Centre-Val de Loire (, , ,In isolation, ''Centre'' is pronounced . ) or Centre Region (french: région Centre, link=no, ), as it was known until 2015, is one of the eighteen administrative regions of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. It straddles the middle Loire Valley in the interior of the country, with a population of 2,572,853 as of 2018. Its prefecture is

Orléans Orléans (;"Orleans"
(US) and Tours Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the prefecture of the department of Indre-et-Loire. The commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabitants as of 2018 while the population of the whole metro ...

Naming and etymology

Like many contemporary regions of France, the region of Centre-Val de Loire was created from parts of historical provinces: , and . First, the name was chosen by the government purely on the basis of geography, in reference to its location in northwest-central France (the central part of the original French language area). However, Centre is not situated in the geographical centre of France (except the Cher department); the name was criticised as being too dull and nondescript. Proposed names for the region included after the Loire Valley (the main feature of the region) or (Heart of Loire). On 17 January 2015, as part of the reorganisation of French regions, the region's official name was changed to . is associated with positive images of the Loire Valley, such as the , the gentle and refined lifestyle, wine, as well as the mild and temperate climate, all of which attract many tourists to the region. A new logo was also created.

Geography

1789 et 2022, Centre-Val de Loire et Île-de-France, noms

Bordering six other regions, Centre-Val-de-Loire borders the most of all eighteen regions in France. The bordering regions are

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

on the northwest,

Île-de-France The Île-de-France (, ; literally "Isle of France") is the most populous of the eighteen regions of France. Centred on the capital Paris, it is located in the north-central part of the country and often called the ''Région parisienne'' (; en, Pa ...

on the northeast,

Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Bourgogne-Franche-Comté (; , sometimes abbreviated BFC; Arpitan: ''Borgogne-Franche-Comtât'') is a region in Eastern France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions, from a merger of Burgundy and Franche-Comté. The new region ...

on the east, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes on the southeast,

Nouvelle-Aquitaine Nouvelle-Aquitaine (; oc, Nòva Aquitània or ; eu, Akitania Berria; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Novéle-Aguiéne'') is the largest administrative region in France, spanning the west and southwest of the mainland. The region was created by ...

on the southwest and Pays de la Loire on the west.

Departments

Centre-Val de Loire comprises six departments: Cher,

Eure-et-Loir Eure-et-Loir (, locally: ) is a French department, named after the Eure and Loir rivers. It is located in the region of Centre-Val de Loire. In 2019, Eure-et-Loir had a population of 431,575.Indre,

Indre-et-Loire Indre-et-Loire () is a department in west-central France named after the Indre River and Loire River. In 2019, it had a population of 610,079.Loir-et-Cher and

Loiret Loiret (; ) is a department in the Centre-Val de Loire region of north-central France. It takes its name from the river Loiret, which is contained wholly within the department. In 2019, Loiret had a population of 680,434.< ...

Largest cities

Tours Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the prefecture of the department of Indre-et-Loire. The commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabitants as of 2018 while the population of the whole metro ...

with 136,463 inhabitants (2018) *

Orléans Orléans (;"Orleans"
(US) and Bourges with 64,668 inhabitants (2018) *

Blois Blois ( ; ) is a commune and the capital city of Loir-et-Cher department, in Centre-Val de Loire, France, on the banks of the lower Loire river between Orléans and Tours. With 45,898 inhabitants by 2019, Blois is the most populated city of the ...

with 45,871 inhabitants (2018) *

Châteauroux Châteauroux (; ; oc, Chasteurós) is the capital city of the French department of Indre, central France and the second-largest town in the province of Berry, after Bourges. Its residents are called ''Castelroussins'' () in French. Climate ...

with 43,442 inhabitants (2018) * Chartres with 38,426 inhabitants (2018) *

Joué-lès-Tours Joué-lès-Tours (, literally ''Joué near Tours'') is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France. It is the largest suburb of the city of Tours, and is adjacent to it on the southwest. Population Toponymy The name of Jou� ...

with 38,250 inhabitants (2018),

Tours Métropole Val de Loire Tours Métropole Val de Loire is the '' métropole'', an intercommunal structure, centred on the city of Tours. It is located in the Indre-et-Loire department, in the Centre-Val de Loire region, central France. It was created in March 2017, repl ...

* Dreux with 30,664 inhabitants (2018) *

Vierzon Vierzon () is a commune in the Cher department, Centre-Val de Loire, France. Geography A medium-sized town by the banks of the river Cher with some light industry and an area of forestry and farming to the north. It is situated some northwe ...

with 25,725 inhabitants (2018) * Olivet with 22,168 inhabitants (2018), Orléans Métropole

Economy

The

gross domestic product Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is oft ...

(GDP) of the region was 72.4 billion euros in 2018, accounting for 3.1% of French economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 25,200 euros or 84% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 99% of the EU average. An economic development agency, called Centréco, was created in 1994 by the Regional Council of Centre to promote the inflow of investments and the establishment setting-up of new businesses French and foreign companies in the Centre region. This ensures a mission of economic promotion, international support to regional companies and enhancement promotion of regional agrofood products via a regional signature, du Centre.

Gallery

File:Bridge of Jacques-Gabriel in Blois 02.jpg, alt=,

File:Cathédrale Saint-Étienne 7SC2336CFP.jpg, alt=, Bourges File:Notre Dame de Chartres.jpg, alt=, Chartres File:Châteauroux Église Saint-André Chor 2.jpg, alt=,

File:France Orleans Cathedrale Pont Georges V 01.JPG, alt=,

Notes

References

External links

*
Centre : on the road of the châteaux
- Official French website (in English) *
Website of the agency for promotion and economic development of the Centre / Loire Valley region
- overview of the region and main attractions

- information on the region and its departments {{Coord, 47, 30, N, 1, 45, E, region:FR_type:adm1st_source:GNS-enwiki, display=title Regions of France NUTS 2 statistical regions of the European Union Centre region articles needing translation from French Wikipedia States and territories established in 2015