| CHAMBORD | French village in the Loire Valley, site of a 440room Renaissance chateau with a staircase designed by Leonardo da Vinci (8) |
| RUBENS | Flemish painter whose landscape of a crisp autumn morning in Het Steen details his chateau with a charm of finches, covey of partridges, hunter and a stalking hound set in meadows, parkland, pasturage |
| ESTAING | In which picturesque French village in the north of Aveyron is the bridge over the river Lot which forms part of a world heritage site? (7) |
| BOAT | General word for a seafaring sailing vessel with a staircase known as a companionway and other elements known nautically as cabin, galley and saloon (4) |
| ESCAPE | Make a getaway to the chateau with Dick and Angel Strawbridge (6) |
| DUPLEX | Apartment with a staircase |
| BARSAC | French village in the Gironde department, known for its sweet white wines (6) |
| GENEVA | City in southwest Switzerland, in the Rhone valley; site of the headquarters of the International Red Cross (6) |
| ANJOU | A former province of France, in the Loire Valley, the ruling family of which gave rise to the Plantagenets of England (5) |
| VEZELAY | This French village lies on a hill on the left bank of the Cure River. Its history is tied to its Benedictine abbey, founded in the 9th century. The abbey attracted pilgrims because the supposed remai |
| SCHELDT | River flowing from the French village of Gouy through the port of Antwerp to the North Sea (7) |
| TOURSOPERATOR | Switchboard worker in a French city in the Loire Valley? |
| CHATEAU | Grand French country house or castle, many of which are found in the Loire Valley |
| CHER | River in the Loire Valley spanned by the Chateau de Chenonceau (4) |
| SANCERRE | A dry white wine produced in the Loire Valley in France (8) |
| MUSCADET | A white grape, grown by winemakers in the Loire valley, originally called melon de Bourgogne (8) |
| POUILLYFUME | Dry white wine produced in the Loire valley from the sauvignon blanc grape |
| SIMI | ___ Valley (site of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library) |
| CHOCOLAT | Joanne Harris novel set in the French village of Lansquenetsous-Tannes (8) |
| VOUVRAY | A wine produced around Touraine in the Loire Valley (7) |
