I had planned to take a mini-van chateau tour from Amboise that would include the one chateau I have never seen, Villandry. The tour company as of today has no other parties booked for that day trip so I may have to go on my own. Anyone know if it is possible to get there by train or combination of train and bus?

Thanks for any help.

Larry J

My Eyewitness Guide indicates that you can take a train to Savonnières and then a taxi.

Thanks St.Cirq

I figured you'd know.

Larry J

Another thought. Are you in semi-decent shape and do you have a day free? We just returned from a bicycle trip of the Loire Valley. The area around Villandry is delightful. All the tourist offices have bicycling maps for the chateaux because there is a big promotion of cycling in the area. You could take the train or bus to Tours and then rent a cycle from there and make a day cycle trip of it to Villandry. By the way, we enjoyed it so much, we spent nearly 3 hours at Villandry.

To Julies,

Yes I cycle a lot while traveling in Europe and would be interested in doing this. Two questions: Can you tell me how far it is from the train station at Tours to Villandry and is there a place near the train station to rent a bike?

Thanks,
Larry J

Found this link I had saved. I am sure they could tell you the distance. I don't really think it is too long. We didn't make it to Tours, but if it will help you put things in perspective, we cycled from Azay le Rideau to Villandry in about 2 hours and the same time from Villandry to Langeais.

http://www.amstercycles.com/Anglais/page-accueilang.htm

Julies,

Thanks, that will get me started.

Larry J

I can now answer my own question. Recently returned from a month in France. You can take a train from wherever to Tours. Walk across the street from the train station in Tours and at stall 3 of the bus station you can catch a bus to Villandry. Bus drops you off right at the entrance to the Chateau. Trip from Tours takes about 30 minutes. Very easy connection from train to bus. Villandry gardens are the best; nowhere near the size of a Versailles but much more impressive. In case anyone is interested the bus company is Touraine Fil Vert. Website is
www.touraine-filvert.com


Larry J

Your post brings back memories of a 1970 overnight stay at Villandry. There is a combination restaurant-bar-hotel next door, and our room peeked over the wall so we could see the Villandry garden. That night, as bad luck would have it, the local soccer club was having their annual dinner. Too many players, too much wine, too much singing -- and the team saw to it that we got too little sleep. But the formal gardens with their intricate boxwoods were compensation enough. You will love it.