Stellar424

My husband and I (both in mid-20s) will be in the Loire Valley for 3 nights, staying at a chateau in Chinon. We plan to take the train from Paris and then hire a car at the train station to drive into Chinon. I really would like to see Chenonceau and Chambord, but they are on the opposite end of the Loire from Chinon. I was thinking of taking the train to Orleans, hiring a car there, and then driving to Chenonceau and possibly Chambord on the way to Chinon. It looks doable on the map, but I am wondering if anyone with experience in that area can tell me if it will be too much to do in a day or if it's even worth it. We don't plan to explore inside the chateaus so much, but maybe see some of the grounds and the exterior. Our plans for the rest of our Loire Valley trip are to bike around the area, see some chateaus, visit some wineries, and relax at our chateau.

Thank you!

FrenchMystiqueTours

It all depends on how early you plan on leaving Paris and how much time you plan to spend at each place. If you leave early I don't see why you couldn't take the train to Orléans and see both Chambord and Chenonceau the same day and then drive on to Chinon. To get drive times and distances use the website www.viamichein.com. It gives you driving times and distances, toll and fuel costs and suggested routes (quickest, most scenic etc.). The times given do not consider stops for food/fuel/bathroom breaks nor do they consider bad traffic or bad weather.

Instead of renting a car in Orléans have you considered renting your car in Paris and driving from there. I believe there are car rental agencies on the southern fringe of the city right by the autoroute you'd take to head to the Loire. I'm assuming you don't want to drive in Paris and that's why you're renting a car in the Loire.

If you weren't aware of it there is a website about biking in the Loire that discusses the various dedicated cycle lanes and other cycle routes in the Loire. Here is the link:

http://www.cycling-loire.com/

nytraveler

You're making this way too complicated. Just pick up a car when you're ready to leave Paris - and you can see a coup;e of the chateaux on the way to the place you're staying in Chinon. then see others from there. distances are not great, but the local roads can be narrow - so don;t plan on doing more than about 45 or 50 except on the highway (which you should avoid if you want to see the best countryside - once you get to the Loire).

We stayed at the Chateau des Reaux for 6 nights and saw many of the chateaux from there - including Chambord and Chenonceau without any trouble - as well as Blois, Amboise and the Fontrevauld Abey.

AussieFrance

Hi, Chinon to Chambord takes about 1 1/2 hours by car and takes you past Tours, Amboise and Blois. Chambord to Chenonceau is about an hour and you can go via Cheverny. Chenonceau to Chinon takes about 1 1/4 hours. So you're looking at about 4 hours driving in all. If you start early and get home late, I don't think it would pose a problem as you only want to visit the outside and grounds, particularly if you have a lunch stop halfway. I would visit the grounds of Chambord but not Cheverny which you can see without going in if you park opposite the entrance (near the tourist office) and then walk over to the gate. For Chenonceau, the best views are from a little pathway behind the castle that would take about a half an hour on foot I'd say(see http://www.aussieinfrance.com/2012/0...tos-chenonceau). Amboise and Blois don't have grounds but both towns are very pretty and you can park easily along the Loire on what they call the "Mail". There is nothing much to see in Tours so it's not worth a detour. You might like to check out my blog (I have just bought a Renaissance house in Blois but live in Paris). Use the search word "Loire Valley". www.aussieinfrance.com. Photos of some of the different châteaux can be found on http://www.loirevalleyholidayrental.com/loirevalley.

rosemaryoz

If you're stressed re driving from paris, why not catch the train to Blois, then pick up your car and meander southwest from there for the day? It won't matter if you arrive at Chinon at dinner time, as you still have a few ngihts there. Driving in the Loire is not difficult, but the roads which access the chateaux are not major highways, so they can be slow in spots.

Stellar424

Thanks everyone for your input.

FMT, it does make me a bit nervous to think of picking up a car in Paris and having to drive in the city. Chicago made me nervous, and I would imagine that Paris is much worse. However, if there are rental agencies near the autoroute, that may be a better choice for us. I will have to look into that. I actually had visited that cycling website but have since forgotten about it, so thank you for the reminder!

AussieFrance, thank you for sharing your blog and good luck with your two-home adventure!

rosemaryoz, would Blois be a better train stop than Orleans? The reason I chose Orleans was when I was looking at trains from Paris to Tours, it made a connection in Orleans, so I thought why not just stop there and get a car!

Stellar424

Now I am thinking renting a car from Paris would be a better idea, as we could come and go at any time and not have to worry about the train schedule. Any tips on where to hire the car from? We will be staying in Montparnasse while in Paris. Also, any tips on getting out/into Paris by car?

nytraveler

Just pick a car rental agency with an office near the peripherique. (Althouhg I must admit I don;t find driving in Paris a problem - but then I've scared cab drivers here in NYC. Paris driving really isn;t difficult at all.)

ggreen

Stellar, do you drive manual-shift? I have found that it's more difficult to get an automatic transmission car in the smaller towns and cities, whereas there is much better availability in Paris. (A number of years ago, two issues snarled up my well-laid plans to pick up a car in Chartres and drive to the Loire Valley: the rental office was not actually in Chartres-ville, something I hadn't bothered to notice when booking, so we had to take a taxi there. When we got to the agency, the automatic transmission I had reserved was not available: they only had one, and it had gone in for repair! I'll add that despite the fact that I speak French fairly well, I was very happy to have Auto Europe as the intermediary.)

Since you'll be staying at Montparnasse, you'll not be far from the southern rim of the Peripherique, so not much Paris driving at all. IMO, the hardest part of Paris driving is in roundabouts (do you have rotary circles where you live? they're like that). So if you pick a rental office on or near a boulevard, the driving should be straightforward. (I say this with the caveat that nytraveler and I apparently have a very similar NYC driving style!)

nytraveler

Frankly - driving in Paris is easier than it is in NYC - since we have 30,000 taxi drivers from who knows where driving about the city. As long as you're good at parallel parking - versus mall parking - you should be fine.