Any suggestions on where to stay in Loire Valley? Would appreciate info on the region and what is a must-see

Amy, It would help if you gave some indication of what kind of acomadtion you're looking for. We love the area around Onzain, but prices for lodging vary from modest to quite expensive. Amboise, a little furter along also makes a good center for touring the region. <BR>Chenenceaux, Azay le Rideau, and Cheverny were a few of my favorites. Also Leonardo de Vinci house in Amboise.

Check this site:http://www.clenord.com/home.htm

We stayed in a lovely and very well priced chateau in Saumur, which I posted about here on my return.<BR><BR>A search for Beaulieu might pull it up.<BR><BR>Another Fodorite, Debbie, also stayed there that summer (1999) and also loved it.<BR><BR>Kavey

Best search for<BR><BR>Chateau de Beaulieu and that should help pull up a thread called<BR><BR>Kavey's Diary of Loire<BR><BR>Hope it helps, feel free to ask any questions from it...<BR> <BR>

For something really different, try this link. Chateau Jallanges has been written up here a few times. We stayed there in '98 and it was wonderful (given that it's already 500 years old I doubt it's changed much since '98!) It is in Vouvray, about 20 minutes from Tours and is a great base for seeing all the major chateaus of the Loire and some of the great wine towns and caves. http://www.chateaux-france.com/-jallanges

We had a lovely stay at The Manoir at St. Dye (near blois)

Hi Amy! I stayed at the Chateau de Chissay near Chennenceux (SP?!). My room was wonderful, the bathtub had a mosaic of Diane di Poitiers bare-brested in the bath. Their restaurant provided the best meal I had in France. Great location for touring the valley.

Amy,<BR>Stayed in Chenonceau at "Au Bon Laboureur". Small inn, very nice restaurant, comfortable rooms.<BR><BR>Agree with others about Chenonceau, Azay, Amboise. Also interesting is castle at Uzze (supposedly inspired Cinderella story), Chinon (old town, has medieval festival in summer), Tours (for the old castle). Not as excited as some are about CHambord. <BR>If you go, try to do some "Sons et Lumieres". These are held at quite a few castles, twilight/nighttime "plays" where they tell story of castle with light show/music..The one at Le Lude is fairly well know because they put on a show with horses and riders.<BR><BR>Enjoy<BR><BR>Mike

OOps,<BR><BR>Make that Angers instead of Tours. Tours also has some links to Joan of Arc.<BR><BR>I hope you are driving. It is a great area of France for wandering the back roads. I rented a car and used the MIchelin Green book as my guide, starting from east to west. Got lost many times, but it was a fun way to see the country. I made a rule to only stay at 3 star hotels. Prices were very reasonable (compared to Paris!). My pleasant surprise was that no matter where I stayed, all of the hotel restaurants has good meals. Make sure to try the local fish and local wines (Chinon reds, Sancerres, Pouilly Fumes...)<BR><BR>Mike

We rented a car, stayed outside Amboise and drove all over. Anywhere you go is gorgeous. We were there in August, and the sunflower fields were stunning. BTW, we specifically went to Chinon on the weekend of the medieval festival noted on its website only to be told that it had been cancelled three years prior due to crowd control problems. The chateaux are beautiful, but crammed with people, and I personally was underwhelmed; there is no traffic pattern to the flow thru the building, and it gets really tight and at times total gridlocked. The gardens at Villandry were well worth seeing; also take a tour of one of the many caverns open to the public. We missed the Abbey near Samur (I believe it was) - burial place of Eleanor of Aquitaine, etc. We only had two days (discounting the travel down from Paris) and it was not enough. Do a little reading on Jeanne de Arc, because she is everywhere....

The Chateau Beaulieu is in Tours and is a very nice place to stay. I can also recommend the Hotel Bon Laboreur at Cnenonceau. If you are driving, try and see Valencay--it is a little off the normal tourist circuit and offers a better experience than a lot of the others.

Suggest using Amboise as your base town and roam from there (assuming you will have a car). The Manior les Minimes is quite nice, well done up and located very well in Amboise. Great rooms, private parking. We liked it very much. They have a web page search for them. All the "major" chateaux are within easy drives. Be sure to visit the home of Da Vinci in Amboise as well. For a neat little cocktail lounge check out the little spot on the island in Amboise called Le Shaker...nice people, nice drinks, good bar food.

The Chateau Ron mentions is a different one to the one I talk about btw...<BR><BR>Kavey

Try www.chateauandcountry.com/

have stayed twice at Chateau des Tertes in Onzain. Very nice small hotel and fairly reasonable. Rooms have view of Chaumont across the Loire.<BR><BR>Hard to go wrong in the Loire - allthe chateau are interesting, just enough different that I don't get tired of them. Visit 2-3 per day. Get off on the minor roads and just putter arround

Kavey is correct...the Chateau de Beaulieu in Samur can be found on www.chateaux-france.com.

Amy- we have stayed at Chateau De Rochecotte-- fabulous place-all rooms are different==Part of the the Relais and Chateau Chain and VERY elegant--<BR>Rooms overlook the vineyards.They have a fabulous gourmet restaurant and they will arrange balloon rides for you also==A great base to come home to--<BR>(I know I am spelling it wrong -but I know someone else can post the correct spelling and the exact town and web link--help! and thanks!)

We also stayed at Chateau de Rochecotte, which is in the small town of Saint-Patrice about 15 miles from Tours. It is a fabulous chateau with large rooms and a gourmet dining room. Each night the sommelier recommended a local wine to complement the meal. The local vineyards produce a wonderful red wine called bourgeuil which is perfect with a meal or just for sipping. The staff speaks fluent English and is most accomodating. Saint-Patrice requires a car (although there is a small train station just down the hill from the chateau), but it is ideally situated for exploring the Loire. Don't miss the balloon flight over Chenonceaux!

Thanks for mentioning the Chateau de Rochecotte--looks to be a fabulous place! It is in "Chateaux & Hotels de France," by the way.