Estate in the Orléans region, Tours, Sologne and Loire valley

The CENTRE-VAL DE LOIRE region encompasses six departments: Loiret, Loir-et-Cher, Indre-et-Loire, Cher, Eure-et-Loir and Indre. It includes two cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants, ORLEANS and TOURS. The other administrative centres are Blois, Bourges, Châteauroux and Chartres.
From east to west of the region runs the royal river, the Loire, and its Val de Loire (or Loire Valley) with its famous châteaux and mansions. South of the river, we find the Sologne with its forests, lakes and hunting properties. To the north is the Beauce with its large farms, making the region the leading grain producer in Europe. Our prestigious real estate activity is concentrated around Orléans, Tours, the Sologne and the Loire Valley.

Orléans

The city of Orléans has nearly 115,000 inhabitants and belongs to the agglomération Orléans Val de Loire which groups 22 towns. It is the closest regional administrative centre to Paris.
Locals are known as Orléanais. The Loire flows through the city and townhouses in some of the central districts such as the Dunois, Bretonnerie, Alsace-Lorraine, Mediathèque, Théâtre and Saint Marc are very much sought after.
The city of Orléans is located 115 kilometres southwest of Paris, in the northern part of Sologne, south of the Beauce and the forest of Orléans. It is at a major motorway intersection; the A10 (Paris to Bordeaux) passes nearby, as does the A71, heading towards the Mediterranean. In addition, the A19 links the A10 (Paris-Orléans) at Artenay, north of Orléans, to the A6 (Paris-Auxerre-Beaune-Lyon).

From a business point of view, the city is very active; the region of Orléans is on the axis known as Cosmetic Valley because of the number of cosmetics companies here, including such prestigious names as Shiseido, Hermès, Gemey, Guerlain and Dior. The pharmaceutical industry is also well represented, with companies such as the Famar, Servier and Seve laboratories.

From a tourism point of view, Orléans is a listed “City of Art and History”, a French tourism classification, and has a beautiful cathedral and city halls, the Maison de Jeanne d’Arc (a museum about Joan of Arc), the Place du Martroi and many other old buildings. Tourists also frequently travel along the magnificent banks of the Loire (which are on the UNESCO world heritage register) either on foot or by bicycle on the unique “La Loire à Vélo” cycle paths.

The Sologne

Sologne is a French natural park in the Centre-Val de Loire region. It lies to the south of the Orléans area, stretching between the Loire and the Cher rivers.
The main towns are Romorantin-Lanthenay, Lamotte Beuvron (Tarte Tatin), La Ferté St Aubin and Salbris. There are many delightful villages too: Souvigny en Sologne, Cerdon du Loiret, Isdes, Chaon (with its poachers’ museum), Villeny (where you can learn about deer at the Maison du Cerf), Saint Viatre (Sologne des Étangs), Fontaine en Sologne, Ligny le Ribault (Tuilerie de Sologne), Tigy and Chaumont sur Tharonne (Center Parcs).
There is an abundance of waterways: the Barangeon, the Beuvron, the Cher, the Cosson, the Nère, the Rère, the Grande Sauldre, the Petite Sauldre, the Sauldre and the Tharonne.
Sologne is made up mainly of forests and heathland with more than 3,000 lakes. It is much prized by hunters, as you can find a great number of animals such as stag, hind, wild boar, deer and duck, etc. If you are looking for a hunting lodge, a château or mansion, or just a second home, this is the region for you; it’s just 90 minutes from Paris. Every year, Lamotte Beuvron or Chambord host the biggest Game Fair in France.
In Sologne you will also find a number of private châteaux to buy, in addition to the very well known châteaux to visit, such as Chambord (King Francis I), Cheverny and La Ferté Saint Aubin. Sologne has many golf courses: Les Aisses, Les Bordes, Marcilly, Sologne, Donnery, and Limère.

Loire Valley - Valley of the Kings

The Loire Valley is a French natural region (région naturelle française) which covers those parts of the Loire Valley in the departments of Loiret, Loir-et-Cher, Indre-et-Loire and Maine-et-Loire.

The main cities are Orléans, Tours, Blois, Amboise, Saumur, Chinon and Angers. There are many delightful villages too: Meung sur Loire, Chaumont sur Loire, Montlouis sur Loire, Vouvray, Pocé sur Cisse, Chambray-lès-Tours, Villandry, Langeais and many more. Prestigious properties in the Val de Loire with its châteaux, mansions and water mills are particularly sought after by clients from abroad (from the US, the UK, the Netherlands, Germany and even Asia).

The Loire Valley is home to numerous vineyards (Sancerre, Vouvray, Cabernet-d'Anjou, Muscadet, Coteaux du Layon, Saumur, Pouilly and Quincy) and most of the châteaux that come under the Châteaux de la Loire category. These include a number of Renaissance châteaux such as Chambord, Amboise, Chenonceau and Cheverny as well as Blois, Valençay, Villandry and Chaumont sur Loire. Some 1.5 million French and foreign tourists visit the Loire Valley for its famous châteaux, vineyards and museums such as the Leonardo da Vinci museum in the Clos Lucé. And there are countless other activities to enjoy such as the zoo in Beauval or the Loire à Vélo etc.

Tours

The city of Tours, the capital of Touraine, has some 135,000 habitants and belongs to the ‘Tour(s)Plus agglomération ’ which includes 22 towns and villages.
The inhabitants are called Tourangeaux. The royal river Loire flows through the city. Its townhouses are greatly sought after in the districts of Tours Opéra, Prefecture, cathédrale,Halles, Prébendes, Fuye-Velpeau and Blanqui-Mirabeau. The town of Saint Cyr sur Loire, Fondettes, Saint Avertinare also highly prized.
Tours is 240 kilometres southwest of Paris. It has plenty of public transport and is a major intersection for the motorways A10, A28 and A85. It is also accessible by high-speed train (TGV), which means that Tours is only 90 minutes from Montparnasse station in Paris. The Tours-Val de Loire airport also enables fast connections to London, Dublin, Porto, Marrakech and Marseille. The airport can also receive private jets for a prestigious clientele.

From a business point of view, Tour is very active; the tertiary sector is very big in the region, with private service companies that have their regional headquarters in Tours (Caisse d'Épargne, GDF, EDF and soon Orange). There are also some major stores like IKEA, the FNAC and others. Tours boasts a large medical faculty, with the many students meeting in the Place Plumereau in the centre of Tours for fun evenings.

The tourist industry plays an important role in the city’s economy thanks to a number of assets: its beautiful architecture, including the Gothic cathedral, its location in the heart of the Loire Valley and its proximity to many châteaux.