Loire Valley chateau & towns
 

Has anyone stayed at the chateau la bourdaisiere recently? or any other sugestions for a chateau around 200 usd. We will be relying on buses, tains, & taxies to get from one location to another. Any particular itinerary sugestions for sightseeing in the Loir Valley area would be appreciated.
thanks ncm

Never stayed at the Bourdaisiere. We did stay at the Chateau de Pray in Amboise and liked it a lot. It may be a little smaller and a little cheaper than the one you're considering. This was about 2-3 years ago, and I think we paid $160 euro in high season, which, with the exchange rate at the time, was around $200 U.S. dollars. It had an excellent (small) restaurant. However, if you are considering Amboise area, I know a lot of people on these board recommend Manoire les Minimes

Oops, hit "post" too soon.

recommend Manoir Les Minimes because it is in walking distance to the main Amboise area. Chateau de Pray is about a mile out and it's difficult to walk as some parts of the road don't have sidewalk areas. We rented a car so it was a lot easier.

I liked the Amboise area because the Chateau is *right there* and I am a Leonardo fan (he's supposedly burried in the chapel of the Chateau. Also, his home Clos Luce is in Amboise.

You can take a train or bus tour to Chenonceau easily, or it's about a 20 min. drive. Blois, Chambord, Azay-le-Rideau, Chaumont, Villandry, and many others are all within driving distance.

There are also vineyards and troglodyte house/wineries in the area. It's hard to suggest an itinerary not knowing what you like to do.

Jolie,
Thank you so much, exactly the info I was looking for. I'll check those out.

Anyone else - chateaus & attractions in the Loire Valley area that can easily be accessed without renting a car. It sounds like from what I have read Amboise or Tours are a good base. Does anyone think one place is better than the other for a base?

NCM - I spent a week WALKING the Loire Valley some years back. I have been back and this latter trip we had our own car but I saw MORE and had the time of my life doing it on foot!
Now, don't be alarmed at the walking part. It's easy as pie!
My trip was organised with The Wayfarers. Our hotel accommodation was mainly in Chateaux Hotels with superb cuisine.
After a hearty breakfast each day we set off on foot through winding paths, farmlands, villages etc., We were met by our tour director somewhere for morning refreshments ( what a spread!)
This could be in a forest, under a shady tree on a farm...........and that was morning and afternoon!
Then lunch in a local restaurant (even in a Troglodyte cave). Dinner in style at the hotel and always wonderful.

We saw the cream of the Loire, met fantastic people from other parts of the world and never carried a suitcase once!
PS. Only about 16 guests take part.
You get picked up in Tours but the actual walk starts from Azay-le-Rideu.

Almost all the private chateaux (we stayed in one) are in the country - rather than in or right near a town - and are really inconvenient if you don;t have a car.

Public transit to the various towns/chateaux (except largest towns) is NOT good (often only 1 or 2 buses per day) - so using public transit can slow you down considerably.

Amboise is a much better base than Tours if you have a car, but you might have better transportation options from Tours.

Is there some reason you won't rent a car? Your sightseeing options are going to be limited significantly without one.

NCM,

Some years ago, we stayed at Chateau de Rochecotte (near Langeais) and loved it.

http://www.chateau-de-rochecotte.fr/

Maybe someone who has stayed there more recently can give a more up-to-date report.

Byrd

hi tod

That sounds like a fun way to see the Loire. Was there an alternate plan on days that it rained?

Hi Kwren, My walk was in September and we experienced nothing but hot sunny days - wasn't that wonderful?!
The Wayfarers do walks in parts of England and in central Europe and have also branched out to the United States and I think New Zealand ( or was it OZ?)
When I look back I now see what fantastic value we got for our money!
If you Google them you can request a brochure with short descriptions on all the walks. In France alone there were a choice of three or four and Italy too.
Switzerland had one and I don't recall anything in Germany, Portugal or Spain at the time of our trip.
You have re-kindled so many fond memories I want to go again and soon!!
To answer your question: those guys were so jacked up it wouldn't surprise me if they had two or three different alternatives for a rainy day.
Just to mention that besides walking, eating and sleeping we were taken to a wine tasting, a Boule display of how the game is played (indoors), a tour of mushroom and snail growing with lunch deep in the caves that dot the Loire countryside, a champagne boat trip down the Loire, etc. etc.
I can't speak highly enough of the proffessional way in which everything was handled.
eg: A seventy year old lady from the USA came down with a bad chest virus and could not continue to walk with us but and instead of tossing her aside and leaving her to languish in her hotel room, the director let her spend the time driving out to meet us for tea breaks and lunches. They were so kind.

