Loire travel tips
 

When driving from place to place, always have a stock of Euro on board. The tolls on some Autoroutes can get pretty hefty (Paris-Tours 20€ for a 2-hour drive).

Don't park where <i>Payant</i> is painted on the street unless you buy a parking chit from a machine and display it inside the windshield. This bit of ignorance cost me 11&euro;

For an authentic 18th-century stay, check out chateaudelanoue.com near Amboise. Our week there was absolutely idyllic. Dress warm.

Get your hands on a little packet of sightseeing cards called &quot;Kit&quot; from Gites de France Touraine - one of them gets you a free bottle of bubbly with your tour of the http://www.monmousseau.com/ winery in Montrichard.

Thanks. Good info in succinct post. We need more of these kinds of posts.

Robespierre wrote: &quot;The tolls on some Autoroutes can get pretty hefty (Paris-Tours 20&euro; for a 2-hour drive).&quot;

Another strategy is to avoid using the autotroutes. That's what I do. It's not the tolls (I avoid even the toll-free ones); it's that they are nothing other than routes for vehicles. Thee is invariably a more interesting route available.

It might be different if I were under time pressure, but I manage not to be.

For &quot;Thee&quot; above, read &quot;There&quot;.

Oh, yeah. Get a diesel, stick if you can drive one. We paid 1.35&euro;/l (~$7/gal) and got about 32mpg in a Citro&euml;n C1 5-speed.

apropos of non-motorway routes, you could look out for the &quot;bison fute&quot; signs - they are suggested tourst routes that avoid traffic black-spots and motorways. this applies to all france.

in the loire area, the troglodyte wine caves in the saumur area are well worth a visit.

regards, ann

annhig wrote: &quot;in the loire area, the troglodyte wine caves in the saumur area are well worth a visit.&quot;

We stayed in a hotel near Saumur, and tried a local wine that they recommended: Domaine Filliatreau. Yes, we thought, we have to bring some of this stuff home. How do we find the producer? It turned out to be very easy to find. The troglodyte wine caves. Still have a few (only a very few) bottles in store. I think the Loire Valley might be on next year's agenda.

Filliatreau SA

www.filliatreau.fr

33-2-41-52.90.84