Festival de Loire 2017

For the 2017 edition, the guest river is the Ebro in Spain and the guest region is Pertuis Charentais. This French region will take pride of place, in particular with regard to oyster farming, ropework, and its traditional boats. The lead ship in the flotilla will be the longboat Hermione. 

Trips on the Loire and the canal should not be missed, but the Festival is offering much more besides. 

Highlights on the Loire

Wednesday 20 at 5 pm: Official opening of the Festival 

Saturday 23 at 10 pm: "Dans le sillage des hommes de Loire" (In the wake of the people of the Loire), Festival de Loire 2017 Performance 

Sunday 24 at 3 pm: Procession decked out with flags. Parade of all the boats in the Festival. 

The villages

The village of "Terres de l’Ebre" (Spain) 

The village of the rivers of France 

The village of the "Canal d'Orléans" 

The village of Loire bargees 

The village of water sports professionals 

… 

Discover world heritage

"Ports of the Loire" Exhibition

Between 20 and 24 September 2017, Mission Val de Loire invites you to discover this exhibition in Jardin Hélène Cadou. 

The toponymy of the Loire Valley World Heritage site still demonstrates to this day how the river has been used, especially in terms of boarding boats. 

"Port Boulet", "Port Charbonnier", "Port Poisson", "Port Saint-Maur" and "Port Thibaut" demonstrate how the relationship to water and access to the river are omnipresent. 

You may be surprised by the vast number of ports dotted along the course of the river. 

This is a territory punctuated with distinctive landmarks. The amount of infrastructure illustrates how much the Loire was used: omnipresent, intense and essential. 

"Loire Valley World Heritage: actions and heritage" conference

Friday 22 September at 3:30 pm, on the banks of the Loire, 14 quai du Châtelet. 

Mission Val de Loire is organising a conference on the UNESCO listing and work which has resulted from it with the various stakeholders and local authorities, before paying particular attention to ports of the Loire – distinct heritage which is very much a component of this cultural landscape. 

The second part of the conference will be put together by Valérie Mauret-Cribellier, from the Heritage Inventory Directorate of the Centre-Val de Loire Region, and will focus on ports and structures along the River Loire. 

Check out the entire programme at:

http://www.orleans-metropole.fr/1014/accueil.htm