Step back into the region’s colourful medieval past and come face to face with some of England’s most notorious monarchs.

On the Trail of English Kings in France

Richard the Lionheart is surely one of England’s most iconic rulers. A fearsome crusader and warrior, he is perhaps best known as the absentee king of the Robin Hood legend, sweeping in at the end of the tale to restore order and tame the excesses of his cruel younger brother, Prince John.

It may be surprising to learn, therefore, that Richard’s final resting place was not in England itself, but rather in the Royal Abbey of Fontevraud, in France’s Loire Valley.