Amboise, as has been stated, is the better place to stay. A car is pretty much necessary for any trip to the Loire valley.

The French 'forgot' centuries ago to put their Chateaux along side of motorways.

Try to limit yourself to 2-3 chateaux a day, or your mind will become numb.

Tod - the walking tour sounds very interesting, i'll search more on that - but we are senior citizens.
i've been checking fodorite comments all day and have come up with these suggestions.
stay at Amboise via TGV from London to Paris and TGV from Paris to Saint Pierre des Corps? do i have that right?
Spend 4 nights at Clos d'Amboise
take an excursion thru accodispo tours to Chenonceau,Chambord & Cheverny - an all day tour.
next day go to Tours (how do i get there is my 1st question)spend the morning in Tours and then take a 1 hour train ride to Angers; where i understand it is easy to get around w/out transportation. I have one more day before returning to Paris, Saumur sounds interesting. Please comment on what i have so far and what my last day could include. thanks. ncm

Hello NCM,
Well it sounds like you will be starting out from London. That's the way we did it.
Took the Eurostar to Paris, caught the TGV from Gare Montparnasse in Paris to Tours (St.Pierre des Corps)that's the name of the train station in Tours, spent one night in Tours and waited to be picked up by The Wayfarers the next day.
Drove through to Azay, spent the night and from then on it was walking and changing hotels daily.
I appreciate the fact you say you are elderly but if you are fit, all well and good, but if you are not used to an active life style the walking trip would be of no enjoyment to yourselves.
We ended our trip at Hotel Le Prieure in Chenehutte-les-Tuffeaux and were driven to Angers train station where we caught the TGV back to Paris.
Saumur is wonderful but means doubling back but thats not a bad thing. Pity you can't see it on your way through to Angers.
One must if at all possible, see the beautiful little village of Candes-st-Martin. I think you may need the assistance of the hotel Clos de Amboise to arrange your transport in advance.
Have you tried to find any alternative small group tours driving through the Loire Valley? This may be the answer for your requirements.

Another vote for Chateau du Pray, we had a lovely room and the restaurant is fabulous.

Don't miss the Gardens at Villandry, they are so pretty.

And, I do hope you'll consider a car, it's quite easy to drive this area.

annieladd

Hi again, just wanted to add that the St.Pierre des Corps station is in Tours. Amboise has its own train station so you might want to check on the various train times - there might be a train that goes directly to Amboise from Paris without transferring in Tours. But, the train ride from Tours to Amboise (or the reverse direction) is only about 15-20 min., so it's very easy.

Don't forget to check out the Chateau in Amboise itself. If you can find a bus tour or arrange some other transportation (perhaps ask the hotel?) we also enjoyed the Chateau at Blois very much (about 30 min. by car); it has an interesting history.

Your trip is making me envious! Hope you have a good time.

Stayed there in 2004. Fantastic room & grounds. Restaurant in a cave at the bottom of the hill from the chateau. Just a great experience.

One nice thing about Bourdaisiere is their gardens--their kitchen gardens might even give Villandry a run for the money. They are seriously into tomatoes, they grow hundreds of different varieties (one source said they grew 650 types of tomatoes, which is a pretty staggering amount). So if you're a big garden fan, Bourdaisiere is definitely worth considering.

We had a whirlwind trip to the Loire Valley last weekend. Here is our trip report: http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35014038

We mostly focused on wine-tasting and somewhat less on chateaux, but it might give you some ideas. Why aren't you considering a rental car as an option? You could take the train from Paris and then rent a car to putter around the countryside. It will give you a lot more freedom.

We are going to the Loire Valley in October and staying near Amboise. I am looking at Le Fleury...anyone know about this hotel?

I am visiting Paris in Oct and have wanted to go to the Loire Valley. Can you visit in 2 days? Do I need to rent a car from Paris or can I take a train? How do you get around from castle to castle and what exactly is there to do?

Thank you