Biking Loire Valley, Stay in Amboise?
 

I'm planning a week long self-contained bike vacation of the Loire Valley for DH and I for early next fall. We plan to stay in an apartment in one central location and do loop rides rather than point to point rides that require frequent accommodation changes. We'll take some loop rides from our base and on other days I think we'll take the train to Blois or Tours to start riding from there. At home, we ride about 55-75 miles a day on similar terrain as the Loire. Amboise seems to be central to some of the most popular chateaus and is between Blois and Tours. Am I on the right track in choosing to stay in Amboise? Would Tours be a better option? Any other suggestions for a base town?
Ann Marie

I'm not a biker, but I think Amboise would be a far better base than Tours, where you'd have to battle city traffic going out and in every day. But you might also look at Chinon and Loches, depending on exactly where in the Loire you want to bike.

I had the same thoughts regarding Tours. I'll check out your other suggestions. Thanks!
Ann Marie

DH and I spent three weeks driving around the back roads of the Loire Valley, going from west (Angers) to east (Bourges). We stayed in Amboise for the central part of the trip and it was the part we liked least. Amboise did not appeal to us at all.

As we were driving around the central part of the LV, we spent some time in Cour Cheverny, the little town/village surrounding Cheverny castle. We were kicking ourselves for not staying there. IMO, it would be a perfect base for a biking trip -- it's located between Amboise and Chambord. It would be beautiful in autumn.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g...Vacations.html

I suggest you may like to have access to a number of "side" rivers or canals as well as the Loire to give you pleasant rides away from the Loire. Amboise is as good as anywhere but Chinon would also be pleasant. I assume you've found the Loire bike path website?

I suggest you include the Indre for at least one day's biking route. It's a really pretty river, prettier than the Loire in my opinion. Between Loches and Usse there are about 40 watermills along the river, though not all of them are visible from the road.

http://moulindre.pagesperso-orange.fr/html/cartes.htm

There are chateaux to be seen, not the big-name chateaux, but still, pretty snazzy.

It must be a law that each bridge over the Indre be lined with flowers. Lovely!

Maybe you could arrange each day out to coincide with market day in a town.

Loches is a very nice town with a great Saturday market and a smaller market on Wednesday. Montresor would be a nice ride from here.

We've driven a stretch along the Cher several times that we love, starting west of Blere and winding up near Athee-sur-Cher. It's right along the Cher and you see nothing but the river, very nice homes, and little weekend cottages.

However, this assumes you have a car to get you to a starting point and since you mention taking the train, these suggestions may not work for you.

It sounds like fun.

Oh, Chedigny! You have to go there if you can manage it.

I've done similar staying in Onzain, but I think Amboise is a great choice

Aboise (or nearby Onzain) for sure by bike is a great central location - I have biked up and down this part of the Loire many many times and Amboise is the perfect base, from a location standpoint and also a very nice town with its own famous chateau - do not miss the Sound and Light Show (English seances too) at the cheateau at night with zillions of locals dressed in Renaissance garb - don't miss the Chateloup Pagoda just outside of Amboise - could do on the way by bike to Chenonceau - BTW a very nice ride through for national forest most of the way!

Thanks for all of the suggestions. Adding to my notes. We are likely to be without a car so we want to be in a town large enough to have train service. Its easier for us to jump on the train with our bikes to get to a long distance starting point rather than deal with the logistics of loading bikes on a car then parking it remotely and having to get back to it later in the day. We plan to be on our bikes, including sightseeing and breaks, for 4-6 hours each day. We tend to take a siesta in the late afternoons then want to be able to walk to dinner.
Ann Marie

Not all trains may take bikes - look for trains on schedules with a V in a circle - meaning Velos accepted in special Velo cars marked on the outside.

Are you bringing your own bikes - if so that could be a hassle and expensive, according to various airlines.

I would strongly consider renting bikes once there - there is a network of chateaus and bed-and-breakast (chambres d'hotes) and hotels that provide bikes to folks staying there.

