Staying at Les Fleurs self catering accommodation in the Loire  gives guests the opportunity to visit many places of interest and within a few minutes are:-

Puy Notre Dame  (Puy derives from the Provencal word "Puech", meaning an isolated hill.) The church tower is illuminated in the evening by a star which can be seen from the courtyard of Les Fleurs self catering gites in the Loire  
Construction of the church began in 1163. The choir was finished in 1182 followed by the Nave in 1208, and the towers sometime between 1225-1250.
Le Puy (Podio beatae Mariae in the 7th century had become known as Puy-la-Montagne by 1793 and the hill of Puy as Mary's Mountain. William 9th, Duke of Aquitaine is reputed to have brought back a waistband of the Virgin Mary from the Crusades and deposited it in the church. His granddaughter Eleanor of Aquitaine founded a collegial church to honour the relic which, according to legend, facilitated pregnancies and male offspring. Louis XI founded a chapter about 1480 and this became a site of pilgrimage the Sunday after September 8, the Nativity. The relic can still be viewed here.
The town became a stop on the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela (17th century houses used by the pilgrims still exist).
Its location between the territories of the Counts of Anjou and Aquitaine lent it strategic importance and traces of an encircling town wall remain

The routes to Santiago de Compostela
From the 10th century to the present day, pilgrims have made their way to Santiago along four traditional routes. Tours (Paris), Vézelay, le Puy-en-Velay and Arles were named in the 12th century Pilgrim's Guide attributed to Aimery Picaud as the assembly points for pilgrims coming from all over Europe, including Britain and Ireland.  Each of these was the site of a shrine celebrated in its own right, at which the pilgrims would worship before proceeding. The stages of the routes were marked by further shrines competing for patronage and for relics, for the interest of the pilgrims, and the business they brought with them.  Monasteries and pilgrim hospices were built along the way to minister to the needs of pilgrims.  The glories of Romanesque architecture and sculpture still mark these and other minor routes that parallel or converge on them.
In northern Spain the four routes merged to become the so-called Camino Francés that passed across Castile, through Burgos and León to Santiago de Compostela.
It is still possible to follow these medieval routes without too much trouble, though some of the original footpaths have become modern roads.  They pass through some of the most beautiful, historic and interesting countryside in France and Spain, before arriving in the distinctive Celtic region of Galicia bordering the Atlantic.

 Montreuil Bellay

A lovely town bordering the river with the imposing chateau towering above (its one of the towns your personal pilot and host will fly you over when staying at Les Fleurs self catering gites in the Loire) 

The first castle was built in the eleventh century by Foulques Nerra, Count of Anjou, on the foundations of what was a Roman Oppidum. Indefatigable warrior, insatiable builder, Foulques Nerra (also known as Black Falcon) was a member of an elite group of loyal subjects to the King.

Foulques Nerra gave the castle to his vassal, Giraud Berlay, (also known as Bellay). Montreuil-Bellay was then to become widely known as an impregnable fortress during the conflicts between the English and French monarchies. A three year siege was necessary to quieten the resistance of Giraud II Berlay. 

So strong was the Berlay attachment to the French Crown that King Philip Augustus held his court in Montreuil-Bellay in 1208, as did King Louis VIII in 1224. 

In the thirteenth century, Montreuil-Bellay, surrounded by immense forests belonging to the siegniory, was a popular centre for stag hunting and falconry. It is recorded that there were many impressive feasts held at that time. 

The fourteenth century then brought the Hundred Years War. Starving peasants in the locality took refuge in the moats of the castle and in the neighbouring monasteries, while Lord Montreuil-Bellay (Guillaume de Melun-Tancarville) died a glorious death in 1415 at the battle of Agincourt. His grandson, Guillaume d’Harcourt, married Yolande de Laval, sister-in-law of the King René. 

he Château, as we see it today, was constructed between the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries. The end of the Hundred Years War, brought about by the truce signed by Louis XI and Edward IV in Picquigny in 1475, put an end to the English influence. The architecture of the château evolved in a distinctive manner; the austere fortress built for defensive purposes then became a large country pile. It is an excellent testimony to the arrival of Renaissance Humanism.

Doue la Fontaine

Located between the North Loire and South Loire, Doue is in the heart of the Loire, a town rich in history and formed by it.

20 25 million years ago the present location of the town was covered by the Falun Sea, as the sea seeped away it left a thick layer of fossilized limestone. We have discovered many fossils in the gardens of the gites and some of these are on display in the office/shop. 

The name Doue came from Theoadus, “The Ford of God” which, in 814 appeared for the first time as Doue. Louis the Pious, son of Charlemagne, had a residence here, and whilst living here he discovered that on the death of his father he would become king.  In the 10^th Century the royal residence was known as Carolingian House, it was, unfortunately burned to the ground. 

In the 16^th Century the open-air theatre, known as, les Arnes, was built on the site of old quarries. 

The 18^th Century was a prosperous time for the inhabitants of Doue and it was thanks to Baron Foullin, Lord of Doue, in 1765, that the town acquired a national reputation. The Baron was one of the first victims of the Revolution. His chateau was destroyed and the superb stables now house the museum. 

Doue was very wealthy and prosperous in the 18^th Century. Agriculture, craftwork and pre-industrial activity were very important.  There were 20 fairs and large markets held every year and the Monday market was established as long ago as 1841.   

The town gradually expanded through the centuries and today the inhabitant’s number almost 8,000.