Loire Valley in June--How crowded? Also, tips on Nantes?
 

We're spending about 10 days in the Loire Valley in mid-June (half based in Angers, the other half based in Amboise; hotels already booked). How crowded are things going to be at the main sights--Chenonceau, for example? This is our first "high season" trip to the area--the others were in April and October/November. What is the best time of day to avoid the tour buses--early in the morning as soon as the castles open or later in the day, about two hours before closing?
From Angers, we plan to make a day trip to Nantes. Indytravel, I know you've been there...any particular recommendations? We plan to lunch at La Cigale, walk through the Jardin des Plantes, but other recommendations welcome (FYI, we'll be driving, not taking public transport).
Also, got no responses to my earlier post, but if anyone has been to the Mini-Chateaux Parc near Amboise, we'd like to hear your reaction.
Thanks!

We too are passing through the Loire mid June and have booked nothing....So, if it is fairly crowded we may be sunk!
No, not really - we have hired a car in Chartre and may spend a night but if we don't we will motor through to Bonneval.
I have done a walking tour in September a few years back and stayed at most of the famous Chateaux Hotels. Only reason for going back is because I missed out seeing the most romantic chateaux of them all at Azay-le-Rideau.
We are following the "Tour de France" route that will be used in July for most of the way until we have to turn off to St.Malo.
I wish you the best of holidays and lets hope we find some peace and quiet along the way!

Todd if you are looking for a hotel in Chartres, we consider the Best Western affiliated Le Grand Monarque a special treat--service and style fit for a king. It is located on a beautiful Place with a statue and little park on the roundabout. They have "promotions" that include the room and the exceptional gourmet dining experience, though I'm not sure they have it in high season. Even their bistro is excellent if you are in a casual (and less expensive) mood.

For a truly wonderful French meal in Chartres, you can't beat Le Buisson Ardent. It is nearby down a little side street and the beautiful diningroom "en poutres" is upstairs, not downstairs which is more bar/cafe in looks.

Sorry I can't help with Nantes...too many years ago, too little time there! Bon Voyage.

Klondike,
Your advice re;eating in Chartres is VERY much appreciated. Leaving Paris as early in the morning as possible to Chartres, then getting the car, and wanting to spend unhurried time in the cathedral, I can see us booking in to your suggested hotel and going down that lane for a wonderful meal! Thanks so much. Being South Africans our exchange rate is awful but we are definitely not going to scrimp and scrape on this special trip!

We were in the Loire valley in mid June a couple of years ago. We made reservations for the hotels, and in both cases, last minute inquiries were turned away. On the other hand, the size of the parking lot at Chenonceau told us that it is much more crowded in July. None of the sites (Chenonceau, Villandry, Blois, Langeais) were impossibly crowded. But it was a very cool June, to the point that Villandry was a slight disappointment.

Glad I could help.

You might also consider the little electric train tour they do which leaves from in front of the cathedral. I usually am not a fan of this type of thing, but it was really informative, covered a lot of the important sites (with great filming/photo ops), well worth the money and definitely more relaxing than driving (there are quite a few narrow, one way streets around the cathedral). Mainly in French with a shorter English summarization from the talented driver/guide.

Hi BTilke.

I spent 2 and 1/2 weeks total in the Loire Valley in May/June of 2001. The first 2 weeks were in early May, the last 4 days were in mid-June. Though I could tell a difference in the crowds, I didn't think they were that bad in mid-June.

I think the answer to the early morning vs. late afternoon visit is a "yes." Get to a chateau when it opens usually around 9:00. The tour busses start arriving around 10:00 so by then you can be well on your way through a chateau ahead of the crowds. As you finish up you can wander the grounds that aren't affected by the crowds. They may be busy but there isn't a line.

Have a nice lunch somewhere, tour a vineyard and show up at the next chateau around 4:00pm. Between 3 & 4 a lot of the tour buses have load up and move on. You then visit in the reverse order. Wander the grounds first. The crowds will continue to thin out. You can go into the chateau an hour or so before closing and see it with the few other stragglers.

I especially noticed this strategy at Chenonceau. I stayed two nights in the small town planning on hiking the extensive grounds. Unfortunately the Loire was flooding at its highest levels in 30 years and it wasn't possible. (Heck now that I think about it, I don't truly know if you're allowed to hike the acreage around the chateau.) I knew of the flooding in advance from reading the newspapers so I arrived on the last train one night, stayed the next day and left on the first train the day after that.