Getting the bike from say CDG Airport to Amboise could be a pain - you have to get to Austerlitz station which will have trains that accept Velos on them at no charge - the TGV route via St-Pierre-des-Corps may have few if any trains that take bikes.

Thanks for the tip regarding trains on bikes. We took our road bikes for two weeks of chasing the Tour de France in the Alps and Pyrenees with a group tour once but won't ever do that again. Big hassle. We'll bring our own pedals and bike seats to use with rentals. From everything I've read, it appears a hybrid is best for the Loire, Indre, Cher region as the Loire a Velo and other paths may not be fully paved.
Ann Marie

In years of biking the Loire I've never come across a dirt path I had to take or even rarely seen any - get a Michelin map and stick to the D Roads - yellow colored as they are virtually wide bike paths as they have, outside cities, virtually little car traffic at many places (but in and around big cities like Tours such roads can be very crowded - but in the contryside stick to D (Departmental sp?) roads and these are well paved though tending to be hilly at times - IME of biking all over France there are very few flat areas - at least rolling hills so gearing for mild hills may be in order.

I am not familiar with the Loire a Velo path - I have not biked there is several years.

Just a clarification on trains. All the TER trains in the Loire allows bikes. Some Intercités trains may as well. You should look at the train websites to see for sure what trains will allow bikes. Use www.voyages-sncf.com and when you look at the individual details for each journey you'll know if bikes are allowed if you see a little bike logo icon. I take my bike on the TER trains from Paris all the time and some TER trains that allow bikes don't have designated bike cars and there will be no bike logo on any of the train cars. Haven't taken the TER trains in the Loire so don't know about those.

Here's a map that shows where all the trains run in the Loire:

http://www.ter-sncf.com/Regions/cent...rte_Flash.aspx

You don't have to stick to the Loire à Vélo trails and as PalenQ pointed out, you can use the Michelin maps and stick to the white roads and sometimes the yellow roads but avoid the red roads. I use the Michelin maps to bike all the time.

Here is what I always post in regards to Michelin maps:

You want the ones of the scale 1:200,000 (regional maps) or 1:150,000 (departmental maps, more detailed, cover slightly less area) for whatever regions you visit. A nice feature of the 1:150,000 maps is they show the starred attractions in the corresponding Michelin Green guidebooks. The Michelin maps have icons for all kinds of historically/touristically interesting things such as châteaux, ruins, churches, abbeys, scenic view points, caves, Roman sites, megaliths, designated scenic roads and many other things. Usually when I'm exploring various regions in France I just look at the map and I am able to plan interesting and scenic drives/rides just reading the map. For instance, I usually look for a designated scenic road, which are highlighted in green, and I especially look for towns with the historic church and/or château icon. I also try to make sure the route goes through as many small villages as possible. Usually putting all these things together I find interesting and scenic drives/rides without even knowing where I am going and with no assistance from a guide book. Often these places are never mentioned in guidebooks and remain completely unknown to many tourists.

You can buy the Michelin maps from their website and here is a link to the page that shows you the 1:200,000 scale maps of France: http://tinyurl.com/4bt96ev

And here is a link to the page that shows you the 1:150,000 scale maps of France:
http://tinyurl.com/6mt4n64

Here are some tips on how to read the Michelin maps for biking. I generally stay on the small white roads and sometimes the yellow roads while generally trying to avoid the red roads (which carry the most traffic). You will find that the small white roads (country roads) are remarkably traffic free in the countryside. If a road has a hill with greater than a 5% gradient you will notice that such a road will have a gradient arrow superimposed on the road. One arrow means a gradient of 5%-9%, two arrows means a gradient from 9%-13% and three arrows means a gradient of over 13%. Just because a road has no gradient arrows doesn't mean there are no hills but whatever hills there are should not be too strenuous. Twisty roads often mean hilly as well. Areas shaded in white are generally non-forested terrain while areas shaded in green generally mean forested terrain.

