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Loire Valley

File:Azay_le_rideau.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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Loire Valley

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Also known as Val de Loire, Vallée de la Loire, Vallee de la Loire

French World Heritage Site

Key facts

Location
France
Criteria
Cultural: i, ii, iv
Reference
933bis
Inscription
2000 (24th Session )
Area
86,021 ha
Buffer zone
213,481 ha

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of
river valley
Part of
France
Named after
Loire
Country
France
Body of water
Loire
Image
Château de Chenonceau - west facade over Cher (4 May 2006).JPG
Show 4 more facts
topic's main category
Category:Loire Valley
Commons category
Loire Valley
Commons gallery
Val de Loire
different from
Loire Valley
Sources (1)

via Wikidata · CC0

~7 min read

Encyclopedic overview

Sunset on the Loire River from the Château de Montsoreau-Museum of Contemporary Art The Loire Valley (French: Vallée de la Loire, pronounced [vale də la lwaʁ]), spanning 280 kilometres (170 mi), is a valley located in the middle stretch of the Loire river in central France, in both the administrative regions Pays de la Loire and Centre-Val de Loire. The area of the Loire Valley comprises about 800 square kilometres (310 sq mi). It is referred to as the Cradle of the French and the Garden of France due to the abundance of vineyards, fruit orchards (such as cherries), and artichoke and asparagus fields, which line the banks of the river. Notable for its historic towns, architecture, and wines, the valley has been inhabited since the Middle Palaeolithic period. In 2000, UNESCO added the central part of the Loire River valley to its list of World Heritage Sites.

Geography and climate

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Loire Valley” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (8)

On the map

3 mapped locations