Montresor-village

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Montresor
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Loire Valley
Loire Valley
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Montresor
Montresor village skyline with the church taking centre stage
The beautiful village of
Montrésor
is located in the department of Indre-et-Loire, 1 hour southeast of Tours and 17km east of the medieval town of
Loches.
Montrésor is listed as one of the '
Most beautiful villages in France
', it is indeed a very pretty place - these awards are given to villages in France (151 at the last count) that share the same passion and ambition to promote and recognize the quality of their heritage, history, culture and their desire to conserve their individuality and authenticity.
the beautiful village of Montresor in the Loire Valley
winding street in Montresor
lavoir on Indrois river at Montresor village in the Loire Valley
Down on the river Indrois  you will find the old water mill and the lavoir. In the lower town the market place has its ancient timbered 'Halle aux Grains'.
It also has some very pretty little
half-timbered
houses spread along the Indrois River.
The area is ideal for walking and exploring and full of pleasant surprises.
church at Montresor viewed from chateau gate
View along the wall of Montresor chateau
The delightful
Chateau de  Montresor
sits on its prominent position overlooking the village while the in the heart of the upper village, there is what seems an overly grand church dedicated to St. John the Baptist. Built between 1519 & 1541 in the Gothic style but with a Renaissance portal. The college at the bottom of the nave, founded by Imbert de Bastarnay houses his tomb, it has three magnificent white marble effigies. Inside there is a 17th century painting 'the Annunciation by Philippe de Champaigne.
The legend of Montrésor
.
There is a local legend surrounding the name of  Montrésor, a popular version of which tells that many many years ago when a handsome prince and his servant stopped at the rocks near the village, exhausted from much travelling, the servant dreamed of marrying a beautiful princess, far above his station. He woke to find a lizard crawling over his master's face.
photo of lizard to refer to the lrgend of Montresor
As he went to kill it, the prince awoke and realised the lizard had a message for them. It disappeared into a hole in the rock to reappear a moment later covered in gold dust. Opening the hole the two men discovered gold beyond their wildest dreams. The prince was able to build a castle on top of the rock, calling it Mon Trésor and putting his servant in charge. The servant was now rich enough to marry the beautiful princess of his dreams and they all lived happily ever after. A less romantic, if not more plausible meaning for the name is that one of the original lords of the village was treasurer of the cathedral at Tours so the place was known as "mons thesauri," or the mount of the treasurer eventually  becoming Montrésor.

Location:


 

Directions and time to Montresor
External links:
http://www.tourisme-valdindrois-montresor.com/
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"Author: Jim Craig"
Rentals
C
hoose a village house to rent in the Loire Valley direct from the owners.
'Old Walnut Mill
'
Sleeps up to 4
Barrou
Great barn conversion in village of Barrou
'Le Bourg'
Sleeps up to 6
Barrou
'La Belle Vue'
Sleeps 2
Barrou
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