You may find this thread useful as there are links to all the major tourist office websites in the Loire. If you didn't know, tourist office websites are on the best travel planning resources:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic....html#45429132

Not familiar with that part of France but I am an avid biker. Love the plan to have a single base and take a morning train out and then riding back. I've done that a few times here at home.

Have a great time!!

I just drove by a ghost bike on my way to a meeting. It brought to mind the thread we had in the lounge recently about cycling and cars. I know the French are very respectful of cyclists but I hope you'll pick safe routes too.

Thanks for all the detailed info. The Loire a Velo is a €52 million bike trail that includes some roads and extends from Orleans west to the Atlantic covering 800k. We will likely use parts of it some days when traveling in the area between Tours and Blois. Although road bikes are available for rent, most available rentals are hybrids and the explanation keeps coming back that hybrids are best for the trail. The video on the trail website does show some dirt sections of the path. We'd much rather ride road bikes similar to our own and one company does rent Trek bikes so maybe we will rent those and stick to the D roads... Delicious decisions.
Ann Marie

At 4-6 hrs per day I think you'll be much happier on a true road bike, BYO pedals. As you know you can go twice as far, twice as fast, with half the effort.

I've rented hybrid bikes and there's not comparison to rolling along at your usual speed.

At 4-6 hrs per day I think you'll be much happier on a true road bike, BYO pedals. As you know you can go twice as far, twice as fast, with half the effort.

I've rented hybrid bikes and there's not comparison to rolling along at your usual speed.

As a fellow cyclist and Francophile, your trip sounds outstanding. Please give a full report after the trip! Have a great time!

J62, my husband isn't thrilled at the idea of renting hybrids for the reasons you've mentioned. We're spoiled by good quality bikes at home and I think he may not be happy on something clunky. Sound DS like we can avoid poor road conditions and stick to pavement with the help of the Michelin maps.
Ann Marie

<i> Biking Loire Valley, Stay in Amboise?
Posted by: amwosu on Oct 20, 13 at 9:44pm</i>

Years ago I stayed in Blois and rode a bike out to Chambord, a huge place. It was an easy ride. I went by train to Amboise and saw several more of the castles over a few days in the valley.

For information on bringing your bike on French trains see http://tinyurl.com/mdpwr94. He has a lot of information on cycling in central Europe linked from his home page http://www.europebicycletouring.com/index.htm. One itinerary is on the Loire Valley.

Ditto all that FrenchMystiqueTours said. I also recommend the Michelin Green Guide Chateaux of the Loire. In Amboise there is the Leonardo da Vinci museum, Clos Luce. It is small but very interesting.

http://www.allposters.com/-sp/Troglo..._i9531770_.htm

You can stay in troglodyte houses in Amboise - there is a string of these houses built into a small cliff just south of the castle - the street is rather hidden and few folks see it but it is lined by such cave houses - here is one you can stay in! (Not endorsing it - just mention for the novelty.

More images of Amboise' troglodyte houses -
https://www.google.com/search?q=trog...=1600&bih=1099

Ann Marie

Check out trip reports on www.crazyguyonabike.com There you will get some information on what parts of the Loire bike trail are not nice pavement. Lots of good pictures.

You don't have to stick to any bike route. Lots of times they don't go where you want to, especially doing loop rides.

Any road in the area that is white on a Michelin 1:200,000 will be excellent. Yellow roads may not be that bad. Red roads are best avoided, although not as bad as riding on Shea Blvd.

Are you still in Fountain Hills? I live in Colorado ow, so I probably won't ever get that cup of coffee!

Avoid the N - National road along the south bank of the Loire at any costs - lots of speeding trucks and cars - roads on the north side are largely calm roads - perfect for biking - yes stick to white roads or yellow roads on Michelin maps - the Loire Bike Path sounds neat but no need to follow it to have a back roads route to the chateaus of your choice.

I'm furiously cutting and pasting all the information so thanks guys.

