Tours Fair...

 Tours Fair dates back many hundred years with its origins in the boulevards of the city. In 1964 it was moved to the Exhibition Centre, on the banks of the Cher, the fair is the largest in the Centre Val de Loire region with around 250,000 visitors.

There are around 700 exhibitors each year at the Exhibition Centre, in the halls and spread over the outside areas of the site.

http://www.lafoiredetours.fr

PRACTICAL INFORMATION - TOURS FAIR 2015

From 1st to 10th May 2015 - Tours Exhibition Centre.
Free admission and parking.

Hours: Fair and Gourmet Market: 10 am to 8.00 pm

Village Gourmet: 10 am - midnight (1am on Saturdays)

Access free car parks: Jacques Duclos and avenues Chautemps

Weekend's brocantes / vide-greniers

Richelieu

Friday 1^st May

Ballan Mire – Plant fair- 50 to 100 stalls

 (Facing the lake sailing school Bretonnières OJEU / BALLAN Avenue Mignardières 9am- 7.00pm)

Berthenay – vide-greniers- 50 to 100 stalls

Cangey – Brocante - 200 to 300 stalls

Ferriere sur Beaulieu - vide-greniers - up to 50 stalls

Saint Benoit la Foret – vide-greniers - 50 to 100 stalls

Saint Pierre des Corps – vide-greniers - 300 + stalls

Tours, Rue de Bordeaux 8.30am – 7.00pm – Brocante- up to 50 stalls

 Sunday 3^rd May

Auzouer en Touraine – vide-greniers - 50 to 100 stalls

Bossee – Brocante - 50 to 100 stalls

Cormery - Foire aux plants & vide-grenier - 50 to 100 stalls

Joue les Tours – Brocante / vide-grenier - 100 to200 stalls

Monts – vide-greniers - 100 to 200 stalls

Parcay Meslay – Brocante / vide-greniers - 100 to 200 stalls

Richelieu – vide-greniers - 100 to 200 stalls

Rille -  Brocante / plants - 50 to 100 stalls

Tours, Place Blanqui – vide-greniers - up to 50 stalls

New installation at Prehistory Museum...

This big fella (a life-size Megaceros) has been given a new home in the grounds of the Prehistory museum within the chateau at Le Grand Pressigny.

Sunday's brocantes / vide-greniers

Sunday 26th April 2015

Bourgueil  -  Vide-greniers

Chinon -   Brocante

Joue-les-Tours -  Vide-greniers

Le Grand Pressigny - Brocante / vide-greniers

Louestault  - Vide-greniers

Rilly sur Vienne – Brocante

Saint Ouen les Visgnes - Vide-greniers

Saint Senoch - Vide-greniers

Tours, Boulevard Beranger - Brocante

Chaumont Garden Festival 2015...opens today.

Chaumont garden festival...

a must for garden lovers visiting the Loire Valley.

This year's festival runs from the 23rd of April 2015 to 1st of November 2015
The 25th International Garden Festival on the theme of “Extraordinary gardens, collectors’ gardens”

Check out our page on website here for examples from previous festivals here

Thanks for looking in...hope I helped make you Loire Valley trip easier.

I am happy to announce that my little site www.experienceloire.com has passed the 1,000,000 visitor mark which is very satisfying considering it is the work of little old me,*only.. I am pleased that what started out as a vehicle for our holiday vacation home has developed into a place where potential visitors can get to see a little bit of what they can expect before making their journey to the Loire Valley in France.

It helps them decide where to stay ,which sites to visit and offers assistance to world travellers in getting here. I am delighted that I have played my small part in bringing visitors to Centre Val de Loire as the region is one of the most beautiful in the whole of France and of course it is now my home.

I am passionate about the area and encourage more people to come visit...especially to our area of Southern Touraine where they will get a true French country experience yet still have access to the major delights of this wonderful part of France.

At a time when maintaining a high ranking on major search engines is becoming increasingly difficult it is flattering that the site is still up there with the 'big guns' and that my content is considered interesting enough. I know that it could be a lot better, I would love to make it more interactive for example and continue to look at improvements.

