Discover the Loire Valley on a Barge Cruise in France

A barge cruise in France along the Loire and its tributaries, the Cher, is one of the great vacation experiences for our modern times. This is at least partly attributable to the luxury of many of the "floating hotels" plying the scenic waters, but also an opportunity to get up close and very personal with some of the most impressive medieval military fortifications in Europe.

See France through its rivers

In past centuries, many cities use rivers as their main motorways. The roads were often little more than dirt tracks and were both slow and very dangerous to travel. So, of course, many medieval French cities tend to be built near rivers and had their own "ports" on them.

Is nowhere more true than in the Loire Valley, which is why a barge cruise in France is a great way to see cities like Tours and unmatched palace Villandry and Valençay. Many of these towns, villages and castles were always intended to be processed by the river and why have such spectacular views.

Why so many castles?

Many first time visitors to the Loire wonder why there is a preponderance of magnificent castles in the area such. During the Middle Ages, the war has devastated large parts of Europe, including the Loire Valley. Many noble spent a lot of time (and money) fighting against each other, and even the king in Paris. To make matters worse, the region was one of the centers of the Hundred Years War and the nobility and the French royal court more strongly fortified region as a defense against the invading English armies. Therefore, the landscape and strategic roads along the Loire became dotted with castles protection.

In the 18th century, things had changed and massively fortified castles were more redundant in both military and social sense. What had the great castles, which are the epitome of luxury, fashion and good taste. The nobility spent fortunes trying to overcome the extravagance of others or even compete with the king.