05
OLD ORLÉANS
Its most revered visitor is
still probably Joan of Arc,
the 17-year-old who
delivered the city from
the English in 1429 and
earned her nickname,
‘
The Maid of Orleans’.
She is celebrated
everywhere – museums,
statues, stained glass
windows in the cathedral
–
and with a festival, from
29
April to 8 May.
orleans.fr
04
WINE TOUR
Take a trip around
sparkling wine-makers
Bouvet-Ladubay’s
atmospheric cellars –
part of an enormous
network of 1,000-year-
old quarries beneath the
town of Saint-Hilaire-
Saint-Florent. Once
you’ve returned to the
surface, sample four
delicious varieties of
bubbles at a tasting.
bouvet-ladubay.fr
03
BERRY FANCY
The Loire Valley is filled to
bursting with spectacular
châteaux, former
aristocratic holiday
homes. Château de
Chambord is the largest
in the region and
contains an extraordinary
double helix staircase
thought to be designed
by Leonardo da Vinci. It’s
also the home of yummy
Chambord raspberry
liqueur.
chambord.org
06
CAVE HOTEL
Wannabe cavemen
should head to Turquant,
where the four-star
Demeure de La Vignose
(
demeure-vignole.com
)
is
carved out of soft tuffeau
cliffs and offers the
ultimate in rock ’n’ roll
stays. Nearby
Troglododo, in Azay-le-
Rideau, is a more basic,
but no less neanderthal-
esque, alternative.
troglododo.fr
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T H E R E G U L A R S
