France: The Loire
by Phillipe Barbour

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Book Reviews of France: The Loire

Book Review: Background History for Visiting the Chateaux
Summary: 5 Stars

Philippe Barbour's excellent guide gives you the background to travel intelligently. You, too, will know how Charles VIII, Conqueror of Milan, died (by bumping his head on a low door at the Chateau of Amboise); how it happens that the Chateau of Cheverny still sports its original furnishings (the same family has dwelt there since before the Revolution); and how Marie de Medicis disposed of her dead husband's mistress Diane de Poitiers (she exiled her to the Cheateau de Chaumont -- I can imagine a worse fate). You will learn that the Loire was not only the home of the French kings, but also the literary giants Rabelais and Balzac, both of whom wrote prolifically about the valley of their birth.

At the same time, Barbour's book is a highly acceptable guidebook for accommodations and restaurants -- if you remember that the book was published in 1997. Cadogan does not redo its guides every year, so they tend to emphasize background information that supplements other, more up-to-date guides like those produced by Rick Steves or Frommer.

If you don't want to travel uninformed, this is perhaps your best bet for obtaining the background you need painlessly.

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