Despite named Centre, this region is not geographically in the centre of France. The name was chosen by the French government, but has been criticized as being dull and non-descript. There are suggestions to change the name to Val de Loire (Valley of the Loire) to provide it with a more romantic feel.
It comprises of six departments, Cher, Eure-et-Loir, Indre, Indre-et-Loire, Loir-et-Cher and Loiret. Its capital is Orleans despite Tours being the largest city in the region.
It is the ninth most populated region of France with some 2.5 million residents. Spread over the wide area of the six departments it contains, the countryside is certainly not hampered by habitations and towns.
Property prices are generally lower than the national average, so a new lifestyle in a beautiful historic setting can be attained very easily. Many properties are built of the local stone and the architecture is quite different to other regions of France. Typically medium-steep slate roofs, stone built with a chaux render and corner blocks, houses here are charming and quaint.
As with most other regions of France, transportation in the area is excellent. With several motorways cris-crossing the region, travel is simple and quick. Tours has a small international airport making trips to the UK or elsewhere easy.
Rich with history and very popular with the old royal families of France, it is quite bizarre that it hasn't been the major attraction that some other regions of France have been for immigrants. However, this region still provides many lower priced properties in comparison with the more popular areas and offers no less in the way of countryside, lifestyle, wines and cheeses. And of course, being a maximum of 4 hours away from Paris, the advantages are numerous.
Indeed, the region contains more chateaux per square kilometer than any other region of France. For history lovers, there is no better place to move to. The chateau in Loches where Joan of Arc made her plea to Charles VII to claim the French throne; Amboise near Tours where the great Leonardo Da Vinci lived out his final days with complete support of the king; the magnificent chateaux of Chenonceau and the largest chateau in France, Chambord. These are just a few of the many historical highlights the region has been host to.
It is difficult to describe the climate as the region is so large, but suffice to say, there are areas of the region that rarely ever see snow when the remainder of France is covered with it and the summers are warm and friendly.
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