"Are you still in Fountain Hills? I live in Colorado ow, so I probably won't ever get that cup of coffee!"

bigtyke,
Yes! Our best friends bought a gorgeous house high on the hill overlooking the fountain and have completely renovated it. We want to eliminate the redundancy of two vacation homes in the same town/state so we're going to sell the FHs condo when the market comes up a bit, keep our mountain bikes at the friends' house and buy a house in Colorado. We'll vacation in each other's homes as we all love AZ and CO.

We mountain biked in Salida, Nathrop and Buena Vista in July and looked at real estate. We love the promise of long warm summers in the "Banana Belt" but mountain biking starting at 9000+ ft elevation was a killer. We may revisit the idea of buying near Alma or Fairplay. We want to have good roadbiking and not be farther than an hour from skiing. Got any other ideas? :D
Ann Marie

the Loire bike route seems to follow the Loire a lot and the Loire at most points is not very scenic - the river itself that is - at Amboise IMO it is is most scenic - a wide often nearly dry river beds thru which small rivulets of water course - I would not try to follow the Loire itself but go inland on those nice D roads - lots of neat little villages to go thru each with their own cafe - try the local cafe at noon hour for some great specials of typical local food but nothing gourmet.

St Cirq is dead on about hectic traffic in the Tours connurbation IME OF Biking and visiting it many times and like most large French towns very little room for bike paths.

Amboise is too small have have traffic jams except along the main N road that runs thru it along the Loire.

PalQ, I've noticed from photos and videos that the Loire River isn't particularly scenic. Do you think that along with the D roads, riding along the Cher and Indre Rivers is a good choice?
Ann Marie

Riding along the Indre is more scenic than the Cher. As I had mentioned previously, look at the Michelin map for designated scenic roads. You'll see the designated scenic roads run along the Indre from its beginning at the Loire all the way to Loches. I've driven this route a few times and it is quite nice. You'll pass by some pretty châteaux and some impressive ruins along the way. Plus, there are some charming towns and villages you'll ride through. I'll stress, though, that just because a road isn't designated as scenic on the map doesn't mean it's not a pretty road to ride on. Use google street view to check out your potential routes.

The Loire region isn't really noted for its scenic landscapes or natural beauty but rather for its wine and châteaux. But it's not un-scenic either and I'm sure you'll find the country scenery pleasant enough even if it's not dramatic.

PalQ, I've noticed from photos and videos that the Loire River isn't particularly scenic. Do you think that along with the D roads, riding along the Cher and Indre Rivers is a good choice?>

As FMTours says the Cher river valley is dotted with some really neat towns and castles and even some wineries - and yes the Loire is rather blah as river go though the part right around Amboise to me - and Saumur too is really sweet because here the river runs often in rivulets thru an expanse of a wide sandy river bed.

No I would not go out of my way to bike along the Loire - the Cher is much nicer but still I'd just chose some castles you want to see and plot a side roads way connecting them the most efficient way as the Loire as a whole as FMTours says is not known for its beauty - mainly sun flower fields which can be beautiful at first but boring after miles of them and other crops - do stop in at any sign saying Fromage de Chevre (sp?) as then you can see how goat cheese is made - the goats and taste and buy from the farmer.

I think where PalenQ was saying the Cher he meant to say the Indre, as I was making the case that the Indre is more scenic than the Cher but maybe he'll come back and clear that up.

<<I'd just chose some castles you want to see and plot a side roads way connecting them >>

Exactly. This was the point I was making with my advice about how to use a Michelin map to plan interesting drives/rides in any region in France. I'll repeat, in addition to looking for châteaux icons look for towns with the historic church icon, look for the ruins icon, look for designated scenic roads (where possible) and make sure the route goes through as many small towns and villages as possible. Roads that appear dead straight on the map are probably going to go through fields of wheat or some other crop on pancake flat terrain so look for roads that twist and turn a bit as they'll provide some topographical relief and variety of view.

http://www.touraineloirevalley.co.uk...tourism-routes

Well I am not so familiar with the Indre River valley as I am with the Cher, where I have biked and drove along many times and there are some really nice smaller towns on it - but the river itself - like the Indre river I think itself is not all that scenic so sorry for the confusion.

