At the confluence of the Loire and the Vienne rivers

Montsoreau, adjoining town of Candes-Saint-Martin, one of the "most beautiful villages of France", welcomes every second Sunday of the month a beautiful antique market on the banks of the Loire (part of our Ronsard tour). But the Castle of Montsoreau, located on the border between Saumur and Touraine, is also the only fortress of the Loire Valley to take root in the bed of the Loire river. Since 2016, its contemporary art museum has been home to a unique "conceptual art movement" collection called Art & Language. Dating back to 1969 and founded by American artists Dan Graham, Lawrence Weiner and Sol LeWitt, the movement continues thanks to the passion of Philippe Méaille who owns the world's largest collection of works. A successful innovation, where contemporary art and a built heritage of more than 500 years are combined wonderfully.

Eleanor of Aquitaine

If you come to Chinon and enjoy our Ronsard tour you will have the privilege to discover some aspects of the life of a more than amazing Queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine, mother of Richard the lionhearted, with our pre eminent guide with whom you will visit the fortress of Chinon, home of the Queen Eleanor, and the Sainte Radegonde Chapel, an exclusive place, with an extraordinary fresco of the end of the XIIth century.

"Eleanor of Aquitaine is often remembered as one of two things: the sassy consort of King Henry II of England or Richard the Lionheart’s valiant mother.  While neither of these descriptions is wrong – they fall short in illustrating the magnanimity of this 12th century Queen. Eleanor of Aquitaine was a warrior at heart, and even though imprisoned for more than a decade, she continued to burn bright amidst all malevolent machinations against her person".

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Visit Chinon... in less than 3 minutes with 30,000 pictures

"A day in Chinon » is a timelapse project filmed between April 2014 and July 2015. The film was created in Chinon in France (Loire Valley). We took around 30 000 photos to achieve this movie. This video illustrates our hometown. We hope you will enjoy our work. Created by Pierre de Izarra and Baptiste de Izarra"

website : redgreenblue.fr & baptistedeizarra.com

English : - Please watch in HD with the video fully loaded - 
 « A day in Chinon » is a timelapse project filmed between April 2014 and July 2015. The film was created in Chinon in France (Loire Valley). We took around 30 000 photos to achieve this movie. This video illustrates our hometown. We hope you will enjoy our work. 
 Created by Pierre de Izarra and Baptiste de Izarra. website : www.redgreenblue.fr & www.baptistedeizarra.com 
 Stuff : - Canon 6D - Motion control with dynamic perception stage zero. - AE, LRTimelapse, Premiere and some plugins.
 Most scenes available in 4K, please contact at fimbiz@gmail.com Music : Sigur Rós - Olsen Olsen https://itunes.apple.com/fr/album/olsen-olsen/id658897870?i=658898363 
 Feel free to share if you like the movie! Thanks for watching! Français : - Regardez cette vidéo en haute définition (HD), une fois qu’elle sera complètement chargée - 
 « Une journée à Chinon » est un projet timelapse filmé de la période du mois d’avril 2014 jusqu’au mois de Juillet 2015. Filmé principalement dans la ville de Chinon en France au sein de la vallée de la Loire, le projet a rassemblé plus de 30 000 photos qu’il a fallu éditer et assembler. Cette vidéo illustre la ville dans laquelle nous vivons. Nous espérons que la découverte de ce film vous amènera à apprécier la beauté de ce lieu. 
 Création : - Pierre de Izarra (www.redgreenblue.fr) et Baptiste de Izarra (www.baptistedeizarra.com) 
 Vous pouvez nous suivre sur facebook et twitter : facebook.com/photographizarra twitter.com/pdeizarra 
 Équipement : - Canon 6D, - Travelling effectué à l’aide d’un rail dynamic perception stage zero, - After Effect, LRTimelapse, et quelques plugins. 
 Musique : Sigur Rós - Olsen Olsen itunes.apple.com/fr/album/olsen-olsen/id658897870?i=658898363 Une grande partie des plans sont disponibles en 4K. Pour tout contact : fimbiz@gmail.com N'hésitez pas à partager notre vidéo si vous l'avez aimé! Merci d’avoir regardé!

Loire Valley: Wines are in its nature

Excellent article about the Loire valley and its treasures. Coming to the Loire valley, with the Loire chateaux and the landscape, is to discover the largest UNESCO World Heritage site in the world. Our Ronsard tour will offer you the opportunity to discover part of this heritage and.... if we talk about wines mostly everything about Cabernet Franc: Chinon, Bourgueil, Saint Nicolas de Bourgueil, Saumur Champigny... and some outstanding castles.

"Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site for its landscapes and chateaux, the Loire Valley has a unique lifestyle and world-famous vineyards. Its 1,000-km wine route reveals historic monuments and prestigious wine districts".

"From Nantes to Sancerre, the Loire Valley vineyards stretch along the majestic river of the same name. You will follow it along the longest wine route in France. Underground villages, chateaux, gardens and royal abbeys are revealed in a landscape of hills and plains. Hidden behind each renowned wine district is a famous Loire chateau: Chenonceau, Chambord, Brissac, Saumur, and Chinon. More than one thousand vineyards are open to the public, including 400 specially accredited wine cellars, where you will meet the winemakers and taste their numerous types of Loire Valley wines. Massive wine cellars, wine-tasting walks in the vineyards, trips on traditional boats, stays in the vineyards, entertaining wine events: the Loire Valley is a fabulous destination for numerous wine tourism trips."

Unfortunately a life time will not be long enough to visit those 400 wine cellars!

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An excellent paper about the history of the Loire Valley

The Loire River

History is also poetry; Ronsard, poet of the XVIth century... is one of the proof :

See, Mignonne, hath not the Rose,
That this morning did unclose
Her purple mantle to the light,
Lost, before the day be dead,
The glory of her raiment red,
Her colour, bright as yours is bright?

Mignonne, allons voir si la rose
Qui ce matin avoit desclose
Sa robe de pourpre au Soleil,
A point perdu ceste vesprée
Les plis de sa robe pourprée,
Et son teint au vostre pareil.

Ronsard, 1550

"The Loire is at the heart of France, its land and culture. The Loire is the longest river in France. It runs 1,012 kilometres to its mouth at Saint Nazaire, draining over 20% of France's land area into the Bay of Biscay and the Atlantic Ocean. Its lower valley from Orléans to Nantes is the home of much of French culture, especially its language. The Académie Française considers the form of the French language spoken in the lower Loire valley to be the standard."...

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