Loire Valley Time Travel

On all of our tours we use classic 1950's Citroën Traction Avant cars*.

Picture yourself travelling the quiet roads of the Loire Valley in a stylish classic car with your own driver and guide. Iconic and instantly recognisable, the Citroën Traction Avant is spacious and comfortable with a back seat that is often compared to a couch, and a remarkable amount of leg room for passengers. Once out and about we often meet locals who tell us that the car they learned to drive in was a Traction Avant, or that it is the first car they can remember a family member owning.

*Please note that during winter months we may not be able to use our classic cars. They do not have adequate heating, and we do not use them if the roads have been salted for ice.


Meet Célestine and Claudette, the cars of Loire Valley Time Travel


Designed in 1934 this technical wonder was one of the world's most innovative cars: the first mass produced car to combine front wheel drive, independent suspension on all four wheels, and unitary (or unibody) construction. This allowed Citroën to build a safer, lower and lighter car, with improved handling and ride.

The Citroen Traction avant cars of Loire Valley Time Travel

Our cars are from the 1950's: Célestine was built in 1953 and Claudette in 1956. Both are the 11B variant of the car, the large 4 cylinder saloon capable of carrying 5 adults. By the time they were built the Traction Avant was still more expensive than many of its rivals, but seen as a large family car for the middle classes.

Although both cars have been fully restored they are not showcars: we keep our cars are as close as practical to their original configuration to give as authentic as possible French 1950's road trip ambience. We often return to the cars to find they are being photographed, or a crowd has gathered around them.

The Loire Valley Time Travel Cars



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