I will be visiting the Loire Valley area in July after 6 days in Paris. This is our first trip to France and we will be celebrating our wedding anniversary.<BR><BR>We will be spending 1-2 nights in the Loire Valley before going on to either the Burgundy area or Provence (renting a car).<BR><BR>I have many questions:<BR>1. If we want to leave Paris and make Chartres our first stop should we take the train from Paris (to where?) and then rent a car or rent the car in Paris?<BR>2. What town should we stay in Loire Valley? We are looking for charming village-like setting.<BR>3. Would anyone make a recommendation for a nice, romantic, charming hotel?<BR>4. Same questions for the Burgundy area <BR><BR>Thanks all, Maureen

I would take the train to Chartres. It isn't far but worth avoiding the hassle. I started at the Louvre's car rental and it took me 1.5 hours just to get out of Paris this past June. I'm sure people more famaliar with Paris can do better, but I couldn't. At the least, Chartres has a Hertz rental.<BR><BR>I went through the Loire valley this past spring and stayed at several towns. I'll rank them in the order I thought the most interesting and charming.<BR><BR>Saumur <BR>Amboise<BR>Blois<BR>Anger<BR>Chinon<BR>Beaugen cy<BR>Chenonceaux<BR>Tour<BR><BR>I'll spare you and only wax poetic on Saumur. The beautiful castle overlooking the town is gorgeous. We took a guided, small, sail boat ride down the Loire one afternoon on a beautiful, sunny morning. There's alot of equestrian heritage if you are into that.<BR><BR>The town is quaint and has lots of nice restaurants. The mushroom caves were a fun tour. There are also wine caverns to visit. <BR><BR>You might look at the Anne D'Angou hotel. Did not stay there but it looked very nice. I don't think there English is working, but you can look at the pictures in the French side.<BR><BR>www.hotel-anneanjou.com<BR><BR>As an aside, the train runs from Chartres down to Saumur. You might think about renting the car from Saumur and save a couple of days of driving. I checked Hertz and there's a car rental there.<BR><BR>I did truly enjoy all the cities & towns I listed. It's just that I liked different ones for different reasons. If you want to ask about any of the other towns, e-mail me directly.

We rented a car in Paris (at CDG)and drove to the Loire last summer. We stayed in two fabulous chateaux. The first, Chateau de Rochecotte is in St. Patrice, a very small village in the Loire wine region. I cannot say enough great things about the hotel. The food in the restaurant was magnificent, the staff very friendly. St. Patrice is near the charming, small town of Langeais which in turn is close to Tours. Our second stop (we stayed in each three days) was Chateau de Noizay, also a wonderful hotel and restaurant. The town was a little larger, but not much. There were several wineries within walking distance and many more within a ten mile radius. Noizay is about five miles from Amboise. If I had to choose one over the other, it would be a hard choice, but I would choose Chateau de Rochecotte. If possible, stay a little longer. You will need the time to really see the Loire Valley and you won't want to leave! Have fun.

either take the train to Chartres or a taxi to CDG and pick up your car there. The Paris traffic is not worth the hassle, I don't care how well you drive!<BR><BR>we only ever stay at one place in the Loire, just because we love it so much , but it is not right in a town, rather situated between Blois and Amboise in Onzain. We spent our 35th and 40th anniversary there! Domaine des Hauts des Loire....just about my favorite hotel in the world!

I'll second advice you've already received. Either take a train or RER to somewhere outside of Paris to rent your car. Do not drive in Paris if you can possibly avoid it. Chartres is probably fine since that's where you're going anyway. Depending on cost of train to Chartres, an alternative would be to RER to St. Germain or Versailles and rent there, then drive to chartres. <BR><BR>The Chateau de Rochecotte is terrific and I would go there again in a heartbeat. It is not as close to the most famous chateaux, however, as is the Domaine des Hauts de Loire in Onzain. That is near Chenonceaux, Chambord, Cheverny, Blois, Chaumont and Amboise. It is lovely but somewhat more expensive than the Rochecotte. It's a Relais and Chateaux. Rochecotte is closer to the chateaux at Saumur, Usse, Langeis, Azay le Rideau, and Angers. These are a little less awesome than the others near the Domaine des Hauts de Loire. While the Hauts de Loire has more classical elegance than the Rochecotte, I prefer the latter for it's decor in more modern style while still preserving the basics of the chateau and its lovely grounds. Both are romantic and charming. Another issue of trade offs. Either is wonderful as are both sets of surrounding Chateaux. <BR><BR>In Burgundy I don't think you can beat Vezelay and the hotel and restaurant of Marc Meneau in the adjoining tiny village of Pere Sous Vezelay. Meneau's restaurant has had 3 stars but has now returned to two or even one so the prices may have been reduced as well and I find the setting absolutely the best. Again, like the Rochecotte a perfect blending of contemporary and classic. The croquettes of fois gras which you are instructed to pop whole into your mouth and then bite down on are absolute heaven. They are in fact the single most memorable item I have ever eaten. The rooms are lovely. Hope you have a wonderful time.

Thank you so much David, Bill, Jody and Julie for all your wonderful suggestions. These message boards make vacation planning so much fun.<BR><BR>Merci beaucoup, Maureen

One of the nice things about this board is being able to see how others do things.<BR><BR>We always rent a car in Paris and drive from there.<BR><BR>Last trip our first stop was Chenonceau.<BR>We arrived at 1:30 pm.

Maureen,<BR>We spent 2 weeks in Loire Valley and Normandy last September (yes, that Sept!) If you are looking for someplace really special, try the Chateau de Pray in Amboise. A beautiful 12th century chateau just outside of the town - fabulous restaurant also. It was not the cheapest place we stayed, but was definitely the most memorable hotel I've stayed at in a long time. Truly beautiful. Amboise is a lovely, smallish town with plenty to see, good food and easily walkable.<BR><BR>We landed at CDG, picked up the rental car there and drove directly to Loire - just a couple of hours - nothing too taxing and as long as you avoid driving through Paris itself, you'll be fine. Do avoid the city center at all costs though!<BR>Have a wonderful trip - happy anniversary!

Hi Maureen!<BR>We have been to the Loire twice and both times we stayed at the same place that Jody, an earlier poster recommended, Domaine des haut de Loire. It is absoluely beautiful, wonderful service, excellent restaurant. It is the former hunting lodge of a count. I recommend staying 2 nights. We took the train from Paris to Tours and rented a car there. Then drove to Amboise, Chenonceaux, Chamdord. Haven't been to Chartes, so can't make a recommendation. The Domaine des Haut de Loire is also Relais & Chateau, so you can't go wrong there, in my opinion. It is located in the town of Onzain. Don't know about the Burgundy region. Recommed buying a copy of Karen Brown's book called France Inns & Itineraries. I think it would be very helpful to you. E-mail if you have any more questions, I just loved this hotel. Good luck and happy anniversary!

I agree you cannot go wrong with a Relais & Chateaux place. We stayed at Chateau de Noizay. Very charming! Very friendly staff. I would stay there again. Only complaint is that I wished we had planned a longer trip in the Loire. 3 days is not enough. We only saw Cheanonceau and drove through Amboise. I wanted to take advantage of the bike rentals the Chateau had to explore the village and visit the numerous wineries. <BR><BR>One advice regarding car rental. We picked up our car at the Gare de Lyon in Paris. If you do this, keep change in handy. You have to pay to get the car out of the garage. No one warned us. We had very little change!