Cliff09

Any suggestions on the best way to do a day trip to the Loire valley from Paris? Agency tour, train self tour? We will be in Paris mid October 2011

qwovadis

http://www.viator.com/tours/Paris/Lo...stles-Day-Trip

a great way to see a lot...

When there last I actually stayed at Chateau D'Esclimont

had a beautiful room it was awesome paid like 139 euro

toured nearby www.chartres-tourisme.com cathedral there

a do not miss for me...

More time on your own is best... happy travels!

Sarastro

Generally, I would discourage anyone´s thinking that a destination of 3+ hours drive from Paris (and 3+ hours back) makes a good day trip. It´s just too far away and offers too much to explore and visit all on its own. There are many wonderful châteaux to visit much nearer Paris: Versailles, Fontainebleau, Chantilly, Vaux-le-Vicomte. The Loire Valley makes rather a splendid 2-3 day excursion from Paris.

None the less, should anyone insist perhaps the easiest and most comfortable way to explore the valley would be to take the early morning TGV from Montparnasse to Tours Centre (not St Pierre des Corps), walk across the street to the Office de Tourisme and take one of the mini bus tours. Nothing worse than spending basically the entire day crammed into a bus full of strangers. The TGV will get you there sufficiently early in the day to allow for maximum use of the ever diminishing daylight which is one of the biggest disadvantages of visiting the French countryside in late fall/early winter.

For train information:

www.voyages-sncf.com (in French only)
www.tgv-europe.com

For touristic information:

www.ligeris.com

sassy27

We did this day tour in March 2011 http://tinyurl.com/3jc6jea. While it was an all day tour, I don't recall being overly tired when we returned to Paris. It was a nice preview of what Loire Valley has to offer. I can tell you the review are correct. There were the only 4 of us who spoke English, so the guide talked in the other languages before switching to English. He did apologize and to be honest, it didn't bother me. My self do it tours are never a success, so this tour worked for us.

nytraveler

Almost al of the chateaux are out in the countrysdie - not near public transit - so your choices are:

1) day tour from Paris
2) train to tours and van tour from there
3) rent a car

We have been twce- renting a car both times - but once was 4 days and the other was 6 days. In one day from Paris you can see - quickly - 2 chateaux. More than that just isn;t realistic. Be sure to pick the ones that represent what YOU want to see (gardens, furnushings, grounds, the grandest or the homiest).

gh21

Many years ago we rented a car early AM near Gare du Nord and drove to Loire valley for the day. Saw three chateaux and returned the car to Orly that evening. Stayed at a hotel near Orly before flying back to US the next morning.

Langcraft

You can visit the city of Angers, which in only 90 minutes from Paris (Gare Montparnasse) via the TGV. The Chateau d'Angers whch dates back to the 13th century is only a 10 minute walk from the train station. Within the Chateau is a gallery containing the Apocalypse Tapestries, woven in 1375. There is also the Cathedrale St. Maurice to visit and you can meander along Place St. Croix which is a pedestrian only zone

denisea

We went by train and then had transportation once we got to the Loire. I can't remember the name of the company (sorry). We spent a little time in Amboise, then to a winery for Vouvray and the afternoon at Chenonceau-which was fabulous. It was a great day, but the train to and from made it possible.