Something Special that Our Clients Never See

Why would we not show you something special? Well of course we would if we could, but this is an event that happens too early in the year for us to be taking clients. It's something we get really excited about though, because it heralds the arrival of Spring and a new season of meeting new clients that we can introduce to the Touraine Loire Valley that we love.

What is the event we look forward to so much? It's the arrival of the cranes, migrating up from their wintering grounds in Spain to their breeding grounds in northern Europe. Every year in late February, early March they fly right across our house in the southern Touraine and every year, without fail, we rush outside to take photos. Our hearts lift to hear the cranes honking and yodelling to one another as they pass, huge graceful birds that enrich our lives.

We may not be able to share the flight of the cranes with you, but there are many more wonderful things that we would be delighted to include in your itinerary. Email us and see what we suggest.

Visiting the Chateau of Chenonceau

900 000 visitors a year can't be wrong -- Chenonceau is the most popular of all the Touraine Loire Valley Chateau. That sounds like a lot of visitors, but compare it to the Palace of Versailles, which gets between 6 and 7 million visitors a year, and you will quickly realise that Chenonceau is rarely so crowded as to be unpleasant. The picture below was taken on a lovely July day this year, and you can see that there is hardly anyone in the garden at all (and we promise we didn't photoshop the image!)

If you would like to visit this most iconic of Touraine Loire Valley chateaux, email us and we will include it in your itinerary.

Snow in the Touraine Loire Valley

We are often asked if it snows here in the Touraine Loire Valley. The answer is yes, it does, usually in February. Some years it's just a light powdering on a couple of days, other years we get 15cm coverage for two weeks and the temperature doesn't go above 0°C. When it does that it is beautiful, but picturesque as it is, we can't show it to you except in photos on the blog.

The river in our village in the southern Touraine, iced over in February.

Our tour vehicles are old enough to need a little pampering. They stay tucked up in their garage over winter and don't get exposed to the salt and ice. It's safer that way and they can be kept in working order for many years to come.

But don't be downhearted! The Touraine Loire Valley is beautiful at any time of year and we are here to create an itinerary for you that will delight you with the best the area can offer throughout the warmer months. Email us and you may be surprised by what we suggest including beyond the romantic chateaux.