Marcay Cheateau, Marcay

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 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.

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 theme park is a historical tour around a medieval city, an 18th-century village and a year 1900 town square. It also has a number of historical shows reenacting Ancient Roman gladiator fighting, attacks from the Vikings and medieval adventures. The summertime evening shows are an explosion of colour, lights and entertainment. An incredible spectacular.

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.

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

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

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

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.

This old post house dating from the 19th century has managed to retain a unique style where beams, bricks and tiles combine with modern comforts.

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.

The 15th century country house where François Rabelais, the writer, doctor and humanist, lived is now a museum to his life and works. Located in Seuilly, it houses sketches of the writer, describes medicinal plants talked about in his works and even has a shop selling wine from the vineyards in the grounds.

Overlooking the crossroads of the three provinces of Anjou, Poitou and Touraine, the rocky spur upon which the royal fortress of Chinon stands is a strategic and much coveted location that has been occupied since Roman times. There has been a castle on the site since at least the 10th century when Theobald the Trickster, Count of Blois, built a tower there. But it was not until 1154 that Henry II, Count of Anjou and King of England, set the fortress on the road to its present grandeur. The fortress began its fall into decay in the 17th century, under the ownership of Cardinal Richelieu. Now, after four years of restoration work on a scale unprecedented elsewhere in Europe, the fortress has the military splendour and cohesiveness that it enjoyed in bygone days.

This vast royal abbey was founded in 1101 by Robert of Arbrissel, a preacher from Brittany. Its monastery buildings are Romanesque in design and were built to house 300 nuns. The abbey church, with its pristine white interior, was not completed until 1160. Having housed royal abbesses, its fortune changed and, from the early 19th century, it was turned into a prison before being donated to the French Ministry of Culture in 1960.

Between Saumur and Chinon, on the hillside along the Loire River, you will find Le Saut aux Loups. It was favoured in prehistoric times by men and wolves who found a home here. Since the Middle Ages, there have been limestone quarries in the hillside for the stone required to build the châteaux the region is so famous for. The quarrymen also built the troglodyte houses as lodgings and these have been preserved in their original state here at Le Saut aux Loups. The caves are now home to extensive mushroom production lines and here you can visit their 800 metres of underground galleries before trying the speciality of the house, galipettes, delicious stuffed mushrooms, in their restaurant.

This sleeping beauty château, overlooking the Indre river, is thought to have inspired the children's book written by Charles Perrault in the 17th century. Parts of the existing château date back to the 15th century - unfortunately all aspects from earlier dates have been destroyed. However, this picture-book Gothic château with some Italianate features is in immaculate condition. Its interior has been maintained in authentic style and it has a sumptuous king's chamber decorated in gold leaf, just in case a king happened to be passing and drop in!

Owned by the Filliatreau family, this grand manor is part troglodyte cave. Once the dwelling of lords, it has a fine chapel and extensive vineyards producing some of the best Saumur-Champigny wines in the area.