Little-known Loire

Escape from the showstopping châteaux of the touristy Loire Valley and discover a lesser-known but very beautiful triangle of châteaux nearby, advises Carolyn Reynier.

- Carolyn Reynier

My brother is 16 years younger than me and, as the last of five children, he ended up spending several holidays with just my parents after we all left home.

This sometimes resulted in a generational gap in interests. I recall speaking to my mother shortly after the three of them returned from a Loire Valley holiday. They planned to stay with our friends Jean and Claudine Baumard, makers of great Anjou wines from their vineyards at Rochefort-sur-Loire near Angers, and then set off upstream to visit the rest of the Loire valley. However, on the fourth day, as another architectural masterpiece slid into view, a voice was heard from the back seat: “Not another bloody chateau!” To be fair, it’s a sentiment probably shared by local artisans of the day for different reasons.

Lovers of the mighty Loire Valley will be familiar with the names of the great medieval and Renaissance châteaux – Chambord, Cheverny, Chaumont and Amboise to name but four. But how about Loches, Montpoupon and Montrésor? Hmm, I hear you say, not so sure about them. Yet leave the famous stretch of Loire between Tours and Blois, travel a few kilometres south over its Cher tributary and you enter the easternmost corner of Indre-et-Loire. I’d like to explore with you property in and around a triangle of lovely, yet lesser-known, châteaux.

TERRIFIC TRIO