Centre-Val de Loire

Centre-Val de Loire
Centre-Val de Loire
	Region o Fraunce
	Banner
Kintra	Fraunce
Prefectur	Orléans
Departments	6 Cher; Eure-et-Loir; Indre; Indre-et-Loire; Loir-et-Cher; Loiret;
Govrenment
• Preses	François Bonneau (PS)
Area
• Total	39151 km2 (15,116 sq mi)
Population (2008-01-01)
• Total	2,538,000
• Density	65/km2 (170/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
GDP (2006)	Rankit {{{GDP_rank}}}
Tot	€63 billion (US${{{GDP_US$}}} bn)
Per capita	€25,200 (US${{{GDP_per_capita_US$}}})
NUTS Region	FR2
Website	regioncentre.fr

Centre-Val de Loire (French pronunciation: [sɑ̃tʁ(ə) val də lwaʁ]; Scots: Centre-Loire Valley) is ane o the 18 admeenistrative regions o Fraunce, locatit towards the northwest o the actual centre o the kintra, aroond the Loire Valley, the Val-de-Loire. Its caipital is Orléans, although its lairgest ceety is Tours.

Features

The main featur o Centre is the Loire Valley. It includes the rich, fertile valleys o the Loire River an its tributaries: Cher, Indre, Loiret, etc. Centre contains the famous châteaux o the Loire Valley, which attract mony tourists tae the region. The climate o the region is essentially oceanic.

Name

Forest in Eure-et-Loir, Centre

The name Centre wis chosen bi the French central govrenment based purely on geography, as Centre is composed o ower mony historical provinces tae uise a historical name. Housomeivver, Centre is no in the geographical centre o Fraunce, an the name haes been criticized as being owerly dull an nondescript.

It haes been proposed tae rename the region Val de Loire (i.e. "Valley o the Loire") or an aw "Coeur de Loire" (i.e. "Hert o Loire), which wad give mair character tae the name o the region. Val de Loire is a name associatit wi positive images o the Loire Valley, such as the chateaux, the gentle an refined lifestyle, wine, the mild an temperate climate. The name chynge haes been adoptit.