The longest river in France, its valley lined with fairy-tale châteaux and vineyards.
Length
1,012 km
Source
Massif Central, France
Mouth
Bay of Biscay / Atlantic
Continent
Europe
Countries
France
Did you know?
The Loire valley holds hundreds of Renaissance châteaux and is a World Heritage 'Garden of France'.
Little-known fact
It is one of the last large rivers in Europe to run largely wild, with shifting sandbanks and no major dams on its lower course.
Highlights
- Longest river in France
- Lined with Renaissance châteaux
- One of Europe's last wild rivers
Life in the Loire
The fish and animals, waterbirds and water plants — including some of the rarest — that this water supports.
Animals & fish
Atlantic salmon
The “king of fish” — it is born in a river, grows at sea, then fights its way back upstream to spawn where it hatched.
Eurasian otter
A sleek, playful hunter whose return to a river is a sign the water has run clean again.
Waterbirds
Common kingfisher
A dazzling blue-and-orange dart that plunges from a perch to spear fish in an instant.
Grey heron
A patient, statue-still angler that stalks the shallows of rivers and lakes across the Old World.
Mute swan
The great white swan of European waters, gliding in pairs that often mate for life.
Water plants & reeds
Water lily
Rooted in the mud, its round pads and star-like flowers float on the still surface of lakes and backwaters.
Interactive · 3D journey
Journey of a river · source → sea
Every river runs the same great journey — from an icy mountain spring, down through gorges and looping meanders, to a wide delta where it meets the sea. Tap a stage to follow the water downstream.
Tip: hover to tilt the valley · tap a stage to float downstream
The Source
Every river begins high up — in a mountain spring, a melting glacier or a boggy upland. The water is cold, clear and fast, tumbling down the steepest ground of its whole journey.
Landforms here