Anna1013

I know the above question will no doubt put lover's of Loire into a fit, but I hope to get some good advice from anyone that has been there.

We have 5 people in our party(two of us have been to Versailles once and loved the gardens), but the others haven't even been to Europe. We are planning to stay in Paris and take a day out tour somewhere.

We will be going to Versailles, which bring me to my particular problem. Do you think already going to Versailles will make the Loire Chateaux's seem boring or monotonous? Possible ones are Chenonceau and Villandry.

I wanted to take a day trip to a different part of France, and it seemed that from the advice on this board, the Loire was a nice place to visit and not far from Paris on the TGV.

So, do you think we should go to Loire or maybe try someplace different?

StCirq

Nothing in the Loire even remotely resembles Versailles. And the history of Versailles certainly radically distinguishes itself from, say, Chambord, which was one of Henri I's hnting lodges.

But maybe I don't understand your question. Are you trying to say that one chateau may be enough for you and your party, or that you don't want to see a lot of similar-looking buildings?


I visit buildings because of the history associated with them, not on the basis of whether they look like other buildings or not. I guess you need to decide why it is you have an interest in French châteaux to begin with. You say you liked the gardens at Versailles - maybe you just want to focus on châteaux like Vaux-le-Vicomte that feature gardens. At any rate, I can't imagine anyone considering French châteaux of the Loire to be "boring or monotonous."

Anna1013

StCirq,

I was actually really looking forward to going to the Loire Valley, but I started getting nervous when I read some posters say that "once you see one chataeux, you've seen them all".

I guess what I was asking for was the "feel" of the loire valley, and how it differs from Paris

SalB

You mentioned Chenonceau and Villandry as possible alternatives to visiting Versailles. I think you would be delighted with either. They aren't as ornate (which I consider a blessing) but they are each beautiful in their own way.

Chenonceau is a bit more "impressive" and has lovely gardens and, of course, the span over the river Cher. The building is lovely as are the gardens. There is quite an area to visit and a nice restaurant . . . not the fast food place on the grounds!

My favorite Loire chateau is Villandry. The chateau is not very large and is rather simple (which I really like), but the gardens are spectacular. There are formal gardens, flower gardens, vegetable gardens and espalliered fruit trees all interspersed with fountains and vines. There is a lovely lake with swans and a fountain. I'm told there is a miniature zoo on the grounds now but we haven't seen that so I'm not sure if it's really there.

I don't think you'd be bored at all and the trip to either is very nice. Go and enjoy your trip.

Orcas

Here's an alternative you might consider: Giverney; Honfleur and, time permitting, the Normandy coast. You'd mix up Monet's Gardens at Giverney; a most picturesque and lovely French town, Honfleur; with the history of Normandy. You'd probably want to spend the night in Honfleur. We did this in two days, one night. We could easily have spent more time, but didn't have it.

Another great town: Senlis is a very old town with twisting streets and Roman walls - also lots of character, and an easy day trip from Paris (could be combined with a trip to Chantilly, another castle, but famous for its horses).

Just some more ideas to confuse you!

Anna1013

Thanks to everyone who replied. In answer to one poster's question... we are going to Versailles, but I don't know yet if we should take a day trip to the Loire Valley.

Does anyone know if it is easy to go on your own to both Chenoneau or Villandry, instead of using a tour group?

Underhill

Are you planning to rent a car for the day? It would be easy to pick one up at Orly and then drive down to to whatever part of the Loire Valley you want. That has the advantage of letting you design your own trip in terms of time spent wherever.

Chenonceau is beautiful and interesting and has more furnishings than most of the others, but I agree that Villandry is the nicest of the châteaux because of the unusual gardens. Chenonceau has the additional advantage that you can go through on your own rather than having to take a tour; I don't know about Villandry, since we've only done the gardens.

Christina

I think the main difference is that Versailles was the king's palace and the seat of where he ruled for a long time, rather than from Paris, and most of these other chateaux are simply wealthy people's homes or royal getaways.

I am one who does think touring a lot of Loire chateaux could get boring, especially as people tend to do a lot of them in a few days. I like doing them occasionally. It would be the same thing as to whether you would find it really great to visit 6 cathedrals within two days. After a while, you don't have the same interest or enthusiasm. I wouldn't want to visit 4-6 of the same kind of anything in a couple days, probably.

zzzot2

Depends on the ages of your party.

