Auberge des Templiers Hotel, Boismorand

Bateaux Nantais offers cruises along the river Erdre or the river Loire on their modern and sleek boats. Particularly popular are their lunch or dinner cruises and their themed evenings.

Windsurfing, Stand-Up paddleboarding, Catamaran sailing and Kayak tours ranging from half day to several days can be taken with this canoe and kayak company based on the Ile Millocheau in Saumur.

Located in the heart of the Sologne, this 27-hole club offers three courses; Sarcelles, Faisans and Chevreuils. You can do 9 holes, combine two courses to do a round of 18, or if you're feeling energetic, you can do all 27!

Take in the magnificent scenery of the Loire by air in a hot air balloon. Offering a number of different tours and launch sites along the Loire river, what better way to take in the châteaux from up above where their size and splendour can really be seen.

This relatively new course, set in beautiful Saumur, is a pleasant 9-hole round if you're searching for a change from historical monuments and châteaux.

This golf course is part of the Blue Green group of golf courses.

This restaurant brands itself as 'almost traditional' and offers contemporary twists on classic French cuisine.

This excellent restaurant in Tours was named after the original chef and serves gastronomic delights from a contemporary ambitious menu. The talented Hervé Lussault now heads up the kitchen and was awarded a Michelin star in 1998. Lussault is also famed for his excellent bread. The restaurant is light and spacious, feeling luxurious and warm, and has a lovely garden for when the weather permits.

This modern restaurant is located at the top of an art gallery and its floor-to-ceiling glass windows and terrace offer great views of the quays. Simple white chic tables and chairs with dark walls and a splash of colour give this place a fun trendy feel. The cuisine is modern European, with lots of excellent fish dishes.

This wonderful restaurant run by Bernard Robin, the renowned chef, used to be a coaching house. Today is serves excellent traditional cuisine in a fine dining setting accompanied by an excellent wine selection. A top dining spot in the Loire with a Michelin star to match.

Charming little coffee shop and lunch spot offering good food on its terrace or tucked away in the cellar. Look out for the decadent dessert selection.

Chef, Didier Edon, has a Michelin star for his excellent restaurant in the Hautes Roches manor house.

This picturesque 14th century château, set close to the town of Sully, has beautiful grounds with century-old trees and a typical 'English' garden. Owned by the Barons of Sully, then the Dukes of La Trémoïlle and finally Maximilien de Béthune, it became the property of the department of the Loiret in 1962. Its chapel features listed frescoes and walls pierced with miniature gun ports. The château moat sits on a fork in the Loire and features the classic towers, keep and rampart. The impressive interior contains excellent tapestries and paintings in some of the grand château rooms.

The abbey in St-Benoît-sur-Loire, dates back to the 7th century. It is a well-known Benedictine abbey. The remaining abbey church is one of two originals. The second, dedicated to St Peter, was knocked down in the 18th century. The abbey is thought to contain the remains of St Benedict of Nursia, founder of the Western monastic ways of living, though this is disputed.

The oratory at Germigny-des-Prés was built in typical Loire light stone in the early 9th century by Bishop Theodulf of Orléans. The Spanish bishop was one of the most significant in Carolingian times. It is one of few Western European churches of its kind still to be in existence. A pretty oratory, now the village church, the most impressive feature is the mosaic on the ceiling of the apse, showing the Ark of the Covenant. It was painted over for a long time, hence its excellent preservation and was only rediscovered in the mid 1800s.

The Sancerre House dates back to the 14th century and is built like an upside-down nave. It was previously shared by several different owners but today it houses an exhibition space dedicated to Sancerre wine production, explaining why the soils combined with the vine growers “savoir-faire” make Sancerre such an exceptional wine area.

The Château de Chamerolles has undergone extensive renovation in its 16th century style. However the real reason to visit is to see its six beautiful gardens dedicated to colours and aromas. Both French native plants and exotic species have been grown, as well as vegetable gardens, honeysuckle and more. Inside the château, rooms are dedicated to the development of scents and perfumes over the centuries.

This museum houses an exuberant collection of fine arts and is possibly one of the best collections in France. It traces art from the 15th to the 20th century in its permanent collection, with works from Italian, Dutch, Flemish and French artists. It also has many temporary exhibitions which are worth visiting. It is one of the oldest museums in France.