Experience the best of Blois

Blois rises in tiers from the north bank of the Loire. Its château, home to seven kings and ten queens, shows the sweep of French architecture in a single courtyard, from the Gothic hall of the Counts of Blois to Francis I's wing and its open spiral staircase. It was here in 1588 that Henri III had the Duke of Guise killed.

Stepped streets lead down to the river past the cathedral of Saint-Louis and the Maison de la Magie, a museum honouring the illusionist Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin, who was born in the town. Chambord, the largest of the Loire châteaux, stands in its walled forest to the east, and Cheverny, which inspired the house in the Tintin books, lies to the south. Chaumont-sur-Loire holds a garden festival each year.

The Loire's wines are everywhere on the table: crisp whites from Cheverny and Cour-Cheverny, reds from Touraine. Goat's cheese from Selles-sur-Cher, river fish with butter sauce and game from the Sologne forests complete the local menu. Long summer evenings on the riverbank suit the town well.