LOIRE VALLEY
 

Hi,
I only have 1/2 day at Loire Valley.
Where do you recommend I go, and which part should I connect to on teh train from Paris?
there are so many stops taht are considered Loire Valley?

Amboise would be a good choice for a half day. The Leonardo museum and a chateau are there.

I think I would go to Chenonceaux if I had a half day. If the train doesn't stop there, try to find the nearest station and check to see if there are buses from the station to the chateau.

Chenonceau or chambord, can't help on transport we hired a driver.

which train stop is Chenonceau ? i will be coming from paris tgv?

kimarama1: I doubt you're going to be able to tour the Loire Valley and see a château on a half-day trip from Paris using only the train. You can get to Tours quickly on the TGV, to be sure, but then what? I don't think there are train connections to Amboise or any of the main towns with châteaux - if there are, and it's possible, they are probably pretty pokey and will leave you with quite a bit of walking to do. Maybe there are buses.
Perhaps it would be better for you to take a day tour from Paris with a company like ParisVision or CityRama.
If you have only a 1/2 day for a daytrip outside Paris, why not consider something closer in like Versailles or Fontainebleau or Auvers-sur-Oise or Chamonix or Senlis?

I'm not sure what you mean by having a half day to tour the Loire Valley. Are you on your way somewhere else, or do you mean you want to go to/from the Loire Valley and tour a chateau, all from Paris, in four hours/ It's not possible.

Both Amboise and BLois are on the train line from Tours and Paris, which are quick. There is no problem visiting them by train, I've done it to both of them. You should not go to Tours to do that, just go from Paris to either one of them. I think they both are fine to see a chateau, but you won't really be visiting the Loire Valley exactly by seeing one town and one chateau.

But if you just want that experience of seeing a Loire chateau, either would do, but Blois is closer to Paris (only about 1-1/2 hrs by train) and the chateau is closer to the train station. Chenonceau is lovely, but I don't think as possible logistically. I think you do have to take a local train or bus from Tours for that one, but am not sure of those details, and I know it takes longer.

Go to Chenonceau. Trip will take 2 hours with a connection at St Pierre des Corps (Tours). Train stops right in front of the chateau.

Larry J

For answers to all your posts about the Loire get a copy of the Michelin Green Guide <<Chateaux of the Loire>>.

Please do not start another thread on this subject. Four is enough.