Best base for staying in Loire Valley in late March without a car?
 

We want to spend 2 nights in the Loire Valley in late March. We will be traveling by train and do not plan to rent a car. What town is the best base for taking day tours to see the chateaus at this time of year? It seems that a lot of hotels are closed in the winter.

Depends which châteaux you wish to see. Use google to find what buses there are if you don't want to rent a car. They may not run in March yet - you have to find out.

From Blois there is a bus (a shuttle, in French "navette") that runs from the train station to the castles of Blois, Chambord, and Cheverny and back to the station. All three of these châteaux are very different from one another, and you'd want to get up real early if you want to see all three in one long day.

The english version of the website of the Blois navette is at www.bloischambord.co.uk

You also need to google the individual châteaux about their opening hours.

I suspect that there would be navettes from Tours to some of the châteaux over that way - google them and you 'll see.

Where are you arriving from/departing to?

You can get to some chateaux using public transport but I'd recommend a day tour. Tours is probably the best base for day tours.

I'd recommend seeing Chambord and Chenouceau.

Stay in Tours, specifically the area of Old Tours near Place Plumereau and rue Colbert. Other areas of Tours are not interesting for tourists.

I agree to stay in Tours. It's not a terribly agreeable town as far as French towns go, but it's your best bet for trying to use public transportation/day tours to the Loire Valley châteaux at that time of year.

Have you really only got 2 days? it's a bit of a trek for what is essentially an extended day trip. If you could squeeze an extra day out of your itinerary it would be well worth it, IMO.

[I've just spotted that you've got another thread about Dijon going - sometimes it's better to post a single thread so that we can look at the "shape" of your trip - it makes it easier for us to understand what you are trying to achieve] .

My pick is Amboise-a nice smaller city on the Loire -has its own imposing castle and mini-bus tours to other castles. It is hard to go to more than one castle a day on your own by public transportation but the inexpensive mini-bus tours are great (go also from Tours). For lots on French trains and the Loire check www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.seat61.com.

Thanks very much for your replies. We thought it would be best to take the mini-bus tours to the chateaux. In future I will do one thread. Sorry, I'm new at this. I really appreciate the info!

http://www.accodispo-tours.com/amboise.html

This outfit has been around a long long time -if that is any indication of anything - sure others are similar.

Kelsey - I've just posted on your other thread but to paraphrase what I've said there, I think that you are being over-ambitious and not taking account of how long it's going to take to get from one place to another, which can seriously eat into your holiday time.

Thanks so much for your replies. We decided to revise our plans and will spend 3 nights in Amboise.

A couple of things that you should know about Amboise if you plan on staying there without a car.

The train station is a long walk from the town, particularly with luggage. You might arrange for a taxi.

Restaurants in Amboise are primarily there for tourists. The only restaurant I recommend in Amboise is l´Épicerie. I would avoid the rest.

If spending 3 days, you really should be in Tours and I make this recommendation as someone who used to live in this area.

Amboise also has the Clus de Luce - a lavish house that Leonardo da Vinci spent his last years living un -having been enticed here by Francois Ier to literally bring the Rennaissance to France - metaphorically at least. Many copies of his eclectic conventions are on show and there is a nice garden. Leonardo I believe in buried in the local parish church in Amboise.

It's the Clos Lucé (not Clus de Luce), and it's not that lavish, in fact it is rather austere. The main attraction apart from the house itself and the gardens, which by French standards are rather ordinary, are the reproductions in the basement of the extraordinary things that Leonardo built, like helicopters and watermills.

Still, Amboise has become tourist centra for the Loire in recent years and much as I loved it 20 yearsago I probably wouldn't stay there again.I agree the L'Epicerie is the only decent place in town to eat.

We really liked Tours and we took day tours from there. Architecturally it's not as charming as Amboise, but Amboise really felt like a small tourist town. Tours, though, was a real town and gave us more choices or shopping and eating or just getting a feel of what living there might feel like.

<<Architecturally it's not as charming as Amboise, >>

Whenever I hear this, I must ask, have you been to Place Plumereau in Vieux Tours?

It is absolutely gorgeous architecturally and there is nothing like it in Amboise or any other nearby location. Place Plumereau is full of cafés, restaurants and it´s very animated at night. It is an absolutely charming area and the only place in Tours that holds any interest for tourists outside of perhaps rue Colbert which is just to the east.

I thought Tours was just as charming as Amboise. Not all of it of course, but that's true of either. It's just a larger city, that's all. THis is a good description of Tours, I stayed there once without a car and enjoyed it.

https://www.francetoday.com/travel/t...id-back_tours/

I've been to Tours several times and it's old town is really neat but it is a big busy city - if driving can have really bad traffic-IMO most folks will find Amboise with its setting right on the Loire more romantic as well as easier to get in and out of. Tours is on the Loire too but the city center is away from it.

Tours Cathedral and some other churches are marvelous- a nice place to stay to see it for a day - few folks doing the Loire ever venture into Tours itself- dommage!

But Amboise in summer is very touristic and Tours is not that much - a large university gives it a vibrant feeling.

Sarastro, of course I did. We ended up eating both lunch and dinner there. But Tours is more spread out and you just don't get conked on the head immediately with quaint Medievalness the way you do in Amboise.

<i> if driving can have really bad traffic-IMO most folks will find Amboise with its setting right on the Loire more romantic as well as easier to get in and out of. </i>

<i>But Tours is more spread out and you just don't get conked on the head immediately with quaint Medievalness the way you do in Amboise.</i>

Are we reading the same thread?

This is what KelseyT said about travel requirements:

<i>We will be traveling by train and do not plan to rent a car.</i>

If KelseyT does not have a car, what possible relevance would comments about driving have? Why would s/he care about the size of Tours outside of the immediate area of Place Plumereau? Place Plumereau is within easy walking distance of the train station. S/he will not be traveling to other parts of Tours. There are plenty of museums, restaurants, cafés, and shopping with a 10 to 15 minute walk of Place Plumereau.

My comments are tailored to the stated desires of the OP or anyone else who plans on visiting the Loire Valley without a car. You want to be in Tours. It is the transportation hub of the region and offers more services than anywhere else for someone wanting to stay 3 days.