Centre-Val de Loire

Centre-Val de Loire Centre e Vau de Léger  (Occitan)
Region of France
The Loire river as it passes through Orléans
Flag Coat of arms
Country	France
Prefecture	Orléans
Departments	6 Cher Eure-et-Loir Indre Indre-et-Loire Loir-et-Cher Loiret
Government
• President of the Regional Council	François Bonneau (PS)
Area
• Total	39,151 km^2 (15,116 sq mi)
• Rank	7th
Population  (Jan. 2019)[1]
• Total	2,573,180
• Density	66/km^2 (170/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 code	FR-CVL
GDP (2012)[2]	Ranked 9th
Total	€67.1 billion (US$86.3 bn)
Per capita	€26,126 (US$33,603)
NUTS Region	FR2
Largest city	Tours
Website	www.regioncentre-valdeloire.fr

Centre-Val de Loire is one of the administrative regions of France. Its capital is Orléans but its largest city is Tours.

It was formed in 2014 from the territories of three historical provinces: Touraine (Indre-et-Loire), Orléanais (Loiret, Eure-et-Loir, Loir-et-Cher), and Berry (Cher, Indre).

Geography

Old provinces that form the present region.

The Centre-Val de Loire region is the seventh largest region of France with an area of 39,150.9 km² (15,116 sq mi).^[3] It is in north central France and borders with 6 regions: Normandy to the northwest, Île-de-France to the north, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté to the east, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes to the southeast, Nouvelle-Aquitaine to the south and Pays de la Loire to the west.

The distances from Orléans, the capital of the region, to other cities are:

• Paris, the national capital, 132 km (82 mi);
• Bordeaux, 462 km (287 mi);
• Lyon, 466 km (290 mi);
• Marseille, 759 km (472 mi);
• Montpellier, 626 km (389 mi);
• Nice, 915 km (569 mi);
• Strasbourg, 584 km (363 mi);
• Toulouse, 555 km (345 mi).

Rivers

The Centre-Val de Loire is crossed by the longest French river: the Loire, 1,013 km (629 mi). Some other rivers that flow through the region are:

• Eure - 229 km (142 mi).
• Loir - 317 km (197 mi).
• Cher - 368 km (229 mi).
• Loing - 142 km (88 mi).
• Indre - 279 km (173 mi).

Mountains

The territory of the Centre-Val de Loire region is formed mostly by large plains and low plateaus.

The Le Magnoux (46°25′43″N 2°11′54″E), at 501 m (1,644 ft), is the highest point of the Centre-Val region.^[4] It is in northwestern Massif Central, in the southern end of the Cher department.

The highest point of the different departments in the Centre-Val de Loire region are:^[5]

Department	Mountain	Elevation
Cher	Le Magnoux	501 m (1,644 ft)
Eure-et-Loir	Butte de Rougemont	287 m (942 ft)
Indre	Terrior Randoin	457 m (1,499 ft)
Indre-et-Loire	Signal de la Ronde	186 m (610 ft)
Loir-et-Cher	Bois des Vallèes	256 m (840 ft)
Loiret	Col des Étourneaux	273 m (896 ft)

Departments

The Centre-Val de Loire region is formed by 6 departments:

ISO 3166-2	Shield	Department	Prefecture	Arr.	Cant.	Comm.	Population (2014)[6]	Area (km²)	Density (Inh./km²)
FR-18		Cher	Bourges	3	19	290	310,270	7,235.0	42.9
FR-28		Eure-et-Loir	Chartres	4	15	375	433,762	5,880.0	73.8
FR-36		Indre	Châteauroux	4	13	243	226,175	6,790.6	33.3
FR-37		Indre-et-Loire	Tours	3	19	273	603,924	6126.7	98.6
FR-41		Loir-et-Cher	Blois	3	15	276	333,567	6,343.4	52.6
FR-45		Loiret	Orléans	3	21	326	669,737	6,775.2	98.9
Total of the Region				20	102	1,783	2,577,435	39,150.9	65.8

Arr. = Arrondissements          Cant. = Cantons          Comm. = Communes

Demographics

As of 1 January 2014^[update], the Centre-Val de Loire region had a population of 2,577,435,^[7] for a population density of 65.8 inhabitants/km².

Statue of Joan of Arc, Place du Martroi, Orléans.

The main cities with more than 20,000 inhabitants (2014) in the region are:

INSEE code	City	Department	Population (2014)
37261	Tours	Indre-et-Loire	136,125
45234	Orléans	Loiret	114,977
18033	Bourges	Cher	66,528
41018	Blois	Loir-et-Cher	46,351
36044	Châteauroux	Indre	44,479
28085	Chartres	Eure-et-Loir	38,728
37122	Joué-lès-Tours	Indre-et-Loire	37,748
28134	Dreux	Eure-et-Loir	31,191
18279	Vierzon	Cher	27,050
45232	Olivet	Loiret	21,192
45147	Fleury-les-Aubrais	Loiret	20,791

Gallery

• 
  Castle of Tours.
• 
  Saint-Etienne cathedral, Bourges.
• 
  Blois City hall.
• 
  Musée Hôtel Bertrand, Châteauroux.

Related pages

• Touraine
• Regions of France

References

1. "Téléchargement du fichier d'ensemble des populations légales en 2019". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2020.
2. INSEE. "Produits intérieurs bruts régionaux et valeurs ajoutées régionales de 1990 à 2012". Retrieved 2014-03-04.
3. "Région du Centre-Val de Loire (24)". Comparateur de territoire (in French). Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques - INSEE. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
4. "Le Magnoux, France". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
5. "France Department High Points". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
6. "Populations légales 2014 des départements et des collectivités d'outre-mer" (in French). Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques - INSEE. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
7. "Populations légales 2014: Recensement de la population - Population des régions" (in French). Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques - INSEE. Retrieved 16 August 2017.

Other websites

• Regional Council website Archived 2016-01-09 at the Portuguese Web Archive (in French)
• Prefecture of the region (in French)

47°30′N 1°45′E