Loire Valley by Rail Train Seats Travel On all legs of the journey you have reserved seat and carriage numbers which are shown clearly on Passports your ticket. You may need to renew your British Passport if you are travelling to an EU country. Please ensure your passport is less than 10 years old (even if it has 6 months or more left on it) and has at least 6 Baggage months validity remaining from the date of travel. As with most trains, passengers are responsible for EU, Andorra, Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino carrying baggage onto and off the train. Baggage and Swiss valid national identification cards are also can be stored on overhead shelves or at the acceptable for travel. For more information, please entrance to the carriages. Trollies are available at St visit: passport checker Pancras and Lille, but bags do need to be carried on to the platform. Porters are sometimes but not always available at St Pancras. Visas As a tourist visiting from the UK, you do not need a Travel Editions recommends a luggage delivery visa for short trips to most EU countries, Iceland, service called thebaggageman, where your suitcase Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. You will be can be picked up from your home before departure able to stay for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. and delivered straight to your hotel; therefore For all other passport holders please check the visa removing the worry about carrying your cases onto requirements with the appropriate embassy. and off the trains. For further information, please check here: travel to the EU For further information: http://www.thebaggageman.com For all other passport holders please check the visa requirements with the appropriate embassy. Labels Please use the luggage labels provided. It is useful French consulate: PO Box 57, 6A Cromwell Place, to have your home address located inside your London SW7 2EW; Tel (020) 7838 2000/1. suitcase should the label go astray. Information Service: Tel (0891) 887 733, Fax: (020) 7838 2046. Opening hours: 0900-1130 (and 1600- 1630 for visa collection only) Mon-Fri (except Border Control British and French national holidays). At border control, you may need to: • show a return or onward ticket. • show you have enough money for your stay. Tickets • use separate lanes from EU, EEA and Swiss You will be issued with a return train ticket. Please citizens when queueing. take care not to lose your tickets and please check that the details on your tickets are accurate. Your Taking food into EU countries ticket is non-transferable and non-refundable. No Please note you are not able to take meat, milk or refund can be given for non-used portions. any products containing them into EU countries. Standard Premier on Eurostar tickets is indicated by Transfers two asterisks in the class type section in the top On arrival in St Pierre des Corps, transfer by coach right-hand corner. A light meal will be served to to the Grand Hotel de Tours (approx. 20 mins.) passengers travelling Standard Premier on Eurostar. Standard class Eurostar tickets do not include any food or drink on board, although there is a buffet Special Requests car serving drinks and snacks. If you haven’t already done so, please notify Travel Editions of any special requests as soon as possible TGV tickets do not include any food or drink on to allow sufficient time to make the necessary board, although a buffet car is available. arrangements. Accommodation Grand Hotel de Tours Dating from 1927, the four-star Grand Hotel de Generally speaking, mealtimes in France are strictly Tours is located in the heart of Tours close to the observed. Lunch is as a rule served from noon to train station and within walking distance of most of 1330, dinner usually from 2000-2130, but the larger the main sights. Recently renovated with Art-Deco the city, the later the dining hour. flourishes, the hotel offers comfortable well- appointed bedrooms with all modern amenities including private bath/shower, TV, telephone, air- conditioning and wifi. Drink The Loire Valley wine region includes the French For more information visit their website wine regions situated along the Loire River from the http://en.legrandhoteltours.com/ Muscadet region near the city of Nantes on the Atlantic coast to the region of Sancerre and Pouilly- Fumé just southeast of the city of Orléans in north central France. In between are the regions of Anjou, Food Saumur, Bourgueil, Chinon, and Vouvray. The Loire At the centre of local gastronomy, goat cheese Valley itself follows the river through the Loire comes in five different AOC variations: Crottin de province to the river's origins in the Cévennes but Chavignol (a small, round, slightly bulging