Last year, my family and another, towing two teenage boys and a younger girl, had a fabulous time in Paris (our 7th) and the Loire (first time). We had planned to visit multiple chateaux. Stayed at The Lourve Hotel in Paris, then took a "regular" train to Blois (nice trip by train), rented a car and drove to the Relais des Landes in nearby Ouchamps and stayed a week. Really and incredibly nice place, fairly centrally located and it is a "mini" chateau and was (before the dollar crashed) very reasonalby priced place, beautiful and in a small, rural area. The in-house restaurant was excellant. Anyway, instead of seeing all of the Chateaux we had planned to see, the teenagers were quite tolerant in being attentive for one, then loving the roof and stairs of Chambord . . . and that's the last chateau we saw (their tolerance ran out). But we (and our kids) had a blast touring the area, playing around and visiting such things as local fairs and Vouvray wine tastings. Opt for the outlying areas. My opinion, only.

Joe_in_Silver_Spring

You can't compare Versailles to the Loire chateaux in terms of scale or magnificence. They're different kinds of structures. Versailles is huge and remarkably ornate. In comparison, Chenonceau is modest in size although, to me, the most interesting of the Loire castles.

Anna1013

There are five people in our group: 2 boys ages 19 & 20, and three girls, including myself, ages 24-29.

No, we aren't going to be renting a car, but I don't know if I will be taking trains from the Tours station into the two chateaux's we are considering.

Anyone up to describing the "feel" of this area? Medieval, Renannisance, etc?

Sue4

I spent 10 days in the Loire last May. I rented a car and stayed in several different towns - Amboise, Chinon, Tours, and Saumur. Of course I saw many chateaux, but there are lots of other things to do. I love the history of the various chateaux. For example, the Chateau d'Amboise (which many people skip), I found absolutely fascinating.
Chenonceau is beautiful, and a must.

In answer to your question about the ease of a daytrip - yes, it's fast and easy to get to Tours on the TGV (from Gare Montparnasse) but you would either have to rent a car for the day while there, or take a minibus tour. There are some trains to several of the chateau towns, but would be pretty inconvenient for only a daytrip. There is a very nice minibus tour (Paris Bus Tours) which I took from Paris several years ago. Their price includes the TGV ride, pickup at hotel, lunch, and several chateaux by minibus. They limit it to about 5 or 6 people. They do Chenonceau, Chambord, Clos Luce (Da Vinci's home) plus a winetasting in one tour, or Villandry, Langeais and 2 more chateaux in another tour. The one I took was extremely enjoyable. In fact, so much so that I decided to take the 10 day trip to just the Loire! I think your party of 5 would enjoy that daytrip. And it is definitely nothing like Versailles. Having said all that, the Paris Bus Tour thing is not cheap. It would be more economical to just take the TGV on your own to Tours, and rent a car. Also you could pick up a chateau tour in Tours.

Anna1013

Sue 4,

thanks for your info, but what do you been by picking up a chateau tour is Tours... would this be at the Tourist Office, and do you know anything more about it?

Sue4

Anna, yes, the tours are made through the Tourist Office. In high season, it's probably best to make a reservation a few days in advance. You can do that thru their website: www.ligeris.com (the Tours Tourist Office website). If you take the TGV to Tours, you will need to transfer to a "shuttle" train that goes to the main Tours train station, and the Tourist Office is right across the street. That's where the minibus tours leave from. The TGV goes to St. Pierre des Corps, not Tours (but is only minutes away). While I was staying in Tours, I did 2 of the AccoDispo tours. There is pretty much to choose from (you can see the schedule on the website).

SalB

You can go through both Chenonceau and Villandry without being part of a tour. There is a small charge for either.

We always rent a car so I'm not sure how to get to either without a car but I suspect virtually everyone else on this board can tell you!

Another gem is Azay le Rideau. It's small but lovely.

Anna1013

Anyone have advice of going to villandry without a car? Would I be able to take a train from tours to that Chateau?

Also, we are going to see the Chenonceau chateau... is it possible to travel from Chenonceau to Villandry by train, not car?

clairobscur

I'm quite surprised by some of the answers concerning the differences between Versailles and the Loire valley chateaux (Versailles being the king's palace, while the Loire castles would be wealthy people's castles, etc..).

The obvious difference is that Versailles (and For instance Vaux) belong to a very different historical era than the Loire Valey castles. The architecture, ornementation, etc...is completely different. Versailles will be much more similar to another castle build at the same time in say, Russia or Austria than to a french castle built close to 200 years before.


I like a lot the (Renaissance era) Loire valley castles, while I really don't care much for the (Classical era) Versailles. Other people might feel the contrary, but these are completely different buildings, anyway.

Anna1013

Thanks clairobscur, that was actually the kind of info I was looking for - what period's these two places were created in.

Anyone have advice if we can travel by train and without a car to these chateaus?