Transport and access are factors that should be considered seriously when choosing the location of your French property. The Loire Valley area is very well served with a generous selection of airports.
Let’s take Saumur as a an example…
Tours Airport lies to the east and is around 1h10mins by car. Several companies offer car hire at the airport, but it’s always better to book before. More information (in English) at Aéroport Tours Val de Loire The main air route is provided by Ryanair which runs 3/4 services each way per week from London Stansted, twice a week from/to Manchester plus Dublin and Southampton in the summer season.
Poitiers Airport is a little further away, but may be a good option if you are looking further south. Ryanair operates 3/4 flights a week to /from London Stansted and to/from Edinburgh in July and August. Car hire pick up point here for several companies. More information at Aéroport de Poitiers-Biard.
For a wider selection of flights, Nantes Atlantique Airport may be a better choice. Around 1h50 mins from SaumurCityJet flies to/from London City airport and Flybe from/to Gatwick most days and Manchester 3/4 times a week. Ryanair flies 3/4 times a week from Dublin and twice a week from Shannon. From Nantes, you can fly to a vast range of other European countries. More in English at Aéroport Nantes Atlantique.
If you are arriving in Paris by air from an international destination, Saumur is easily reached by TGV (Train Grande Vitesse), the super-fast, comfortable express trains France is justifiably proud of, changing at Tours (or nearby St Pierre des Corps) for a TER train to Saumur. Do look at the Voyages-sncf website for details.
But we’ll look at trains in more detail in another post…
STOP PRESS! From 29 May 2012, we understand BA City Flyer will be running a service three times a week from Angers to London City Airport. Only 40 minutes from the Airport to Saumur. More at Angers-Loire Aéroport. Something we will definitely be investigating ourselves!
(The small print stuff: we don’t get any money or other consideration from any of the carriers mentioned. Timetables and routes change all the time so please look at their websites, ask other people and read the trade press before making any bookings. And all times and distances are approximate.)
One question I’m constantly asked about the Loire Valley area is ‘What’s the weather like and how does it compare with other regions?’
Basically, France has four broad climatic zones:
maritime, which includes most of north-west France with cool/mild winters and cool to warm summers. In western Brittany, for example the average temperature is around 6C/43 °F in January and 18C/65F in July with around 85 cms/33 inches of rain in a year with a prevailing west wind.
semi-continental with cold, snowy winters and hot summers, with summer storms, typically in Alsace-Lorraine, down the Rhone corridor and in the mountains (Alps, Pyrenees, Massif Central). The greatest temperature range in France is experienced in the city of Strasbourg with a hot, sometimes stuffy summer and cold winters; over 80 days with frost and snow cover for several weeks, but tempered by winter sunshine.
intermediate with cold winters and hot summers in the North, the Paris region and the central region. Temperature ranges between 20°C and 26°C from May to October. Springtime in Paris is mild and relatively dry, and the autumn is equally extended. July and August are the warmest months. Daily average maximum temperatures range from 6°C/43F in January to 26°C/79F in August. The wettest month on average is October (71 mm/28 inches), when heavy thunderstorms are possible.
Mediterranean zone with hot, dry summers and warm, wet winters, found in the south of France, the valley of the lower Rhone River over to Montelimar area and Corsica. Any noticeable rain comes in spring and autumn. Le mistral, a strong, cold, dry wind blows in over the winter for periods of only a few days up to a couple of weeks.The Mediterranean coastline and Corsica have plenty of sunshine during the summer months, and refreshing sea breezes. Average daily maximum temperatures reach a warm 28°C/83F in August, and an average of 12 hours of sunshine per day.
Sunshine hours (Courtesy of Météo-France)
And then, there’s the Loire Valley and the area immediately south, the start of the Poitou-Charentes. The Loire is the boundary where the northern maritime gives way to warmer temperatures of the south. Although there are frosts now and again, prolonged bad weather in winter is rare.
The spring starts early, often in February and autumn can stretch into early November. Summers are warm with long, long hours of clear sunshine. July and August temperatures south of the Loire in, for example, the Thouet Valley can reach the mid 30sC (85F+) on some days. Thankfully, not every day! And there’s often a soft warm breeze… Pretty heavenly in my book.
More information and daily forecasts at Météo-France
The Great European Freeze is over! The weather last Saturday evening was an abnormal -10C but by Monday lunchtime it had flipped up to +11C, a massive difference of 21C! And the snow has vanished.
Today, I sat on the terrace with a friend in 14C enjoying the warm sunshine. We reminded each other that sitting outside was what we normally did in February in the Deux-Sèvres. This is one of the reasons we moved to France.
The great European freeze has continued. But Météo-France promises us above zero temperature by the middle of next week. Last February, we were in tee-shirts and working in the garden, so I can say this year of the great European freeze has been exceptional.
But we have been given some breathtaking sights during this strange weather. I went up to Saumur today for a regular visit and filmed the Loire at its weirdest.
Tours Airport lies to the east and is around 1h10mins by car. Several companies offer car hire at the airport, but it’s always better to book before. More information (in English) at Aéroport Tours Val de Loire The main air route is provided by Ryanair which runs 3/4 services each way per week from London Stansted, twice a week from/to Manchester plus Dublin and Southampton in the summer season.