delight), the majority of the wine production takes place in Sainte-Maure de Touraine (a bûche famously tied the regions noted above. While the majority of up with a strand of hay), Selles-sur-Cher (rounds production is white wine from the Chenin blanc, with a fine blue crust), and for the finish, two Sauvignon blanc and Melon de Bourgogne grapes, pyramids: Valençay, the top of which will have been there are red wines made (especially around the sliced off by Talleyrand, and Pouligny-Saint-Pierre, Chinon region) from Cabernet franc. In addition to which managed to keep its head. To this mix add still wines, rosé, sparkling and dessert wines are Trèfle, a newcomer among chèvres, and cow’s milk also produced. With Crémant production cheeses such as Cendré d’Olivet and Feuille de throughout the Loire, it is the second largest Dreux. sparkling wine producer in France after Champagne. The Loire Valley has a long history of winemaking The best-known specialities here are rillettes de dating back to the 1st century. Tours, poached eggs au Chinon, saupiquet nivernais, pâté berrichon with eggs, chicken en In elegant restaurants the wine list will be separate barbouille, nougats de Tours, Chinon peaches, from the main menu, but in less opulent sabayon de golden, prune candies, and dried pears. establishments will be printed on the back or along the side of the carte. The waiter will usually be glad For those with a sweet tooth, desserts here are also to advise an appropriate choice. If in doubt, try the delicious: macaroons, jams, dries apples and pears, house wine; this will usually be less expensive and shortbreads. will always be the owner’s pride. Almost all restaurants offer two types of meals: a la carte (extensive choice for each course, generally Meals included in the price of your holiday are: more expensive) and le menu (a set meal at a fixed price). Breakfast – daily The bill (l’addition) will not be presented until it is asked for, even if clients sit and talk for half an hour after finishing their meal. Usually, a discretionary service charge is added to your bill in restaurants and bars, and no further tipping is required. Destination business centre of a farming district which produces There are so many places to visit in the Centre - Val wheat, vegetables (especially asparagus) and wine de Loire region that once you have sampled the in abundance. Auguste Poulain opened a experience, you will want to return time and time confectionary-chocolate factory in Blois in 1848, the again. site now is a hotel but his legacy lives on and is evident on almost every street corner. Here the rich landscape offers great rivers, vibrant cities like Orleans and Tours, historical medieval For more information about Blois, please visit: towns such as Chinon and Loches, beautiful villages https://www.experienceloire.com/blois.htm like Montresor, natural parks in La Brenne and Anjou, some of the best wines of France and a host Saumur of local delicacies. There is a plethora of festivals Saumur is situated at the southern end of Anjou, at throughout the year to give you a taste of the the confluence of the Thouet and the Loire Rivers, region's unique culture and heritage. in an area of ancient settlement. Saumur dates back to the fourth century BC - it was created as a small The area also has been touched by many historical village in ancient times called simply ‘Mur’ with figures from Richard the Lionheart to Joan of Arc people who lived in caves (called ‘habitations and Leonardo de Vinci. It has also inspired poets troglodytes’), dug along the sides of steep mountain and novelists for centuries, with some of its native ranges to the east of Saumur. Saumur is a very sons, such as Rabelais and Balzac, using the area as attractive town with its white stone buildings, grey a setting their works. slate rooves and riverside setting, all topped of course by its grand chateau set on a hill above the Details of places of interest included in the tour: town. It is a lively shopping town and has lots of attractive streets to explore and several nice Tours squares with cafes and restaurants that are Tours, the principal city of the department of Indre- charming places to stop for a drink or a meal. The et-Loire (formerly Touraine) in the Loire Valley, has Place Saint Pierre is particularly attractive with the a well-preserved cultural heritage which rests easily imposing church of Saint Pierre which dates to the against its modern, vibrant and dynamic image of 12 and 13th centuries and contains some lovely today. It has been a seat of learning since the stained-glass windows. Also on the square are some Middle Ages and carries on this fine tradition attractive half-timber buildings from the 15 and through its university today.