Blois is a town in the [wiki=bde2842015124f97861fbb1cc9498d4b]Loir-et-Cher[/wiki] department of [wiki=b388a30fa94cbd9290546e9ad4f482da]central France[/wiki], almost equidistant between [wiki=9b6b4233a624fd66f3218841d617f3b1]Tours[/wiki] and [wiki=c615af682f23d36dfbd3c7f8c02a133d]Orléans[/wiki]. It is an ideal base to visit the Châteaux of the [wiki=b0cfbf7d785f2f99974bb29a054f384e]Loire Valley[/wiki] thanks to its central position in the World Heritage zone.