Aquarium du Val de Loire and the best attractions in the Loire Valley from France For Families

Loire Attractions When we started preparing this section we had in mind all the fantastic chateaux that the Loire is famous for, but as we started thinking about the places we had visited in the region, it became clear that the area has equally as much to boast about when it comes to tourist attractions. Coupled with the chateaux.... caves, museums and delightful towns this makes for one of the most attractive regions for active holidays.

Aquarium du Val de Loire

Location: At Lussault-sur-Loire on the D751 which runs parallel to The Loire river on the southern side, take the D283 S for 3 kms to the aquarium.
General Info: 37400 Lussault-sur-Loire. Tel No: 0(8) 25 08 25 22. Closed for nearly 3 weeks at end of Jan and 2 weeks at end of Nov. Prices €12.75 and €8.75
Description: This is predominantly a freshwater aquarium that contains many of the fish that can be found in the Loire river as well as those which frequent tropical rivers such as turtles, piranhas and even sharks. These can be viewed in large tanks, some of which are ‘touchy feely’.
Our recommendations: Combine this with a visit to the Parc des Mini-Châteaux as you can get a combined ticket for these attractions.

Probably only a half day at the most. Expensive.

Our favourite attractions in the Loire valley:

     - Abbaye Royale de
       Fontevraud
     - Aquarium du Val de Loire
     - Maulévrier Japanese
       Gardens
     - Le Parc des Mini-Châteaux
     - Parc Naturel Regional
       Loire-Anjou-Touraine
     - Tepacap Adventure Park

Bicycle and Walking Trails: We spent a wonderful morning walking the vineyard route at Le Puy-Notre-Dame (W of Montreuil-Bellay). We learnt about the process of producing wine starting from cépage and terroir, to learning about the work of a vineyard owner throughout the year, to that final all important process of dégustation! All we needed at the end was someone to hand us a fortifying glass of wine but unfortunately that didn’t happen! It would be possible to go round these routes on a mountain bike (VTT in French) or there are plenty of other opportunities for cycling on designated cycle paths or simply along the quiet backroads. Cycling is a pleasure, as along the rivers it is fairly level while away from the main water-routes the countryside is gently undulating. The Tourist Office is a good first port of call for hiring bikes.