LifeLong Adventure: Live it up in the Loire

The Loire Valley’s wealth of châteaux offer a chance to step – or indeed to cycle, kayak or balloon – back in time and this year’s Renaissance celebrations give even further reason to visit

Château de Chenonceau: once home to Catherine de Medici

It’s 40 degrees outside and I’m melting regally into my 16th-century kirtle. Attending a Renaissance ball may be one of the stickiest moments of my visit to the Loire Valley, but it’s also one of the most memorable. Learning to dance as 16th-century guests of the royal court did is a unique experience and it’s happening at the Château d’Amboise, the very heart of the French Renaissance.

Just a few metres away, Château ...