The Loire River, France’s longest, has its headwaters in the Alps in the southeast, then flows northward into the center of the country, then heads west to the Atlantic. The valley around it is known as the Garden of France for all the agriculture that goes on there, famously wine grapes but also apples & pears, asparagus, artichokes, and other very French things. It produces many wines, many of them quite famous, most of them delicious.