The Loire Valley between Sully-sur-Loire and Chalonnes *
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Château d'Azay-le-Rideau
Country	France
Type	Cultural
Criteria	i, ii, iv
Reference	933
Region **	Central France
Inscription history
Inscription	2000 (24th Session)
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List ** Region as classified by UNESCO

The Loire Valley (French: Vallée de la Loire, pronounced: [va.le də la lwaːʁ]), spanning 280 kilometres (170 mi), is located in the middle stretch of the Loire River in central France. Its area comprises approximately 800 square kilometres (310 sq mi).^[1] It is referred to as the Cradle of the French Language, and the Garden of France due to the abundance of vineyards, fruit orchards (such as cherries), and artichoke and asparagus fields, which line the banks of the river.^[2] Notable for its historic towns, architecture and wines, the valley has been inhabited since the Middle Palaeolithic period.^[1] In 2000, UNESCO added the central part of the Loire River valley to its list of World Heritage Sites.

Geography[link]

The valley includes historic towns such as Amboise, Angers, Blois, Chinon, Nantes, Orléans, Saumur, and Tours.

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.^[3] The river has a significant effect on the mesoclimate of the region, adding a few degrees of temperature. The climate can be cool with springtime frost while wine harvest months may have rain.^[4] Summers are hot; however influences from the Atlantic moderate the temperature with breezes.^[5]

Temperature, rainfall and average sunshine time in Angers (Anjou):

Wine[link]

Couly-Dutheil vineyard in Chinon

The Loire Valley wine region includes the several French wine regions situated along the river from the Muscadet region on the Atlantic coast to the regions of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé just southeast of the city of Orléans in north central France. Loire wines tend to exhibit a characteristic fruitiness with fresh, crisp flavors.^[6]

Culture[link]

On December 2, 2000, UNESCO added the central part of the river valley, between Maine and Sully-sur-Loire, to its list of World Heritage Sites. In choosing this area that includes the French départements of Loiret, Loir-et-Cher, Indre-et-Loire, and Maine-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 - the Châteaux - and lands that have been cultivated and shaped by centuries of interaction between local populations and their physical environment, in particular the Loire itself."

The Loire Valley chansonniers are a related group of songbooks 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.^[7]

Château de Valençay

Architecture[link]

The architectural heritage in the valley's historic towns is notable, especially its châteaux, such as the Château d'Amboise, Château de Chambord, Château de Chinon, Château du Rivau, Château d'Ussé, Château de Villandry and Chenonceau. The châteaux, numbering more than three hundred, represent a nation of builders starting with the necessary castle fortifications in the 10th century to the splendor 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 the Renaissance and the Age of the Enlightenment on western European thought and design.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Loire Valley world heritage site
• Loire Valley Chateau du Rivau
• Chinon Fortress

v t e World Heritage Sites in France Île-de-France Palace and Park of Versailles · Palace of Fontainebleau and Park · Paris – Banks of the Seine · Provins · Routes of Santiago de Compostela1 Parisian basin Amiens Cathedral · Belfries of Belgium and France2 · Bourges Cathedral · Cathedral of Chartres · Cathedral of Notre-Dame, former Abbey of Saint-Remi and Palace of Tau, Reims · Cistercian Abbey of Fontenay · Fortifications of Vauban1 · Le Havre · Loire Valley between Sully-sur-Loire and Chalonnes1 · Mont Saint-Michel and its Bay1 · Routes of Santiago de Compostela1 · Vézelay Church and Hill Nord-Pas-de-Calais Belfries of Belgium and France2 · Fortifications of Vauban1 East Fortifications of Vauban1 · Great Saltworks of Salins-les-Bains and Royal Saltworks of Arc-et-Senans · Place Stanislas, Place de la Carrière and Place d'Alliance, Nancy · Strasbourg – Grande Île  · Prehistoric Pile dwellings around the Alps4 West Abbey Church of Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe · Fortifications of Vauban1 · Loire Valley between Sully-sur-Loire and Chalonnes1 · Mont Saint-Michel and its Bay1 · Routes of Santiago de Compostela1 South West Albi · Bordeaux · Canal du Midi1 · Fortifications of Vauban1 · Prehistoric Sites and Decorated Caves of the Vézère Valley · Pyrénées - Mont Perdu3 · Routes of Santiago de Compostela1 · Saint-Émilion Centre East Lyon · Routes of Santiago de Compostela1 Mediterranean Arles, Roman and Romanesque Monuments · Canal du Midi1 · Historic Fortified City of Carcassonne · Fortifications of Vauban1 · Gulf of Porto (Calanches de Piana • Gulf of Girolata • Scandola Reserve) · Papal Palace, Episcopal Ensemble and Avignon Bridge, Avignon · Pont du Gard · Roman Theatre and its Surroundings and Triumphal Arch of Orange · Routes of Santiago de Compostela1 Overseas departments and territories Lagoons of New Caledonia · Pitons, cirques and remparts of Reunion Island 1 Shared with other region/s · 2 Shared locally with other region/s and with Belgium · 3 Shared with Spain  · 4 Shared with Austria, Germany, Italy, Slovenia and Switzerland

Coordinates: 47°23′56″N 0°42′10″E / 47.39889°N 0.70278°E / 47.39889; 0.70278

Loire
—  Department  —
Coat of arms
Location of Loire in France
Coordinates: 45°05′N 04°05′E / 45.083°N 4.083°E / 45.083; 4.083Coordinates: 45°05′N 04°05′E / 45.083°N 4.083°E / 45.083; 4.083
Country	France
Region	Rhône-Alpes
Prefecture	Saint-Étienne
Subprefectures	Montbrison Roanne
Government
• President of the General Council	Bernard Bonne (UMP)
Area1
• Total	4,781 km2 (1,846 sq mi)
Population (2007)
• Total	740,668
• Rank	29th
• Density	150/km2 (400/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Department number	42
Arrondissements	3
Cantons	40
Communes	327
^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2

Loire (French pronunciation: [lwaʁ]; Arpitan: Lêre; Occitan: Léger) is an administrative department in the east-central part of France occupying the River Loire's upper reaches.

History[link]

Loire was created in 1793 when after just 3½ years the young Rhône-et-Loire department was split into two. This was a response to counter-Revolutionary activities in Lyon which, by population, was the country's second largest city. By splitting Rhône-et-Loire the government sought to protect the French Revolution from the potential power and influence of counter revolutionary activity in the Lyon region.

The departmental capitals have been / are as follows:

• Feurs 1793-1795
• Montbrison 1795-1855
• Saint-Étienne since 1855

Geography[link]

Loire is part of the current administrative region of Rhône-Alpes and is surrounded by the departments of Rhône, Isère, Ardèche, Haute-Loire, Puy-de-Dôme, Allier, and Saône-et-Loire.

The River Loire traverses the department from south to north.

The Loire department is split into three arrondissements:

• Arrondissement of Montbrison
• Arrondissement of Roanne
• Arrondissement of Saint-Étienne

Parts of the department belong to Parc naturel régional Livradois-Forez.

Demographics[link]

The inhabitants of the department are called Ligériens.

The industrial city of Saint-Étienne with its suburbs contains some 290,000 of the area's 728,542 inhabitants.

See also[link]

• Rhône-Alpes
• Cantons of the Loire department
• Communes of the Loire department
• Arrondissements of the Loire department

References[link]

External links[link]

• (French) Prefecture website
• (French) General Council website