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

Not all benches are waiting areas. Some are part of an idea.

This year’s visit to the International Garden Festival at Chaumont-sur-Loire will include a small bench collection, four today and more here over the coming weeks. 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.

Explore more moments from the Loire

© Experience Loire — My Sunday bench · Back to Home

Spotted in garden in Le Petit-Pressigny

Back to nature bench.

More Loire benches here.

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

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Part of the “Mon banc dominical” 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.

Explore more moments from the Loire

© Experience Loire — Mon banc dominical · Back to Home

Mon banc dominical / My Sunday Bench - waiting for Papa Noel in Loches.

Loches market place, Loire Valley

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A quiet bench looking out over Loches market place, positioned directly in front of Santa’s grotto. With bare winter trees, festive decorations and the square gently opening up beyond, it feels like a front-row seat to the season.

Part of the “Mon banc dominical” Series

Each Sunday, we share a quiet bench from the Loire Valley, a small reminder that peace is often found when you simply stop and notice your surroundings.

Explore more moments from the Loire

© Experience Loire, Mon banc dominical · Back to Home

Mon banc dominical / My Sunday Bench...on Place de Châteauneuf in Tours.

Place de Châteauneuf, Tours, a Sunday moment of stillness.

The day unfolds gently on Place de Châteauneuf in Tours where cobbles, trees, and pale stone façades shape a calm corner of the city. The square invites you to pause, to sit, and to let the pace soften.

This bench offers a simple pause in one of the city’s oldest quarters. Surrounded by daily life rather than spectacle, it becomes a place to observe, to rest and to appreciate the quiet continuity of the square.

“On Sundays, even the busiest places learn how to rest.”

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Part of the “Mon banc dominical” Series

Each Sunday, we share a quiet bench from the Loire Valley, a small reminder that peace is often found when you simply stop and notice your surroundings.

Explore more moments from the Loire

© Experience Loire, Mon banc dominical · Back to Home

Mon banc dominical — My Sunday Bench...Bléré

Bléré — cold comfort beside the church.

There are quiet corners in the Loire Valley where time seems to loosen its hold. A simple bench, a stone wall, a church tower — and suddenly the world feels softer, slower.

This bench in Bléré carries that kind of stillness. A place where footsteps echo lightly, where the air holds a chill you somehow don’t mind, and where sitting for a moment feels less like a pause and more like a small act of care.

“In the Loire, calm settles in the spaces we almost overlook.”

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Part of the “Mon banc dominical” Series

Each week, a quiet bench somewhere in the Loire — small places where slowing down feels natural.

Explore more moments from the Loire

© Experience Loire — Mon banc dominical · Back to Home

Mon banc dominical/My Sunday Bench - Chedigny

 

In Chedigny.

Mon banc dominical / My Sunday Bench... Tours .

 

On  Pl. Anatole France in Tours.

In Le Blanc (36)...Mon banc dominical / My Sunday Bench

Bench on the little chemin behind the 'Eglise Saint-Cyran du Blanc' with great views over the lower town of Le Blanc.

Bench Sets, Foret de Preuilly...Mon banc dominical / My Sunday Bench.,

 

Nestled deep within the Foret de Preuilly, these quiet bench sets are slowly being reclaimed by nature. Moss drapes over their surfaces, softening the man-made lines and blending them back into the forest floor, testament to the quiet persistence of time and the natural world.

At Chaumont-sur-Loire...Mon banc dominical / My Sunday Bench.

 Within the Garden Festival at Chateau de Chaumont-sur-Loire.

Mon banc dominical / My Sunday Bench...in Chavignol.

On Place de l'Orme in Chavignol, tucked into the hills near Sancerre, this quiet French hamlet is home to Crottin de Chavignol, a goat cheese with serious attitude. You can see the entrance to the fromagerie just behind the fountain. Aged or fresh, it’s earthy, bold and unmistakably local, one bite and you're in the Loire.

Mon banc dominical / My Sunday Bench...Apremont-sur-Allier.

More choices in the beautiful 'Parc Floral d'Apremont' in Apremont-sur-Allier, Cher (18) 

Mon banc dominical / My Sunday Bench...public gardens Loches.

 

Family sized bench at kids playpark in the public gardens in Loches.

Mon banc dominical / My Sunday Bench...Beaulieu-lès-Loches

A quiet bench in Beaulieu-lès-Loches, facing the ancient abbey, offers a moment of deep stillness. The stone walls rise gently above the village, weathered by time and softened by light.Here, history feels closs, not in grand gestures, but in quiet presence.  

Mon banc dominical / My Sunday Bench...by the Loire in Saumur

 

Great spot to view the bridge over the Loire river at Saumur but that bench is a bit off. Ok lads last job of the week just place the top slab centrally on the supports. How hard can it be?

Mon banc dominical / My Sunday Bench...keepers In Loches.

 There’s something quietly powerful about a seat carved from stone, especially when it’s tucked within the ancient walls of a medieval stronghold. These are inside the formidable Donjon in Loches simple, weathered slabs overlooking the courtyard and the mighty keep itself.

From these quiet seats, the massive square tower of the keep rises into view, a reminder of feudal power and medieval resilience. 

 

Mon banc dominical / My Sunday Bench...In Loches.

 

 At the Royal Lodgings (Logis Royal) in Loches, a unique and symbolic creature, the "cerf ailé" or winged stag, can be seen guarding the benches on the terrace. This mythical animal was the personal emblem of King Charles VII of France.

The winged stag is not just a decorative element; it carried symbolic meaning. The stag typically represents nobility, purity and solitude, while wings add an element of divine inspiration or swiftness, possibly reflecting Charles VII’s aspirations or the qualities he wished to associate with his reign.

This emblem is repeated in the great hall of the Logis Royal, reinforcing Charles VII’s presence and legacy at the château. The Royal Lodgings at Loches were an important royal residence during the 15th century, and Charles VII often stayed there, especially during the critical years of the Hundred Years' War.

Mon banc dominical / My Sunday Bench...Le Blanc (36)

 

This bench sits on the little chemin behind the 'Eglise Saint-Cyran du Blanc' giving views over the low town.

More on Le Blanc.

Mon banc dominical / My Sunday Bench... at Tours' Botanic Gardens.

 

Plenty of choices at Tours' Botanic Gardens.

Mon banc dominical / My Sunday Bench...in Chinon.