PICNICS & WILD SWIMMING

This is great fun, but be warned, La Vienne is a fairly fast-flowing river. It is easy to swim against the current though, in certain places, and La Belle Laveuse is Chinon’s designated swimming spot. Bring a picnic lunch and sit on the sandy riverbank after your dip. (If you’re planning to go here, check with us first as sometimes during the summer you can’t swim due to algae). Usually pretty deserted, it’s a lovely in-town picnic spot, even if you’re not swimming. The iron bridge that spans the river, that you duck under to reach La Belle Laveuse, was designed by none other than Gustave Eiffel.

There is also a beautiful picnic spot (the current is a bit too strong for swimming) should you want to explore further a field: Confluence Beach in Candes-Saint-Martin is a wonderful, small, triangular beach at the meeting point of the River Loire and the Vienne. It opens onto a great view over one of the most beautiful villages in France. More info here.