Mon banc dominical / My Sunday Bench - International Garden Festival, Chaumont-sur-Loire

More benches from this year’s visit to the International Garden Festival at Chaumont-sur-Loire. There are many scattered through the gardens and grounds, each one responding to its setting. 

At the Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire the benches are part of the conversation between landscape, design but also a place to take a sit and ponder the gardens which this year are designed around the theme 'The garden goes to the movies'.

“On Sundays, the Loire speaks softly — and you have time to listen.”

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Part of the “My Sunday Bench” Series

Each Sunday, we share a quiet bench somewhere in the Loire — a small reminder that peace is often found where you simply stop to notice it.

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On the Streets of Touraine : Rue des Moulins, Loches.

Take away the road signs and there is very little here to indicate that this is the twenty-first century. On Rue des Moulins in Loches the view could belong to almost any century of the town’s long history.

Loches has a habit of revealing itself gradually. A quiet street becomes an old façade, the façades lead the eye upward and suddenly the royal city appears above the rooftops as if it has always been there.

This is one of Touraine’s best-preserved medieval towns and was once a favoured residence of French kings. Walking its lower streets, it is easy to forget that the ordinary streetscape and the historic skyline have existed side by side for hundreds of years.

Bon samedi dans la Touraine !

“The streets here don’t hurry. They simply invite you to walk, to notice, to belong.”

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Part of the “On the Streets of the Loire” Series

Each Saturday, we stroll through the lanes and cobbles of Loire towns and villages — places where every step feels like a story.

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Bon week-end from the Loire Valley.

The Loire rarely rushes and at the end of the day it seems to slow even further. At Saumur, the evening light stretches across the water until river and sky become almost the same colour.

Sunsets here have a way of simplifying things. The details soften, conversations quieten and attention drifts toward the changing reflections rather than the passing of time.

The Loire is France’s longest river and often called its last wild river, shaped more by seasonal change than by heavy engineering. Around Saumur, that shifting character means no two evenings on the water ever seem quite the same.

Part of the “Bon weekend from the Loire” Series

Each Friday, we share a quiet moment from the Loire — a region that invites you to unwind, a beautiful weekend at a time.

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Taken in Touraine - on the Claise

Not every crossing in Touraine is grand or monumental. Sometimes the reward is simply the view from a bridge. Along Rue du Bourg Neuf,in Preuilly-sur-Claise, the river slows, reflections settle and the surrounding greenery softens the edges of the village.

There is something quietly satisfying about scenes like this,the bridge draws the eye but the stillness beneath it holds the attention a little longer.

A reminder that in Touraine, some of the most memorable moments are not found at famous landmarks but in the spaces between them.

“In Touraine, even the silence tells a story.”

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Part of the “Taken in Touraine” Series

Every Thursday, we pause somewhere in Touraine — a village, a vineyard, or a quiet riverside — to capture the spirit of this timeless Loire region.

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Windows and balconies of Château de Blois.

The Château de Blois is often admired for its grand staircases and royal history but its windows and balconies tell their own story. Looking up at the François I wing, the repeating arches, ornate stonework and projecting windows reveal a Renaissance fascination with light, symmetry and display.

These openings were never merely practical. They framed views across the town, admitted light into royal apartments and proclaimed the wealth and sophistication of the court. Even today, the rhythm of windows and balconies draws the eye upward, encouraging visitors to appreciate the building as a composition rather than simply a fortress.

Château de Blois was a favourite residence of King François I, who brought Renaissance ideas from Italy to France. The wing seen here, completed in the early sixteenth century, was among the first major expressions of French Renaissance architecture, helping to set a style that would spread throughout the Loire Valley and beyond.

“Through every window, the Loire breathes — calm, patient, and quietly luminous.”

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Part of the “Windows of the Loire” Series

Each Wednesday, we share a glimpse of the Loire Valley through its windows — small frames of everyday beauty and quiet reflection.

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Loches on non-market day.

A calm Pl. du Marché aux Fleurs in Loches on non-market day.

“Some towns speak softly — Loches is one of them.”

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Part of the “Towns & Villages of the Loire” Series

Exploring the towns and villages of the Loire Valley — their streets, stories, and quiet beauty.

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