Berry, Touraine and the Loire

Your trip starts at Yèvre-le-Châtel, where the Beauce plain ends, on a final rocky spur. Walk up to the castle that Philip Augustus rebuilt around 1200 and look out over the Rimarde valley. Stay the night here or nearby, after a last look at the gardens that earned the village its label.

Sancerre sits on its isolated hill, where vines have long been the chief livelihood. Climb the old town to the hilltop for views over the vineyards and the Loire, then taste a glass of Sancerre. Stay the night here, with a crottin de Chavignol on the side.

Apremont-sur-Allier is a tiny village amid woods and hedged meadows, near the meeting of the Allier and the Loire. Stroll through the Parc Floral around the château, then see the carriages in the Musée des Calèches in the old stables. Stay the night here, by the quiet river.

Gargilesse-Dampierre is the Berry village where George Sand lived, near where the stream meets the Creuse. Visit her house, the Villa Algira, then the castle and the old church of Saint-Laurent-et-Notre-Dame. Stay the night here, with footpaths along the Creuse valley waiting in the morning.

Saint-Benoît-du-Sault grew around a Benedictine priory on a granite spur, within a double ring of ramparts. Walk the narrow cobbled lanes and small squares, then follow the wall-walk along the ramparts; at Pentecost, a painting festival brings the lanes to life. Then on to Montrésor.

Montrésor grew at the foot of a keep raised high over the Indrois on a spur of rock. Visit the château with its medieval keep and Renaissance lodge, then the collegiate church of Saint-Jean-Baptiste, and spot the houses dug into the tufa. Stay the night here or nearby, with a piece of Sainte-Maure de Touraine cheese.

Crissay-sur-Manse is a village of white limestone houses set into the slope of the Manse valley. Look for the Gothic Maison de Crissay and Saint-Maurice church, then follow a signposted trail into the regional park. After that, on to Fontevraud-l'Abbaye.

Fontevraud-l'Abbaye grew around its royal abbey, where the Plantagenets are buried. Step into the nave to see the painted tomb figures of Eleanor of Aquitaine, Richard the Lionheart and Henry II, then find the lantern of the dead. Perhaps taste a Fontevraud macaroon, then on to Montsoreau.

Montsoreau has a château built right into the Loire's riverbed, now home to a contemporary art collection. Walk behind the former port of the boatmen to see the troglodyte homes cut into the tuffeau, or cycle the Loire à Vélo along the bank. Stay the night here, perhaps with a glass of Coteaux de Saumur.

Candes-Saint-Martin looks down from a steep slope at the point where the Vienne joins the Loire. Visit the collegiate church of Saint-Martin and its sculpted decoration, then climb to the old archbishops' castle on the hilltop. Then on to Lavardin.

Your last stop is Lavardin, a Loir-side village that has drawn painters for generations. Walk up to the ruins of the castle, step into the church of Saint-Genest for its frescoes, and cross the old bridge over the river. Then the road runs on to Tours.