Things to do in Centre-Val de Loire

The UNESCO-listed Loire Valley, between royal châteaux and towns of art and history.

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Indre-et-Loire (37)

Loiret (45)

Eure-et-Loir (28)

Cher (18)

Loir-et-Cher (41)

Indre (36)

More towns in the region are coming soon.

Top 20 must-see sights in the region

A selection drawn from all the towns already covered in this guide.

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Blois

Royal Château of Blois

A château summarising four architectural styles, from Gothic to Classical, with its famous François I staircase.

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Bourges

Saint-Étienne Cathedral of Bourges

A UNESCO-listed Gothic masterpiece, remarkable for its five carved portals and stained glass.

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Chartres

Notre-Dame Cathedral of Chartres

A UNESCO-listed Gothic masterpiece, famous for its nearly intact 13th-century stained glass and its renowned "Chartres blue".

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Chateauroux

Château Raoul of Châteauroux

A medieval château overlooking the Indre, which gave the town its name, now the prefecture's seat.

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Orleans

Sainte-Croix Cathedral of Orléans

A Gothic cathedral where Joan of Arc came to pray in 1429, with ten 19th-century stained-glass windows retracing her life.

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Tours

Saint-Gatien Cathedral

A masterpiece of Flamboyant and Rayonnant Gothic, famous for its 13th-century stained glass and the Psalette cloister.

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Blois

Old Town of Blois

Sloping lanes and picturesque stairways leading down to the Loire, around Saint-Louis Cathedral.

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Bourges

Palais Jacques-Cœur

A sumptuous 15th-century Gothic residence built by the immensely wealthy merchant Jacques Cœur, treasurer to Charles VII.

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Chartres

Old Chartres and the Saint-André Quarter

Medieval lanes, timber-framed houses and picturesque stairways leading down to the river Eure.

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Chateauroux

Parc Balsan

A vast 19th-century landscaped park right in the town centre, with ponds and a variety of tree species.

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Orleans

Place du Martroi

A central square adorned with the equestrian statue of Joan of Arc, erected in 1855 by Denis Foyatier.

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Tours

Place Plumereau

The beating heart of Old Tours, lined with 15th-century timber-framed houses and lively terraces.

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Bourges

Marais de Bourges

Traditional vegetable gardens crossed by canals, a green haven right in the heart of the town.

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Orleans

House of Joan of Arc

A reconstruction of the house where Joan of Arc stayed in 1429, with a multimedia room retracing her epic story.

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Tours

Saint-Martin Basilica

A 19th-century basilica housing the tomb of Saint Martin, one of the oldest pilgrimage sites in Christendom.

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Orleans

Museum of Fine Arts of Orléans

A collection renowned for its drawing cabinet, considered the richest in France after the Louvre's.

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Tours

Tour Charlemagne

A remnant of the former Saint-Martin basilica destroyed during the Revolution, a witness to the town's pilgrimage past.

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Orleans

Hôtel Groslot

A former 16th-century Renaissance town hall, where several kings of France once stayed.

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Tours

Museum of Fine Arts of Tours

Housed in the former archbishops' palace, with Italian paintings and antiquities in a classical setting.

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Orleans

Banks of the Loire

A walk along Europe's last wild river, with views of the Pont George-V and riverside cafés.

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