Pays de la Loire

Introduction

Pays de la Loire is one of 26 administrative régions of France. Its capital is the city of Nantes. This region was created only in the late 20th century, in an attempt to create a "balanced metropolis" (métropole d'équilibre) for Nantes. It was formed from a patchwork of different historical and geographical provinces of Brittany, Anjou, Poitou and Maine. Due to the lack of a historical common ground between the newly assigned départements - Loire-Atlantique (44), Maine-et-Loire (49), Mayenne (53), Sarthe (72) and Vendée (85) - the government chose the name Pays de la Loire, which means "lands of the (River) Loire" based on geographical references; that is, the River Loire that flows across the region.

This does cause confusion to foreigners/visitors, who are aware of the famous châteaux of the Loire Valley. The impression they are under is these castles are located within this region but in fact, they are found in the adjacent region of Centre. Nonetheless there are still many great monuments and sights to be found in Pays de la Loire, including Château des Ducs de Bretagne, Château d'Angers, Abbaye de Fontevraud and Parc Naturel Régional de la Grand Brière.

Geography

Pays de la Loire is situated in the north-west of France. The Atlantic lies to its west, with the bordering regions of Brittany to its north and west, Lower Normandy to the north, Centre to the east, Poitou-Charentes to the south. Pays de la Loire is also cut from east to west by River Loire.

Cities

The main cities or towns of the region for each department are:

Sights and Activities

Events and Festivals

Weather

Getting There

By Plane

By Train

By Car

By Bus

By Boat

Getting Around

By Plane

By Train

By Car

By Bus

By Boat

Eat

Drink

Sleep