Loire (department)

The Loire is an important river and also an administrative département of France.

River

The Loire river, with a length of just over 1000 km, drains an area of 117,000 sq. km, more than a fifth of France. Originating in the north-eastern part of the southern Cevennes highlands, it flows roughly northward through Roanne and Nevers to Orléans and thereafter westward through Tours to the Atlantic at Nantes. The river's irregularity has sometimes resulted in serious flooding, notably in 1856, 1866 and 1910.

Département

Loire is département number 42, with an area of 4781 sq km, occupying the river's upper reaches. The industrial city of Saint-Etienne with its suburbs contains some 290,000 of the area's 725,000 inhabitants.

An hour and a half from Paris, the Loire region is often referred to as "The Valley of the Kings". From Orléans to Tours is 200 miles of breathtakingly beautiful scenery containing 300 châteaux including the colossal castles of the French kings at Amboise, Blois, and Chambord and the most popular tourist attraction, the Château Chenonceaux.