Читать книгу The Loire Cycle Route. From the source in the Massif Central to the Atlantic coast онлайн

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Part of the route follows the towpath of Canal Latéral à la Loire (Stages 8 and 10)

Downstream from Orléans, the Loire is known as the ‘Royal River’, so called because of the large number of royal châteaux in the area built by a succession of monarchs between the 14th and 18th centuries. Between Orléans and Blois (Stages 16–17) the route first skirts the fertile Beauce plain, north of the Loire, then crosses the river to visit the spectacular Château de Chambord in the Forêt de Boulogne. Blois and Amboise (Stages 18–19) both have large city-centre royal châteaux, while the smaller château at Chaumont hosts an annual garden festival. The river is now flowing between low chalk and limestone cliffs, into which many caves have been cut to extract building stone. These nowadays have a variety of uses, including wine cellars and mushroom farms. The basilica in Tours is the burial place of France’s patron saint, St Martin, a Roman soldier who converted to Christianity and became bishop of Tours.