Du Mail Hotel, Angers

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.

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 mastermind behind this most impressive of Gothic cathedrals is unknown, as is so often the case. This UNESCO World Heritage Site was completed in the 13th century, though further work was required in the 14th and 15th centuries to support both towers when the ground was too weak to support them. It is simple in design but has a huge imposing impact on everyone who visits. It still has much of the original stained glass in the windows.

This palace was built for Jacques Cœur, the Finance Minister to the King, in the 15th century. This impressive Gothic building in the centre of Bourges took less than 10 years to build. Declared a historical monument in the late 19th century, its façades and interior have been restored. Home to the courts for a century, the building was returned to the state in the 1920s.