Okay you've all been so helpful with the rest of our France trip. I knew you could help us with questions for the Loire Valley Region, which we've decided to add to the end of our trip. Our plans are to see Chartres, Chateau de Chambord, Fontainebleau and I'm sure we'll add more.

Which town would you suggest to be our base? We'll have 3 nights in this region a Friday, Saturday, & Sunday and the whole day on Monday. We'll return into Paris Orly on Monday night for our flight Tuesday morning.

I've looked at these places:

http://www.allchateaux.com/chateau-colliers.html

http://www.chambres-hotes-loire.com/welcome.php

http://www.chateaudejonvilliers.com/index.htm

http://www.saintmichel-chambord.com/...michel%201.htm

As always, any comments or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Merci,
Amy

Stayed at www.Chateau-de-Perreux.com in Sept. About 10 min. outside of Amboise which is a very good location to tour. It was one of our best stays in France--absolutely beautiful. It is a B&B--no elevator(2 floors), no restaurant(just breakfast).

We toured Chambord, Chenenceau, Villandry, and the DaVinci house. All were magnificent.

At the Perreux, we felt like we were guests at one of those beautiful chateaus. They gave us a recommendation for a gourmet dinner at L'aubinere, nearby, and it was wonderful. There also were many restaurants(casual and better) in Amboise.

My complete review of the Perreux can be found in Trip Advisor, Chateau Perreux, Amboise--"Luxury without the velvet rope".

Also, the prices were quite reasonable--say hello to Victoria and Allun for me!

topping and hoping for more suggestions

TPAYT...I couldn't find your review on tripadvisor. And I couldn't find any more information about the restaurant you mentioned..L'Aubinere.

We will be staying in Amboise but without a car and we like to try restaurants that aren't listed in every tour book.

How far do you think L'Aubinere would be from Amboise if we took a taxi? Do you remember its location? Do you have any other restaurant recommendations for that area?

Thanks.

So suntravler, where are you staying?

Hi Amy-

We based ourselves in Amboise when we visited the Loire last October. We stayed at Hotel Le Clos d'Amboise which was great.
http://www.leclosamboise.com/UK.asp

We spent 3.5 days in the Loire area. Here's my trip report:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35084833

Thanks yk, I'll check those links out!!

I would also suggest visiting the chateaux of Chenonceau and de Valencay, which was Talleyrand's base for "entertaining" foreign dignitaries. Valencay is interesting because it had remained in the Talleyrand family from his purchase of it in 1803 until 1952, so the furnishings are still largely intact.

suntraveler

On TripAdvisor it's at Chateau de Perreux, Amboise. We put it in Nov.'07

The restaurant L'Aubinere would be too far to take a cab, as it's 10 min. or so from Amboise to the Perreux, and it was another 15 min. or so the opposite way to L'Aubinere. It was kind of in the middle of nowhere. But you could ask at your hotel.

For casual food, we liked the "Florentine" right on the main st. of Amboise toward the Davinci House. It was mostly locals, and the food was great with very friendly service.

So has no one here stayed in the 4 places I asked about? I'd like to make our reservations this weekend.

Merci,
Amy