| MAYENNE | Department of NW France in the Pays de la Loire region; capital, Laval (7) |
| SARTHE | Department in the Pays de la Loire, capital Le Mans |
| CHER | 15th-largest by area of the 101 departments of France, in the Centre-Val de Loire region; capital, Bourges (4) |
| CALVADOS | Department of NW France in which the town of Bayeux, noted for its eponymous medieval tapestry, is located (8) |
| CAEN | Port city of NW France in which William the Conqueror was buried in 1087 (4) |
| ROUEN | City on the Seine river in NW France in which Joan of Arc was tried and executed in 1431 (5) |
| NANTES | Capital of the Pays de la Loire region in France (6) |
| ESSONNE | French department south of Paris in the Ile-de-France region; capital: Evry (7) |
| GIRONDE | Largest mainland department of France, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region; capital, Bordeaux (7) |
| LED | Showed the way around what's in Pays de la Loire (3) |
| DELILAH | Samson's downfall was due to this seductress in the pay of the Philistines |
| UMBRIAN | Native of an Italian region, capital Perugia (7) |
| STIPEND | Delight by putting extra money in the pay (7) |
| LALOIRE | Pays de ___ (Nantes's region) |
| TUSCANY | Italian region, capital Florence (7) |
| LOIRE | Department of E central France in the Rhene-Alpes region; capital, Saint Etienne (5) |
| ORNE | Department of NW France whose capital is Alencon (4) |
| CHENINBLANC | White grape grown in the Loire region of France and elsewhere, used for making wine (6,5) |
| COTES | __-d'Armor, department of NW France |
| MUSCADET | A dry white wine from the western part of the Loire region (8) |