Loches, on the Indre River is one of my favorite Loire castles - a chateau fort as they say in France - a grim looking fortress built not as a pleasure dome but for defence - it is right in the heart of Loches, a pleasant regional town and is known for having replicas of the notorious Hanging Cages of some King Looie where the king literally hung some of his enemies out to dry for years on end in total darkness in the dungeons - one swinging cage - not high enough for the prisoner to even stand up still swings here.

From wiki:

(Loches) The donjon includes, besides the ruined keep (12th century), the Martelet, celebrated as the prison of Lodovico Sforza, Duke of Milan, who died there in 1508, and the Tour Ronde, built by Louis XI of France and containing the famous iron cages in which state prisoners, including according to a story now discredited, the inventor Cardinal Balue, were confined.>

not your average Loire castle.

the Indre River at Chinon is neat - flowing right thru the town - I camped in a camping once on the island - neat view of Chinon - to me the loveliest of all Loire towns I have been to - graced by the famous Chateau de Chinon where there is now a Joan of Arc Museum documenting her time here. Chinon is known also for its wines.

Chinon is indeed a lovely town but it is on the Vienne River, not the Indre. I also prefer the towns and scenery on the Vienne to the Cher. Where the Vienne joins the Loire are the lovely towns of Montsoreau and Candes-Saint-Martin. You could head to the Abbey of Fontevraud from here or go along the north side of the river to Chinon. Just east of Chinon are the cute little villages of Crissay-sur-Manse, Avon-les-Roches and Les Roches-Tranchelion. Some other nice little towns and villages nearby would be L'Île Bouchard, Saint-Epain and Crouzilles.

I'll add that if you go to Fontevraud you could take a quiet country road through the village of Couziers to the D117 and then head east towards Chinon. On the D117 you'll pass by a few pretty châteaux and a ruin or two on your way to Chinon. They are noted on the Michelin map.

The Abbey of Fontevraud is often overlooked it seems in folks Loire plans but it is IMO a major sight, both physically and historically.

https://www.google.com/search?q=abba...=1600&bih=1099

One more piece of advice. If you are planning on using trains to get around the region with your bikes then Tours makes the most practical base. The reason being that much like Paris, trains in that region operate on a hub and spoke system. Tours is the hub and all the spokes radiate out from there. This will help you avoid making train transfers as you'll always be starting your day from Tours on a direct route to your starting point and you can take a direct train line back to Tours. For example, if you are in Amboise and want to bike near Chinon you'll have to make a train transfer in Tours and transfer times may not be convenient. Look at the train map I linked to earlier and you'll understand why. Before heading out each day you should know where you'll be returning from and know what time the trains will be from that departure point. Don't just assume that trains will be frequent.

Tours is a very nice city as well - a largish city with a large university presence - the old town has a Latin Quarter type feel with oodles of eateries - the cathedral is superb but Tours is also hectic traffic-wise so biking around it can be hectic as well.

but yes Tours is often overlooked when folks talk about their Loire plans - can be a utilitarian base - direct TGVs from Paris and direct trains to Chinon and Loches, Amboise, Chenonceaux, Blois, Angers, Saumur - trains that mainly you can just put your bikes on - explore different parts of the Loire by bike easily done by trains.

I'm sending FMT a post-dated cheque for all this great info.

A cheque would be nice cold. I need a new fannypack. All the dang pickpockets have torn mine to pieces.

Thanks thanks thanks. I knew the Loire region was more about chateaux, vineyards and towns rath than scenery but it definitely helps to read about the towns and areas to visit. I chose the Loire region for its mostly flat roads. I've "done" the Alps and Pyrenees on bike and don't need to go there again. Ugh. I was considering the Luberon but I don't even want to see a hill.
Signed,
Old and Lazy Ann Marie