Centre

Introduction

French Countryside outside Amboise, Loire Valley, France

© Joe_USPG

Centre is the name of one of the most central (what's in a name) regions in France and has about 2.5 million inhabitants. It includes the three former French provinces of Touraine, Berry and Orléanais. The largest city is Tours, while Orléans is the capital. River Loire crosses completly this region which includes 6 departments: Cher, Eure-et-Loir, Indre, Indre-et-Loire, Loir-et-Cher and Loiret

Cities

• Blois
• Bourges
• Chartres
• Châteauroux
• Orléans
• Tours

Sights and Activities

• The Loire Valley with numerous castles (chateaux) is the big draw here. Main ones (but not only) are: Chambord, Blois, Chenonceaux, Sully, Chaumont, Villandry, Azay-le-Rideau, Chinon, Amboise, Langeais, Ussé, Loches.
• Chartres's Notre-Dame Cathedral is one of the most beautiful cathedrals in Europe with wonderful stained glass.
• Bourges is also famous for its gothic Saint-Etienne Cathedral and the 15th century Palais Jacques Coeur, palace of the great financier of King Charles VII.

Getting There

By Plane

Tours Val de Loire Airport (TUF) has flights with Ryanair to/from Dublin, London, Marseille and Porto.
Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport and Paris Orly Airport are not far from the Centre region (about an hour from its northern borders) and have one of the biggest choices anywhere in Europe.

By Train

Direct TGV trains go in one hour from Paris Montparnasse to Saint-Pierre des Corps (Tours suburbs).
It takes also one hour with standard trains to go from Paris Austerlitz to Orléans and 2 hours from Paris Austerlitz to Bourges with a direct one.

By Car

Motorway A10 links Paris to Bordeaux through Orléans, Blois and Tours.
Motorway A71 connects Orléans to Bourges and Clermont-Ferrand.
Motorway A85 starts from Vierzon, north of Bourges and goes west to Tours, Angers and Nantes.

Drink

Centre is a vineyard region with many production areas. The wines are red, white or rosé and cheaper that major varieties of Burgundy or Bordeaux. Well known terroirs are Bourgueil, Saint Nicolas de Bourgueil, Chinon, Cheverny, Cour-Cheverny, Touraine, Coteaux-du Vendômois, Valançay, Châteaumeillant, Orléans, Orléans-Cléry, Sancerre, Mennetou-Salon. There are also some varieties of sparkling white wine that can be found in Vouvray or Montlouis.

External Links

• Centre Official Website
• Touraine Loire Valley Website