Indre-et-Loire, Administrative department in Centre-Val de Loire, France.
Indre-et-Loire is a department in the Centre-Val de Loire region that stretches along the Loire and its tributaries, covering rolling hills, vineyards, and forested areas. Tours, the capital, sits centrally and connects smaller towns such as Amboise, Loches, and Chinon.
The department was created in 1790 during the French Revolution from parts of the former province of Touraine along with sections of Orléanais, Anjou, and Poitou. Over centuries the region served as a retreat for French kings who built their residences along the Loire.
The name joins the two rivers Indre and Loire that flow through the territory and shape its landscape. Vineyards line the river valleys, and in the villages you notice houses built from pale tuffeau stone that softly reflects daylight.
The A10 motorway crosses the department from north to south, linking Paris and Bordeaux, while the A28 heads northward toward Le Mans. High-speed trains stop in Tours and provide connections to Paris, Bordeaux, and other French cities within short travel times.
The confluences of the Indre and the Vienne with the Loire create wide floodplains that were regularly flooded in earlier times, producing fertile soils. These soils now support the cultivation of grapes used to produce well-known wines such as Vouvray and Chinon.
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