The department of the Indre-et-Loire is part of the Centre -Val de Loire Region of France, it was created from the former province of Touraine and includes many of the major chateaux of the Loire Valley and its cultural capital Tours. The main airport for the region is just outside Tours with good connections back into the city.

Many of the popular tourist attractions of the Loire Valley are in this delightful part of France. Medieval towns such as Chinon and Loches bring floods of tourists looking to gat a flavour of their rich cultural past and others like Amboise, with its De Vinci connection, can reveal a few surprises. .

It also has what is purported to be the oldest castle keep in France at Montbazon

The name 'Touraine', is still used by the tourist organization of the area to retain its links to the past and its culture. It contains three villages that are listed under the umbrella of the 'most beautiful villages in France', Candes-Saint-Martin, Montresor and Crissay-sur-Manse.

It also has some of the most popular wine growing areas of the Loire such as the appellation of Touraine itself plus Bourgueil, Vouvray and Montlouis-sur-Loire