For a long-weekend trip there is no better place to indulge in the finer things in life and experience France through your tastebuds.
At the heart of the region is the Loire itself, which flows through historic towns, bustling markets and countless vineyards.
Our hotel, La Croix Blanche, was a fine mix of luxury and history. Situated in Fontevraud l’Abbaye, a charming village of just over 1,000 people, it was built in 1696 as a coaching inn for travellers visiting a nearby abbey.
Now, complete with a grand courtyard, swimming pool and sunny terrace, the hotel has maintained its rich history while catering for the more discerning holidaymaker.
Shortly after checking in to our swanky room, we sat in the courtyard and enjoyed our first of many glasses of wine.
It didn’t take us long to realise that hotel owners Christophe and Mieke Chabenat were food and wine-lovers. Their hotel boasts a tapas restaurant, a brasserie and a gourmet restaurant, which won the prestigious Table du Goût this year.
And after dining in Le Plantagenêt, the restaurant gastronomique, it wasn’t hard to see why. Every mouthful of our three-course meal was a taste of luxury.
The restaurant’s wine list was like nothing we had ever seen before – it was like a book.
But, in an area where 170 different types of wines are produced, this is not surprising. With miles and miles of vineyards, the Loire is France’s third largest winemaking region.
Having an expensive taste, I was delighted to discover that, outside of Champagne, the Loire is renowned for producing leading sparkling wines.
The region is a magnet for wine-lovers and, with 7,000 winemakers, cellars and wine merchants in the area, it is easy to sample the local talent.
We visited Cave de Saumur, situated among scores of vineyards, and Maison Veuve Amiot, a sparkling wine cellar. They call it a cellar but it was 5 km in size. We must have walked past thousands of bottles as we toured the place.
It was a real treat to taste some of the local wines, from velvety reds to crisp whites and bubbles that tickled your lips.
Sampling the local produce was just as much fun. We arrived at a market in Saumur, a town nestled just alongside the river, while it was in full swing. The smell of crêpes, spices and freshly baked baguettes wafted up and down the quaint square as locals carried out their weekly shop.
We eyed up the cakes that looked too good to eat and tried some of the mountains of cheeses on offer.
Thankfully, I could recall enough from school French class to get by and we left the market with a few treats to take home.
Not only is the Loire a hub for foodies, it is a World Heritage site thanks to its rich history, which boasts some of the oldest châteaux in France.
We drove out to Villandry, a château, set in beautifully-preened gardens. Completed in 1536, it was built on the site of an earlier castle where King Philip II of France once met King Richard I of England to discuss peace.
Every room and hallway of the château was steeped in history. Countless paintings adorned the walls and each window offered a different view of the magnificent gardens below.
With so much to do in the Loire, we were lucky that one of the must-see attractions was on our doorstep.
A stone’s throw across the cobbles from our hotel was Abbaye de Fontevraud – one of the largest abbeys in France.
Built in the 10th century, the abbey houses the effigies of Henry II, his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine and their son Richard the Lionheart.
From the tombs of royalty to the stunning architecture, the abbey was a breathtaking place, and we spent a few hours milling around the buildings and gardens.
As well as being a monastery for both nuns and monks, the abbey was also a prison for 200 years after monasteries were evacuated during the French Revolution.
Aside from the abbey, we drove to all the other destinations – something we could not have done easily without the Sat Nav we hired from Fotosound.
Even if you think you have a knack for map reading, hiring a Sat Nav takes out all the stress of travelling. You just punch in your destination and off you go.
Not only was it a breeze to get from A to B everyday but the device got us from St Malo to the Loire in the first place.
Speaking of which, our journeys across the water to and from St Malo were particularly pleasant. People may knock Condor Ferries for their time-keeping, but we found them a treat to travel with. Not only was the boat on time for both sailings, but we arrived early on each occasion.
It was a sad goodbye when we left the Loire, particularly as all the supermarkets were shut (it being a Sunday).
Our hopes of returning home laden with French treats were all but dashed until Mieke suggested we stop off at a Sunday market in a Loire town that, luckily, was on our way.
We were pleased to see that nothing about the Loire Valley had been anglicised. It was refreshing to feel embedded in another culture, where you have to attempt to speak the language rather than rely on locals to understand you.
In fact, we never came across any English people in the Loire. The region, with its expanse of wineries, seemed to draw more French holidaymakers.
This added to the experience and confirmed that the Loire Valley is, rightly so, the French Mecca for food and wine.