I would like to thank all the people,wherever you are, for dropping in...merci beaucoup!

*Supported by my long suffering spouse.

PS...
I am currently applying the same enthusiasm into my current project www.about-paris.com  but find it equally frustrating that my lack of skills make it a slow process.

Springtime in the city of Tours in the Loire valley...

By the cathedral...

...at Place Plumereau

....by the Loire

,,,on Rue Nationale

...in the gardens at  Musee des Beaux Arts

...in the gardens at Place Francois  Sicard.

Spring tulips display at Chateau de Cheverny in the Loire Valley...

Something for the weekend...

Some of the vide-greniers / brocantes this weekend.

 

 

Saturday 18th April 2015

Bourgueil - Vide-greniers

La Riche   - Vide-greniers

Preuilly sur Claise - Vide-greniers /brocante

Sunday 19th April 2015

Chanceaux sur Choisille - Vide-greniers

Chinon  - Monthly brocante

Descartes  - Vide-greniers

Drache  - Vide-greniers

La Ville Aux Dames - Vide-grenier /brocante

Montlouis sur Loire (Husseau)  - Vide-greniers

Saint Branchs  - Vide-greniers

Valleres  - Vide-greniers

Villaines les Rochers  - Vide-greniers

April in the public gardens at Loches...

You can see how the garden looks in May here

Chateau d'Amboise in Spring...

It is worth crossing the bridge onto the Ile d'Or to get this shot of the chateau at Amboise.

Looking good in the spring sunshine.

Exhibitions at the chateau in Tours

Exhibitions at chateau de Tours

Photography (Nicolás Muller (1913-2000).Traces of Exile until 31 May 2015) and paintings by

Patrick Deutschmann until the 24th plus an exhibition by Dominik Deniau ''Exposition des Âmes' until May10th. 

Something for the weekend...

SATURDAY, APRIL 11, 2015

 Chinon - attic

 Saint Cyr sur Loire - Attic

 Sainte Maure de Touraine - attic

Vendome

SUNDAY, APRIL 12, 2015

Amboise - Flea flea food market

Autreche - attic

Azay le Ferron - Flea flea

Ballan Mire - Flea flea

Blere - garage sale

Montlouis sur Loire - Dirty Garage

Mountains - garage sale

 Neuilly the Brignon - garage sale

Riviere - garage sale

Saint Avertin - garage sale

 Tours - Beranger Boulevard - Flea (200 to 300 stalls)

Chateau Le Grand Pressigny early evening in spring...

Spring at Chateau de Chenonceau...

Spring at Chateau Villandry Gardens...

Spring is a lovely time to visit the Loire Valley in France.You can see the gardeners response to the season at the wonderful gardens at Chateau Villandry 

Le Grand Pressigny past and present...

A very good slide-show of Le Grand Pressigny in Southern Touraine here in Centre Val de Loire by Fanch Eiffel has been added to the site it shows photographs of the present and glimpses of the past - although really, not a lot has changed.    

Brocantes / Vide-greniers Easter weekend in the Loire Valley...

Veretz chateau a lovely setting for a brocante 

Easter Sunday 5 April 2015

Amboise - Vide-maison

Charge - Fete de la Detente - Brocante Vide-greniers

Esvre - Vide-greniers

Marigny Marmande - Brocante

Pont de Ruan - Brocante Vide-greniers

Saint Roch - Vide-greniers

Tavant - Brocante vide-greniers

If you are in Southern Touraine you can pop over to the brocante in the beautiful Angles-sur-l'Anglin

You can check out previous brocante at Angles-sur-l'Anglin  here

Monday 6 April 2015

Descartes - Vide-greniers

Langeais - Brocante de paques

You can check out previous brocante at Langeais here

Saint Epain - Brocante

Verettz - Brocante et vide-greniers du lundi de Pâques au château 

You can check out previous brocante at Veretz  here

The little people can be found in...

1. 

On the front of one of the half-timbered houses on Rue Marceau in Chinon.

The street hasn't always been called Rue Marceau as this plaque explains.