If we love watching Travel and Living programs on TV, reading Travel magazines, or even reading historical fictions, you’ll often see coverage on magnificent chateaux and castles all over Europe. Those chateaux and castles are some of the finest heritage that make Europe, especially France and England, victorious.

If we want to visit those chateaus for ourselves, the best place will be the Loire Valley in France. The Loire Valley is the major tourist destination in France, which is well known for its hundreds of chateaux and wine. Most of these many chateaux can be found in one department in the Loire Valley called Indre-et-Loire.

Indre-et-Loire and its neighbours are chosen as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Among so many magnificent chateaux in Indre-et-Loire that are open to public are Amboise, Azay-le-Rideau, Château de la Bourdaisière and Chenonceau. The best way to see these chateaux is to visit Indre-et-Loire from a private cottage.

Staying at one of the private cottages in the area that are rented to tourists as vacation rentals are, strategically and economically, very beneficial. Besides being less costly than staying at commercial hotels, those cottages are just a short distance from our destinations. Or do you want to try staying at one of the chateaux? It is possible to rent a French chateau, since there are many chateaux that are rented to public, although most certainly not the most prestigious ones.

Another fabulous thing is wine tasting in the Loire Valley. The region produces some of the world’s best wine, especially white wine like Chenin blanc, Sauvignon blanc and Melon de Bourgogne. The Loire Valley has a long history of winemaking dating back to the 1st century. A very magnificent area, it is!