Sept Tours Chateau, Courcelles de Touraine

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.

The grand white Château de Rochecotte was formerly the private estate of the Duchess Dorothée of Dino and Prince of Talleyrand. This remarkable place will take you back to the 18th century with its glorious décor, columned terrace, pretty outdoor pool, ornamental lake and 50 acres of woodland. The château also produces its own Bourgueil wines from its vineyards in nearby Saint-Patrice.

The original 17th century building of this beautiful former post house has been converted in to a hotel. It was one of the founding hotels in the prestigious Relais & Châteaux hotel chain. The pink brick and half-timbered facade of the inn is characteristic of the Sologne area and a further six further cottages have been added with thatched roofs. Its six hectares of gardens house an attractive outdoor swimming pool.

Sited on the banks of the river Loiret, this stylish hotel offers immaculate rooms in a wonderful setting. It has pretty gardens with covered walkways and a good restaurant. It's a nice alternative close to Orléans if you don't want to stay in the city.

This charming luxury hotel sits on the banks of the Loire and its sumptuous bedrooms have views of the beautiful Château d'Amboise. Elegantly decorated, with lovely gardens, this is a wonderful choice in heart of Amboise.

This charming 17th century town house, formerly part of the old Ursuline Convent, has been turned into a lovely contemporary hotel. There is a welcoming courtyard where you can eat breakfast and the rooms are well decorated in a more traditional fashion. Very good value for money.

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

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

Austin Lehman Adventure Travel has been sharing their love of adventure holidays with guests for around 40 years. Their insider's knowledge and extensive contacts in La Loire allow them to offer cultural and artistic experiences and encounters that give guests an in-depth feel for the local people and their way of life.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

At the end of the 10th century Foulques Nerra conquered the site of Langeais and established a château on the promontory. All that remains of the original château are a few traces of the keep. During the second half of the 15th century, Langeais was considered a strategic site. Charles VII's son, Louis XI, therefore decided to build a château there in the face of hostilities from a group known as the League for the Public Weal; dissidents from the high aristocracy. Importantly in 1491, the château was the scene of the dawn wedding between Charles VIII (Louis XI's son) and Duchess Anne of Brittany. The marriage put an end to the strife between France and Anne's independent duchy and paved the way for Brittany eventually being incorporated formally into the French kingdom.

This 12th century château is located on the north bank of the Loire. Well maintained, and extravagantly decorated, it was owned by a close friend of Louis XIII, Charles d'Albert who became Constable of France. His family still live in this pretty grey château today.

Villandry was completed toward 1536 and was the last of the large châteaux built in the Loire Valley during the Renaissance. It was built by Jean le Breton, one of François I's finance ministers, whose coat of arms can be seen on the gable of the left-hand dormer window. Villandry stayed in the le Breton family until 1754 and then became the property of the Marquis de Castellane, the King's Ambassador, who came from an illustrious noble family from Provence. He built the Classical style outbuildings that you can see on either side of the front courtyard. He also redesigned the interior of the château to meet the standards of comfort of the 18th century. Its redesigned grounds include an impressive vegetable garden constructed in the early 20th century. A cook's delight, these vegetables are now available to buy in season.

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!

Château de Lude, one of the great châteaux of the Loire Valley, stands at the crossroads of Anjou, Maine and Touraine. The original fortress was built between the 10th and 11th centuries on the banks of the river Loir, in order to defend Anjou from the incursions of the Normans and then the English during the Hundred Years' War. Louis XI's chamberlain, Jehan de Daillon, took possession of the Lude estates at the end of the 15th century. He transformed the fortress into an elegant pleasure palace, which his descendants embellished over two centuries - they added the Renaissance façade in its Italian style and the main courtyard with its marble plaques. The richness and variety of the styles that characterise the Château du Lude are echoed in the interior decoration and furniture. Since the 17th century, the old stronghold surrounded by its wide moat meets an elegant terrace edged by a stone balustrade over 200 metres in length.

Founded in the 11th century, this priory has long been a place where pilgrims took shelter en route to Santiago de Compostela. In the 16th century Pierre de Ronsard, the French Renaissance poet, became the prior - the priory still features the prior's house with de Ronsard's workroom. The rose gardens pay an appropriate homage to the poet who is buried in the church apse.

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

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.

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

In the grounds of the 17th century Château Perrièrre, the golf club is within ancient trees, water features and different plant varieties that create this undulating course offering a diverse round.

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.