Rucksack's travel guide

Loire Valley

The Loire Valley is also called the "Garden of France" and is one of France's most castle-dense areas. Since the year 2000, the Loire Valley is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the 280 kilometers from the village Sully-sur-Loire to Chalonnes sur Loire is the largest World Heritage Site in France. A region created by both nature and man, with both beauty, history and culture.

FranceLoire Valley

10 attractions in the Loire Valley – From East to West

We set out to drive through the Loire Valley with simple plans—just a few castles and some good food. But the journey soon unfolded into an adventure through fairytale châteaux, rolling vineyards, and an underground world of caves.

Château de Chambord – Amazing, huge and almost completely unused

A 440-room castle for a total of seven weeks of royal visit. Welcome to Château de Chambord - the world's largest and most lavishly boasted building.

Crazy mushrooms at the Musée du Champignon in the Loire Valley

Come down into the cool caves of the Loire Valley and discover Europe's largest mushroom museum. A quirky stop that turned out to be an unexpectedly fun surprise!

Château de Chenonceau – A castle, a mistress and an angry queen

War, love, revenge and strong women – Château de Chenonceau is not only France's second most visited castle, but also the scene of the Loire Valley's greatest love drama.

Villandry Castle – The Loire Valley's most beautiful castle garden

You will find one of the Loire Valley's most beautiful castle gardens at Villandry Castle - a real Renaissance dream in the middle of the Loire Valley's world heritage.

20 highlights from this year's road trip in France

This year's road trip in France went through Alsace, Brittany, Burgundy, the Loire Valley and Normandy. A total of 5000 km of adventure. Here are the biggest/funniest/best highlights!