Le Manoir Saint Thomas Hotel, Amboise

The Golf de Sologne is the oldest course in the Centre region, and probably one of the most beautiful natural settings.

This 18-hole course is set in the grounds of an 18th-century château which is now a leisure complex with outdoor pool and tennis courts as well as a charming hotel.

The golf course of the Château Cheverny has been constructed in the 142 hectares of the historic hunting grounds of the château.

This train dating from 1950s travels from Thoré to Trôo taking in troglodyte dwellings, Saint-Rimay tunnel, the town of Montoire and Varennes and more.

NaviLoire offers short guided boat trips on the Loire river from Rochecorbon, taking in cave dwellings, discovering the rich wildlife along the banks, as well as catching a glimpse of the wine-producing Château de Moncontour.

Built in the grounds of the Château de l'Epinay, this 18-hole golf course extends over 67 hectares. The 5,790-metre course has slightly wavy greens and small rivers, ponds and streams. A reasonably easy course with the Martin Hawtree signature.

This fondue house and chocolatier has been running since 1913 serving pastries, macaroons and wonderful hand-made chocolates in its tea house. You can attend a chocolate-making demonstration and workshop.

This small restaurant in Angers serves traditional French cuisine made with locally-sourced fresh market ingredients explained on the classic chalkboard menu.

This restaurant located at the south gate in the grounds of the Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire offers a refined and inventive cuisine which is created around the theme of the annual garden festival. Only open from April.

This cute traditional French restaurant in Blois serves good quality food on, as the name suggests, red benches! The dishes are innovative and work well, and the is atmosphere charming.

Escape into the countryside and discover this rustic French restaurant serving traditional meals with pretty views of the gardens.

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

This emblematic monument and its landscaped gardens offer one of the most remarkable panoramas of the Loire Valley. A regal heritage, the Château d'Amboise has been home to Charles VII, Louis XI and Charles VIII. The château is registered as a World Heritage site by UNESCO. Still incredibly impressive, the current buildings are just one fifth of the original palace which was destroyed and neglected over the years. Leonardo da Vinci is buried in the Chapel of Saint-Hubert in the château's grounds.

Home to Leonardo da Vinci during his final years, this house was built in the 15th century and was a gift to da Vinci from King François I. The death of Leonardo da Vinci, on 2nd May 1519, marked the end of an era in the history of the Château du Clos Lucé. Today the château is a listed monument and has been restored in an authentic style, displaying an impressive collection of da Vinci's inventions and machines.

Château de Valmer, with its striking park and gardens, nestles on the edge of a hillside overlooking the Brenne Valley, a tributary of the Loire river. 

Built on the river Cher, the Château de Chenonceau is the epitome of beauty. Château des Dames, as it is recorded in the French history books, owes a large part of its charm to women.

Dating back to the 14th century, this Renaissance château was home to many royal mistresses. Nowadays it is visited more for its beautiful grounds which include a vegetable garden with a massive 650 varieties of tomato, the contemporary and colourful Dalhia garden and a medicinal garden. It is possible to stay in the château and take cookery classes there.

Château de Chaumont dominates the Loire Valley skyline and is an illustration of both the defensive architecture of its period and the beautiful Renaissance style. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the château, which belonged to Queen Catherine de Medicis and later Diane de Poitiers, knew an intense period of intellectual activity. The Le Ray de Chaumont family welcomed, one after the other, the sculptor Nini, the American Benjamin Franklin and writer Germaine de Staël. The wider Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire reached its peak at the end of the 19th century thanks to Prince and Princess de Broglie. The royal couple designed magnificent modern stables, with the help of Maison Hermès, and entrusted Henri Duchêne, the landscape architect, with the creation of a landscaped park. The château is a UNESCO world heritage site.