Modern Art in the Loire Valley

Many of our clients are art lovers. They enjoy seeing Old Masters on the walls of the chateaux but they don't expect to see modern art. Nevertheless, a number of internationally known artists lived and worked in the Loire Valley in the 20th century and their work is on display in some surprising places.

An Alexander Calder stabile in a village market square.

If you are intrigued by the lives of modern artists as much as peers from four or five hundred years ago, let us design a tour for you. Send us an email or use our contact form to arrange your custom tour.

Lesser Known Heritage in the Loire Valley

The French have an expression -- petit patrimoine. It translates literally as 'small heritage' and refers lesser known, local history. The Loire Valley is full of this lesser known local history as well as the big name chateaux. For example, did you know that the Eiffel engineering company built several charming footbridges in the area? Visiting France isn't all about visiting Paris and places like the Eiffel Tower, so come to the Loire Valley and see magnificent chateaux, but also hidden provincial gems.

If you want to see the heritage tucked away in little villages you need to know where it is and what it is. That's where we come in. You can book a tour with us and we can include one or two delightful sites that you would never otherwise find. Send us an email or use our contact form and ask us.

Visiting Villandry

When Joachim Carvallo bought the Villandry estate in 1906 his main objective was to save the building. It was only later, after restoring the chateau to a habitable level that he considered the garden. Faced with a pleasant but fairly ordinary 'English park' style garden he started thinking about the possibility of doing something quite different.

The resulting garden is something extra-ordinary, deservedly the most famous garden in France. Domestic potagers are everywhere in France, supplying fruit, vegetables and flowers to almost every rural family in the country,  butVillandry has created a benchmark for the style outside of France. When visitors think of potagers, what they are really thinking of is Villandry.

If you would like to see for yourself this wonderful and inspiring garden, email us or use our contact form. and we will gladly include it in your itinerary.

Market Shopping

One of the highlights of many people's visit to France is a visit with us to one of the best traditional produce markets in the Touraine Loire Valley. Fruit, vegetable and mushroom growers, fishmongers, butchers (some of them specialists in pork products or horse or even offal!), poulterers, apiarists, cheesemakers and bakers all have stalls to sell their locally grown produce. It's lively and full of locals, the stalls are laid out with appetising and tempting displays of fresh food.

If you would like to soak up the atmosphere at a typical rural farmers' market in the Touraine Loire Valley email us or use our contact form. and we will design a tour for you that includes a visit to Loches market (Wednesdays and Saturdays only).