Live music 'Festival des Barroudeurs'...Barrou

On Saturday we have the annual 'Festival des Barroudeurs' here in Barrou.

This year features,among others, the very talented Angie Palmer.

                               

We will be attending both, hope to see there

Things prehistoric at Le Grand Pressigny this weekend...

More details here: http://www.loches-tourainecotesud.com/

               

Richelieu Cape & Sword Festival

  10th Festival of the Cape & Sword

 Richelieu

Including the Cardinal and his Musketeers 

Richelieu - Saturday 19th & Sunday 20th July 2014

Check out full programme here: http://www.ville-richelieu.fr/

Festival Season...

A cappella group 'Pitch Perfect' at the Loches-en-Voix' Music Festival

This is a good time to be in France as there is always so much on, what with the Bastille Day celebrations and the festival season in full swing. Here in the Loire Valley is no exception -check out our 'What's on in July' page to get a taste of the diverse range of events on offer. Contrary to popular belief the country does not shut down for July and August but instead comes alive with events in almost every town and village

Anjou Velo Vintage...

Loire à Vélo

The annual Anjou Vélo Vintage, set over the weekend of Saturday 28th and Sunday the 29th of June, is an excuse to revel in the glorious past of the humble bicycle. There is a big, jolly bike ride with four different  routes, to suit different levels and ages, from the colourful Lycra wearing ‘we take it seriously’ kind of folk to the ‘lets dress up and have fun’ types. Don’t be surprised to see fancy dress, blokes in boaters, ladies in lace and twos on tandems – such fun!

Photo courtesy: http://www.anjou-velo-vintage.com/

Whether you are a cyclist or not, you will enjoy the ‘retro’ atmosphere in Saumur the ’home’ of the festival. The nostalgia for the vintage ‘bicyclette’ will be enhanced  by the addition of costumes and music from a bygone age of fun and sophistication(?).

Photo courtesy:http://www.anjou-velo-vintage.com/

 Official website for the festival...here

Surprising observation at Tauxigny

At Experience Loire we have decided that we should ‘do’ as many of the tourist attractions ourselves, in order to offer an opinion on where they might rank in the ‘must see’ list of the delights of the Loire Valley. We have visited almost all the major chateaux (more of that later) plus some lesser known gems. We have also visited many of its towns and villages and tried to find the best parks & gardens, things to entertain the kids, things to entertain the adults plus the less obvious attractions.

Because we are fortunate enough to live here we can go off the normal beaten-track and explore using our ‘stumble upon’ method where we follow a road/direction we have not travelled before. We can also earmark a specific tourist attraction/event to visit and offer our humble opinion.
We are based in the Southern Touraine area of the Loire Valley and when heading north (to Tours for example) we often choose the more picturesque D50 route. We take the direct road most of the time but sometimes choose to wander off this and explore. One such trip yesterday took us through the pretty village of Tauxigny, not somewhere your average tourist (is there such a thing?) would probably visit but a place that has a little surprise up its sleeve. Here you will find the unlikely, maybe it is the clarity of its night sky, location of the observatory and planetarium of Touraine! Small but apparently perfectly formed - they were closed when we arrived - but we found a nice man who explained they were busy preparing for their annual festival, (http://www.festivaldelacontemplation.fr/index.htm) The itinerary  seems to include live music, things astronomical, things arty, eating (you have to book) and of course walking.

We are never really surprised when we find what might seem random events here in the Loire Valley as the region goes into a ‘festival frenzy’ during July, August and September with every town and village seeming to have an annual festival of some sort or other. It is one of the many features that make the area special. As a point of interest, or not, there is actually an annual banana, yes banana, festival in a small village in Southern Touraine (will get back to this later).