Meeting of the network of landmark heritage sites in the Loire Valley on 4 May

A partnership-based approach for the landmark heritage sites, from Sully-sur-Loire to Nantes

The network of landmark sites has existed since 2007 and adopted its first charter in 2008 and then a membership agreement in 2015 during the cultural season on Francis I . 

The network develops its activity through tangible initiatives in three cooperation areas: 

• promotional measures;
• the "Qualité tourisme" (Tourism quality) initiative;
• implementation of shared cultural projects.

With the first agreement reaching its term in 2018, the network members are committing to renewing this partnership-based approach for another five years at the scale of the Loire Valley from Sully-sur-Loire to Nantes. 

New web tools for promoting the Loire Valley

Visitor numbers to the websites and online tools promoting the Loire Valley and its châteaux have been high for a number of years now. The website dedicated to Loire châteaux has been integrated into the web platform www.valdeloire-france.com created in 2015, more in step with the tourism promotion aims of the “Val de Loire” brand at inter-regional level and with current technological requirements. 

These promotional tools have been rounded off in 2018 by videos broadcast on Youtube and social media. 

Since the website valdeloire-france.com is primarily aimed at neighbouring tourist markets (France, Spain, Italy, Great Britain, etc.), the website france.fr was launched in early 2018 to promote the Loire Valley destination to markets further afield, such as Russia, Brazil, China and Japan. 

The 2017 cultural season “Gardens in the Loire Valley”

The network members who attended were asked to report back on the 2017 season. Most of them registered a rise in visitor numbers relative to 2016, which was a mixed year for tourism on account of the tragic events that targeted France in 2015. 

Participants were also given the opportunity to talk about the cultural season “Gardens in the Loire Valley” , in which 16 châteaux from the network of landscape heritage sites in the Loire Valley featured among the 72 partners who teamed up for this event. Everyone highlighted the merits of organising an event of this sort under such conditions (partnership-based, inter-regional approach, pooling of energies to put together a joint programme, held every two years, etc.) and the role Mission Val de Loire plays as coordinator. 

• News
• News

Gardens in the Loire Valley: a review of the 2017 cultural season

The cultural season "Gardens in the Loire Valley 2017", initiated and overseen by Mission Val de Loire, ended in November with a closing symposium held in Tours and Fontevraud. After an overall assessment among the various partners, the season looks to have been a success, having helped to enhance the Loire Valley with a more diverse "Garden" image, extending beyond the usual vision.

En savoir plus

Other items on the agenda included the "Qualité tourisme" (Tourism quality) initiative, which the participants were able to discuss and in which several landmark sites are involved, as well as the 2019 theme "Viva Da Vinci - 500 years of RenaissanceS in the Loire Valley". At the end of the meeting, Bruno Marmiroli, Head of the Loir-et-Cher Loire Council of Architecture, Urban Planning and the Environment (CAUE), presented the major redevelopment work that had been ongoing for a number of years at Saint Cosme Priory in La Riche, Indre-et-Loire, aimed at fitting the monument more seamlessly into its environment (the city, the river).