The Orléans Museum of Fine Arts, in the Loire Valley, is one of the oldest provincial museums, as it opened during the Revolution. It is also one of the best-stocked, with magnificent collections of paintings from the 15th to the 20th century, about 2,000 works in total, nearly 700 sculptures, 10,000 drawings ... and a notable pastel room, the second biggest in France after the Louvre.

Located near the tourist office and the Cathedral of the Holy Cross (Sainte-Croix), the museum is famed for its collections of French paintings from the 17th and 18th centuries, including works by Philippe de Champaigne, the Le Nain brothers, Georges de La Tour, Greuze, Boucher, Houdon, Pigalle, etc. It also possesses a very fine collection of foreign paintings including works by Corrège, Carrache, Tintoret, Brueghel, van Dyck, Ruysdael, etc., as well as a Spanish masterpiece, Saint Thomas by Velazquez.

In terms of modern and contemporary art, you can admire works by Marie Laurencin, Picasso, Vlaminck, Soutine, Hantaï, Zao Wou-Ki, Gaudier-Brzeska, Max Jacob, Gérard Fromanger and more.

Situated south of Orléans, the Parc Floral de la Source is a magnificent 35-hectare landscaped garden divided into wonderful themed areas: a dahlia garden, an extraordinary vegetable garden, an iris garden, a rose garden opposite the château and a garden where the Loiret River has its source. There's also a large aviary and an exotic butterfly house.

A rose show is held there every year in September.

With a 35,000-hectare surface area, Orléans forest constitutes the biggest national forest in France! Offering numerous hiking trails, this area is divided into three mountain areas: the Massif d'Orléans, Massif d'Ingrannes and Massif de Lorris. Nestling in a peaceful and green environment, the Vallée lake, near Combreux, is perfect for fishing, swimming and windsurfing.

A genuine medieval fortress, complete with towers, keep, rampart walk and moats, the Château de Sully-sur-Loire built in the 14th century, is the former residence of the dukes of Sully. The interior has paintings and tapestries on display, as well as a magnificent roof structure dating from the 14th century.

Visitors can also walk around the pleasant tree-lined park surrounding the château.

Every third weekend in May, the château and park host a medieval festival called 'Les Heures Médiévales'.

In the heart of the forest of Boulogne abounding in game, on the site of a fortress, King François I built an imposing, richly decorated residence as his hunting lodge in the 16th century. A Renaissance masterpiece, the Château de Chambord is the biggest in the Loire Valley, with 440 rooms, 800 carved capitals and 282 fireplaces!

This striking and elegant building consists of a central keep with four round towers and a surrounding wall. Its famous double spiral staircase is a remarkable architectural feat. This ingenious construction allows two people to go up and down the stairs without passing each other!

After visiting the apartments, a walk around the château terrace is mandatory. From there, the view of thousands of attic windows, chimneys, capitals, spires and little steeples of the building makes an amazing picture. The terrace of the keep also offers a beautiful view of the park of Chambord national estate. A hunting reserve, the park is surrounded by a 32-km wall, making it the largest enclosed forested area in Europe. Visitors wishing to go for a walk can do so along the numerous waymarked footpaths. Horse-drawn carriage tours are also available from the Marshal of Saxony stables.