Show Notes
The Touraine region in the Loire Valley in France is a magical place of fairy tale chateaux, French renaissance gardens, gastronomic restaurants, historic royal towns and world renowned vineyards.
Welcome to part 2 of my Loire special series and I’m delighted to say I have the wonderful Geoffrey Vivard of https://www.tastingwithnivard.co.uk/
The Loire is all about locally sourced food and it is famous around the world for its wines and cheeses, so we are lucky to have the previous cheesemonger for the last Queen of England and Clarence House, Geoffrey Nivard to guide us through the best cheese and wines of the Loire.
I got to experience Geoffrey do a cheese and wine tasing at stunning the stunning https://www.chateau-nitray.fr on my recent trip to the Loire.
Starting in 2026 Aer Lingus Regional, exclusively operated by Emerald Airlines, will fly the only direct service between Tours and Dublin from Saturday, 6th of June and operating until 29th of August, the service will operate once weekly on Saturdays.
Places to visit & Stay https://www.tastingwithnivard.co.uk https://www.chateau-nitray.fr https://chateaudenoizay.com https://loirevalleylodges.com https://www.chateaudurivau.com https://www.azay-le-rideau.fr/en Tours - https://www.labe-hotel.com/en/ Chinon - https://barondelatruffe.com/en https://www.chateaudecandes.com/en/ Vineyard lunch https://www.domainedegrosbois.com/ Lunch and wine trip on the Loire - https://les-pecheries-ligeriennes.fr/restaurant-la-cabane-a-matelot.html
If you haven’t already, I'd ask you to give me a follow on whichever platform you listen to your podcasts and you will be the first to get a new episode. Fergal O’Keeffe is the host of Ireland’s No.1 Travel Podcast Travel Tales with Fergal which is now listened to in 120 countries worldwide. The podcast aims to share soul-lifting travel memoirs about daydream worthy destinations.
Please follow me on Instagram @traveltaleswithfergal Facebook @traveltaleswithfergal Twitter @FergalTravel YouTube @traveltaleswithfergal Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More from Travel Tales with Fergal
Many ski resorts are reporting their first snow falls, so I’m delighted to bring you my first Ski Special of the 2026/27 season.
In Part 2 of this special road-trip edition, I am once again joined by travel writer Conor Power.
In Part 1 of this special two-part edition, I am joined by travel writer Conor Power to explore the Basque Country across northern Spain and south-western France.
I am delighted to have Irish travel writer Deirdre Mullins to talk about one of the most spectacular walking routes in Europe, the Rota Vicentina.
I recently had the chance to spend some time travelling through Alentejo in Portugal, and it is a region that really stayed with me.