Anyone have any special recommendations for restaurants, sights, walking paths along the lesser known areas of Le Loir? Thanks.

Hi BTilke. I assume you mean the "Loire" - there is a river "Loir" that flows SW and enters the Loire north of Angers.

Lesser known, and of interest, might be Foulques Nerra's castle ruins above Cinq-Mars-le-Pile and Montrichard (along the Cher). Also, Langeais Castle is under-rated, I think.

A bucolic stretch of the Loire can be found along the left bank, east and west of the village of Brehemont. The chateau at Usse is nearby.

There's a cave at Chateaudun that I wanted to see in May 2001. But due to flooding it was closed. It's at the base of the chateau along the Loir river.

The castle at Chateaudun is impressive with beautiful views from its cliff. It's mostly empty though.

I didn't have a memorable meal there, but the old part of town was pretty to wander around.

Hi Tuck,
Actually, I *DO* mean Le Loir, not La Loire. We'd like to a little exploring in this lesser known region, mostly walking etc.
Indy, I'll look up some info on Chateaudun. We'll be there in November, so crowds in the Loire Valley will be down anyway, but we'd still like to do some off the beaten track exploring around Le Loir (although we also have to keep in mind it will be hunting season and plan our forest walks accordingly!).

If you are familiar with chateaux in the Loire valley, Chateaudun is really not very interesting.

You've left me dangling and unenlightened - where and what is "Le Loir", please?

The Loir area is between Chartres and the Loire valley.

TuckH, Le Loir Valley starts northeast of Angers (or due north of Saumur), running from La Fleche to Ponce sur le Loir (about 60 miles). It is supposed to be very scenic, but much less touristed than La Loire Valley. One of the castles along Le Loir is Le Lude; it also has (so they say) a beautiful forest, le Foret de Berce. (We are taking the dog with us so we like to do some forest hikes as well as regular sightseeing--however, we'll be there during both hunting season and boar mating season, so those may put a crimp in our hiking plans.) Supposedly, the region also is home to many skilled artisans and workshops, particularly in glass blowing.
I did a search here before posting, but everything that came up referred to the Loire Valley, not the Loir Valley.

Btilke, you've asked for "lesser known", and, it seems, that's what you got - something REALLY lesser known!

I'm know of the river Loir and even the Foret de Berce: but "Le Loir"?

We've passed through the area - La Fleche and south of Chartres, unaware of anything special about it.

Tuck:In French it is le Loir and la Loire. One does not usually add fleuve or rivière when mentioning it.

I knew Chateaudun was on le Loir because when I parked along the river I noticed the sign and immediately wondered how that river connected with la Loire, the famous one. Today I looked on a map at le Loir and realized that Vendome and Bonneval are on it too. I visited them during May 2001. Guess I'm being geographically-challenged.

With Bonneval I wanted a stopover between Saumur and Fere-en-Tardenois and I picked the little town due to the Hotel Gilbert. I arrived there early afternoon and checked in. I drove over to Bonneval, because it's across the national road from the town. I rented one of the little electric boats (seats four) and tooled around the canals. I thought it was a lot of fun. It was interesting to be so close to the homes along the water. That was all I had time to do. I wished I'd had more time to walk the town, because it looked very pleasant from the boat.

Here's a link to more I've posted on Bonneval & the Hotel Bois Guibert:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...p;tid=34438327

Earlier on the same trip I stayed outside of Chateaudun at the Chateau Courtalain. From Courtalain I day-tripped to Vendome. My goal was to drive to the castle (ruins I believe) that overlooks the town. I never made it. There were too many one way, twisty, narrow roads. I was driving alone and the lack of parking, lack of signs and having to navigate made me cranky so I gave up. I ended up finding a "payant" parking area and walked the town center. It was very pretty. There were ruins scattered about the town that gave it quite a medieval feel.

Hi

I was there yesterday visiting relatives. Virtually no tourists ....... lot's of wind & rain !

Peter
http://tlp.netfirms.com

Visit the Chateau Montegeoffroy, located near Samur. It escaped the revolution. Very authentic, has original furnishings made for the chateau. Members of the original family still there.

Another favorite of mine is Valencay.

20 yrs ago, I took 2 days cycling along the Loir between Chartres and Blois. It was nice and scenic, but other than a tower fort, I didn't stop to tour any sights