The French region: Pays de la Loire

The French region Pays de la Loire is located in western France along the Atlantic Ocean. It is full of events all year long and full of places of interest. The castles in the Loire Valley are officially in the région Centre, not in Pays de la Loire, but it is not a long way to go there.

Begin by visiting Laval, a beautiful medieval city, Guérande, a small walled town, which is well known for its salt flats. Baugé and its 15th century castle, the 17th century apothecary of the Hotel Dieu are also of great interest.

The Cote d'Amour and the Jade Coast offer several fine sand beaches and caves to explore and they host the cities of La Baule, Le Pouliguen, Le Croisic, Pornic and Pornichet.

La Baule is a seaside resort with expensive hotels and an 8 kms fine sand beach.

Le Croisic is more interesting (and touristy) with its fishing port at the end of the peninsula and its splendid old villas. The city used to be a worldwide supplier of salt.

Those who love snooping around in flea markets will be pleased, as lots of towns organize such events. Saint Calais, Bouchemaine, Saint Corneille, Olonne sur Mer and Benet flea markets, for exemple all have more than 140 stalls.

property pays de la loireThere are lovely properties in the region. They are usually stone built, such as this property reference 11184.

The island of Noirmoutier is also a great place of interest. There are two ways to reach it: the traditional "Passage du Gois" and the new bridge. At high tide, the old Passage is completely submerged. The town of Noirmoutier-en-Ile is a traditional port for the island, and has a 12th century castle and church. Another fishing port on the island is in Herbaudiére, where you can enjoy lots of water activities. The traditional low buildings with whitewashed frontages are typical of the island. Noirmoutier provides a great deal of France's table salt.

Events:

The Musée de la Vigne et du Vin d’Anjou, in Saint-Lambert-du-Lattay provides twenty events in the vineyards, all year long! These events take you to a different vineyard each time. This enables visitors to see the work on the vines during the different seasons and enjoy tastings with the wine-growers.

Nantes' annual Celtomania festival focuses on Scotland, Ireland, Wales and Brittany. In celebration of this mysterious Iron Age folk, this event provides exhibitions, readings, music and theatre shows, all across the city. Musicians perform traditional but also contemporary sounds with, of course a Celtic influence!

The Grape harvest celebration, in the Chateau de Saumur has an organic market, where you can try freshly squeezed grape fruit.

In Evron, the French capital of quality beef, the "Meat Festival" is an agricultural show with livestock judging, exhibitions of local farmhouse produce and evening events. You will of course be able to taste local beef and Brits can compare it with Yorkshire puds!

Article Source: http://www.propertymagnate.com/articles

Matthieu Cany is Director of Sextant Pays de la Loire Property

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