Le Manoir Saint Thomas Hotel, Amboise

The Vernelle House accommodation is a beautiful 17th century construction. It was completely renovated in 2013.

This contemporary and modern hotel, literally translated as the Bird Pond, offers beautifully finished rooms with an oriental feel.

This château in the village of Saint-Règle is surrounded by a 17th century moat and sits in the middle of 30 hectares of parkland. It has elegant light rooms with wonderful, if modern, wooden beaming and views of the park. The grounds have an outdoor swimming pool.

This stately château is built in traditional Renaissance style and is sited in 25 hectares of gardens and wooded parkland. It has been well restored over the last 20 years. It is not really a hotel, more a private castle, which receives guests in its five guest rooms and apartments.

This is a great hotel in a charming old manor house. With just 20 rooms, it has a friendly and relaxed atmosphere, and an adorable terrace with an outdoor heated pool.

This elegant château is splendidly laid out and built with in classic white stone and blue slate. It has been meticulously restored over the years and the current owners are passionate about ensuring its heritage is retained. Be sure to visit the François I gallery and the traditional kitchen. A homely place to stay.

Subtlety of expressive cooking, discreet service and the originality of converted bedrooms within the cliffs are on offer at this unique manor house just a few minutes from Tours. Using former monks' dwellings, 12 of its 14 rooms are sculpted into the rock and every one is different. This hotel mixes natural materials elegantly with contemporary designs to create a chic finish. Chef, Didier Edon, has a Michelin star for his excellent restaurant.

Balloon Revolution offer flights over the Touraine region of the Loire Valley allowing you to discover its beautiful châteaux from the sky. Usually launching from the grounds of one of the châteaux, it's an unforgettable experience.

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

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

This excellent restaurant in Orléans serves traditional French fare using quality local produce.

This restaurant, translated as The Fisherman's Place, offers an excellent selection of predominantly fish dishes served with locally grown vegetables. Christophe Cosme has earned a Michelin star for his dishes in this small spot in Blois.

Sample their gourmet burgers, inventive salads, sweet & savoury pancakes and delicious sundaes.

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 café-bistro is located in the centre of Saumur, right on the busy Place Saint-Pierre.

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.

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.

The Cave des Roches at Bourré is the only example in the world of the complete production of different varieties of mushroom at 50 metres underground. The farm covers 120 kilometres of galleries on seven levels. The old-fashioned cultivation methods, in a natural atmosphere at 13°C, produce a mushroom unrivalled in terms of flavour, with a guaranteed vitamin content. Total production amounts to over 100 tonnes of mushrooms per year, entirely hand-picked. The Cave des Roches offers a varied selection (pied bleu, shitake, oyster, horse, old-fashioned button mushrooms). It is responsible for 40% of the world's pied bleu mushroom production, principally destined either for the best starred restaurants in France or exported around the world.

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.

Located on the banks of the river Loire with Sancerre hill in the background, this course in the midst of century-old trees, ornamented by natural water hazards, is considered one of the most attractive golf courses in the centre of France. An 18-hole course with bunkers and water hazards which offer some interesting problems. There is also a pro-shop, restaurant, 6-hole practice course, driving range and putting green.

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!

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

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