The perfect, low-key way to enjoy the Loire like the French do

Fairy lights twinkle in the trees and the setting sun gives the river an orange glow. Laughter and chatter from groups of friends and families create a hum loud enough to drown out the live band that’s just started playing. Long wooden tables are scattered with plates of food and wine-filled glasses. I’m having dinner at a guinguette (pronounced “gan-get”) next to the Loire in the city of Tours. Originating on the banks of the Seine and Marne Rivers on the outskirts of Paris in the 18th century to provide cheap food, wine and musical entertainment to the working classes, these seasonal riverside café-bars eventually popped up next to waterways across France. Due to the rise of other forms of entertainment and increasing bans on bathing in rivers, guinguettes – the name is said to be derived from a cheap white wine called “guinguet” – mostly died out by the 1960s, only to be successfully revived in recent decades. Shorts My guide, Nicolas, from the tour company Loire Valley Travel, tells me: “Guinguettes had a resurgence about 20 years ago. Traditionally, they were places to go for cheap wine and food as well as music and dancing in a convivial setting. “But now their style has expanded for modern tastes and we have guinguettes without music, with play areas for kids, near lakes or on boats, for example. Between May and September, the Loire has some excellent options – in Tours and elsewhere.” Tours, about an hour west of Paris and the largest city in France’s Centre-Val-de-Loire region, has five guinguettes along the river in the city centre. La Plage focusing on wellbeing in a natural setting (Photo: Jean-Christophe Coutand) La Plage focuses on wellbeing in a peaceful natural setting, without music, offering yoga classes and activities such as pétanque and board games. Le Bar à Mômes has a kids’ play area. Le Foudre puts on rock concerts and Chez Dupont is renowned for its burgers and techno music. Although I’m not sure how Dupont’s DJ competes with the groups of young people along the riverbank blasting French hip hop out of their own speakers. I settle down for dinner at La Petite Embarque, where the kitchen is overseen by Pauline Carasco, who previously worked at Sketch – an eye-catching, Michelin-listed restaurant in London. Her dishes, inspired by her travels and made with local produce, are a far cry from the “simple food” served in guinguettes of old. Here you’ll find the likes of Loire fish fritters or Moroccan lamb kebabs with chickpeas. Naturally, the wines, craft beer and spirits are mostly local. Guinguette prices vary, with some high-end restaurants among the mix, but La Petite Embarque’s are reasonable, with a kebab for €10 (£8.55), for example. The riverside is popular for socialising and not just at the guinguettes (Photo: ADT Touraine – JC Coutand) I’m keen to combine guinguettes with wine tasting, and the following day, I head west. Although I am being driven in one of Loire Valley Travel’s six-seater vans, it is following part of the 900-km (559-mile) Loire à Vélo cycle route, which runs along the stretch of the Loire’s riverbanks that are part of the “living cultural landscape” Unesco World Heritage Site. I pass through AOC (Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée, a wine classification) vineyards and past some of this area’s best-known châteaux, including Villandry. The privately owned Renaissance manor house is regarded as one of the finest châteaux in France, particularly for its nine hectares of gardens – laid out in the early 20th century based on designs from 1540 – which have the Remarkable Gardens of France label. Châteaux Villandry has grand, manicured gardens (Photo: Adt_Touraine_M_​Davain) A 15-minute drive further west brings me to the village of Bréhémont. It’s here that Ambroise Voreux, who took part in season 13 of Top Chef (France’s equivalent of MasterChef: The Professionals), has opened a restaurant. La Cabane à Matelot (The Fisherman’s Cabin) is aptly named, as Ambroise’s menu focuses exclusively on fish, including catfish and roach, hauled straight out of the Loire by his fisherman friend and business partner Romain. Visitors can even book several different kinds of boat trips, including fishing and nature outings, via the website. Like Pauline in Tours, Ambroise is one of the young chef-entrepreneurs bringing guinguettes into the 21st century. He tells me: “This year we have moored a barge opposite the restaurant so that clients can have a different experience – on the river. La Guimbarge is open from morning to night this summer and will have a different ambience at different times of the day, with occasional live music.” There’s only one way to end this trip and that’s to spend the night in a château next to the river. On a hill on the north side of the Loire, the family-owned four-star Château de Rochecotte dates to the 18th century and has 37 quietly luxurious bedrooms as well as a refined restaurant in a palatial dining room. Soon after checking in, I grab a drink and snacks and sit next to the outdoor swimming pool, creating my own little guinguette. The entrepreneurial spirit of Pauline and Ambroise has rubbed off on me. Getting there The writer was a guest of Touraine Val de Loire. Ryanair has flights from Stansted to Tours. You can travel from London to Tours by train, by taking the Eurostar to Paris, changing from Paris Gare du Nord to Paris Montparnasse and then catching a high-speed service to Tours. Staying there Rooms at the Château de Rochecotte start from €129/£109. More information tourainevaldeloire.com