I arrived at the chateau at 8:00am and almost made it in. (See the 'where were you yelled at' thread.) I went in at 9:00 when it opened and toured the chateau. When I came out of the chateau around 10:00 I could see a line at the chateau entrance and more coming down the lane towards me. Then I explored the grounds that weren't flooded. Try to make time for the kitchen gardens. I've never seen anything like them. Fruit trees, probably apple, trained to grow horizontally at ankle height to edge some of the beds. It was amazing.

I had a very good lunch at the restaurant (not the snack bar) on the chateau property with an excellent half bottle of their vintage. I walked the small town in the afternoon and went back into the chateau that afternoon around 4:00pm. That's when I noticed the buses were thinning out and the bulk of the people were leaving.

Another crowd trend I noticed was the further west you go the fewer crowds there are. People seem to stretch to make Azay-le-Rideau, after that it drops off noticeably. Chinon, Langeais and Saumur were less crowded then points east like Amboise, Chambord, Chenonceau, etc. So if you're daytripping out of Amboise on a weekend you might consider going west. Or even further east away from Tours would be better as long as it isn?t Chambord, Blois or one of the other biggies.

Nantes

I loved the seared foie gras with polenta and apple butter at La Cigale. It is one of the best I've had. Now that I'm thinking of foie and it's lunch time, the best I ever had was in Chaumont a little town near Troyes. It was at a hotel just outside the train station. It was two of the biggest slabs of seared foie gras I've seen resting on grilled apple slices and surrounded by a brown, buttery sauce. Dang! I have to eat in the cafeteria today. :-(

Nantes can have a rainy Atlantic coast climate. I'd be prepared for an indoor day or an outdoor day.

I think a must see no matter what the weather is the Passage Pommeraye. Built in the 1840's it has a lot of ornate carving and decorations. It's really very pretty. As an added bonus it's filled with little shops for window shopping. I was surprised there wasn't a café or tearoom in it though. I'd hoped to sit, soak up ambiance and sip an espresso.

You mentioned the Jardin des Plantes. It's very pretty. One of France's oldest I believe. They even have a few California redwoods. It's just across the street from the train station. I don't know if parking there would be economical or not as I didn't have a car.

The Fine Art Museum is OK. Nothing was terribly noteworthy. I really preferred the Musee Dobree. It's an excellent museum of the kind I really like. A smallish size, but very eclectic collection: coins, ceramics, religious art, carved wooden structural pieces from churches. It even has the gold encased heart of Anne de Bretagne and a Bosch painting.

The natural history museum was only another OK, too: rocks, sticks, bones and a very small vivarium. I had the time and it was on the Nantes Card so I power-walked it.

The castle is a real fortification like Angers'. Much of it is closed for remodeling but you can walk along the ramparts for a view.

Across from the castle is the old LU biscuit factory. It has a couple of stages for shows in it, a trendy bar & bookstore and a restaurant where I didn't eat.

Wandering the old town is very pleasant. Small pedestrian streets lined with shops. There are 2 or 3 nice churches to see. Place Royal has a nice fountain.

I really liked the Jules Verne museum on a bluff overlooking the Loire to the west of the city center a mile or so. But then I'm a fan as it is only all things Jules Verne. If you aren't a fan it might be a bit dry.

I took a lunch cruise on the Erdre river that was pretty. The food was decent too, though at the time of year you'll be there you should be able to get a cruise without a meal. They departed from a dock just north of the Tour de Bretagne which you can't miss. The Tour is one of those lone tower glass & metal monstrosities that stick out like a sore thumb as Lyon's "le crayon" does. In the area is another pretty park to walk through. You can see all kinds of pleasure boats.

If you do find yourselves in one of the châteaux during tour-group time, make a point of scurrying along past the group and then making an effort to stay between groups. You'll have a much better time if you don't have to play sardines.

What it is seems to bring out the worst in people when they're in a group?

Indytravel, thanks so much for the Nantes info. It was very helpful. The only chateaux we plan to see on this trip are Chenonceau and Chambord and then maybe one other (we are also planning to hit the Mini Chateaux Parc near our hotel, but I don't think that counts...). We did Angers, Chinon, Saumur, and Azay le Rideau on the last trip. Half tempted to go up to Le Croisic from Nantes, as I spent a summer in La Baule with a French family when I was an exchange student and we used to go to Le Croisic from time for crepes and cider. I'd like to see a) what I remember and b) what's changed.