No, Sominex, you can't realistically drive out of Paris and "see" Versailles and two châteaux in a day. Especially if you're planning to stay in Tours, which I would not do (it will add quite a bit to your driving/traffic time and just isn't all that appealing, given all the other choices).

Travelbug, 6 days is great for a tour of the Loire and on to Normandy. I would spend 2 days in the Loire and 4 in Normandy. Do the Loire east to west, making sure to stop in Saumur and Angers, then spend a night in Honfleur and on to the DDay sights, basing yourself in Bayeux. You can ditch the car there or in Caen and take the train back to Paris.

tb711 -- the Tours call is best because the kids should like the superfast train and you'll get to relax a bit. We went to Villandry, Azay le Rideau, Blois, Amboise, Cheverny, Chenonceau, Chambord, Beauregard, and Chamont (I'm sure I'm forgetting one).

The boys should like the carriageway exit at Amboise, which makes that one worth a trip no matter what. Chenonceau is the pretty one, Chambord is a huge monster that the boys should enjoy running around, Chamont isn't overly notable other than it is the most traditional-looking one (with drawbridge to boot), and Cheverny is the model for Marlinspike Hall in the Tintin books. Blois is an amalgam of architectural styles.

Villandry is famous for its gardens, Azay is also more park-and-garden setting. Beauregard is notable only for its hundreds of portraits of royals, clerics and other notables of the 15th-16th century. The boys likely won't like that but a Tudors history freak (like the one I married) would.

When we visited Saumur Chateau last year, the interior was being restored and was not open to the public. From their web site ( http://www.saumur-tourisme.net/chateausaumur_uk.html ) it seems like 1 or 2 interior rooms are now open, but not all of the interior.

Has anyone been there recently??

There are some other Michelin 3 star Chateaux to visit in the Saumur & Angers region.

Stu Dudley

Thank you again for all the advise. I have two months to spend in Europe this summer so planning is taking a lot of time. I don't want to be tied to a definite itinerary but with two boys, I can't afford to put their safety and well-being in jeopardy. Since I will be driving from Loire to Normandy, does anyone have a good idea of how long of a drive that is? Should I leave in the morning from Amboise or wait until the afternoon?

Love the suggestion for Amboise...I really liked Amboise and Chenonceau is terrific; even the vegetable garden at Chenonceau is spectacular.

The biggest advantage to getting your rental car in Paris or at one of the airports is availability. If you drive manual transmission, there isn't any issue - but don't forget that there are far less automatic transmission vehicles available in France than in the States! We did rent once in Tours and got an automatic just fine - our only issue there was that the rental office wasn't open on a Sunday when we would have liked to drop it off.

I definitely recommend going through AutoEurope or Kemwel; if you do happen to have a problem, speaking to an English-language operator 24/7 can really help ease the stress level. My other piece of advice is to make sure the rental office is near the train station. (I've twice forgotten to check - once in Rennes and once in Chartres - and ended up needing a taxi to get between the two!)

As a New Yorker, I don't have too much problem driving within Paris - but many streets are certainly narrower than even NYC ones LOL. If you do end up reserving a car there, you should be fine getting out to the Peripherique (ring road) and then south towards the Loire. One thing to note is that the French are very fond of using the <i>rond-point</i> at intersections. It's a little bit of an adjustment to get used to, but then becomes quite second nature. :)

If you do go to Amboise, I remember on my first visit at about age 15 being impressed with the recreations of Leonardo da Vinci's inventions that are in the basement level of his house there. (However as an adult, I have to add they left less of an impact!)

>>make sure the rental office is near the train station. (I've twice forgotten to check - once in Rennes<<

We've dropped off a car at the Europcar office at the train station.

Stu Dudley

<i>We've dropped off a car at the Europcar office at the train station.</i>

On those trips I mentioned, dropoff wasn't the problem but pickup was! ;)

>> I actually got lost in the parking garage trying to return the car. <<

I had to laugh at this because the same thing happened to us. The worst part was that we were already late (this was during the gas strike and it had taken us over two hours from the Periphique to CDG) so my husband dropped me off to get in line while he returned the car. 45 minutes later, my husband still hadn't appeared, check in was about to close, and I was hysterical. But we made it with five minutes to spare and we can laugh about it now.