.cat. 2014.
  14. ^"Travels in Europe".El Mundo.2017.
  15. ^"Nuvomagazine".
  16. ^"Château de Montsoreau (Contemporary Art Daily)".contemporaryartdaily.Retrieved2018-10-06.
  17. ^"Chateau de Montsoreau - FIAC".fiac.2017-09-23.Retrieved2018-10-06.
  18. ^"Château de Montsoreau-Contemporary Art Museum - Les Châteaux de la Loire".Les Châteaux de la Loire.Retrieved2018-10-06.
  19. ^"Pays-de-la-Loire".EC. 1 November 2017.Retrieved13 April2019.Pays de la Loire is a French administrative region located in the western part of France
  20. ^"French region of Loire Valley".My French House. 1 March 2018.Retrieved13 April2019.
  21. ^"20 of the most beautiful villages in France".Guardian.13 April 2019.Retrieved13 April2019.From a fairytale fortress in the Loire to a clifftop stronghold in Provence, these charming, historic villages make perfect bases for exploring rural France
  22. ^"CNN".
  23. ^"Telegraph.co.uk".
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Wikivoyage has a travel guide forLoire Valley.

47°12′59″N0°03′44″E/ 47.21639°N 0.06222°E/47.21639; 0.06222

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