Loire Valley Planning - mid July
 

As we get closer to the trip, more and more details are falling into place.

The Loire portion.

Just to rehash. So far we have never rented a car while in Europe and don't expect to do it this time.

The plan.

Day 1
We will take the train from Paris to Tours. Drop some things off at our hotel which is very close to the train station (Oceania L'Univers on Boul Heurteloup - anybody stayed there?)

Train to Chenonceau and after visiting the chateau eventually train back to Tours.

Day 2
Two choices.
1)Train to Blois and visit Chambord and Cheverny using the Navette shuttle. Train back to Tours.

or 2) Take a tour from Tours. Possibly Accodispo. Afternoon tour of Chambord and Cheverny.

The reason I'm considering the minivan tour is the Navette shuttle schedule the I have seen doesn't coordinate well with the train and doesn't have enough time.

Have anybody used a minivan tour to these chateaux or that company specifically.

Day 3
Train to Amboise and visit Amboise and Clos Luce. Then train to Paris from Amboise or Tours depending upon the train schedules.

Any comments that will make this work better or changes except for having a car?

Thanks.

<<So far we have never rented a car while in Europe and don't expect to do it this time.>>

The notion that you "don't expect" to do so doesn't mean that you are unable nor that actually doing so wouldn't be preferable to your current arrangements.

That said, do not overestimate Chenonceau or underestimate Chambord. The first is fairly small for a chateau and may not keep you occupied for hours on end, which means you'll be tied to a relatively unfriendly train schedule (there's < hourly service to Tours).

Chambord, by contrast, is immense. And a tour may undersell it.

Cheverny is interesting by itself (although not particularly large) and also because it inspired "Marlinspike Hall" in Herge's Tintin comics. When we were there, the chateau shop had tons of Tintin books, without the overt racism and stereotyping excised.

Or do it in style in style in a vintage Citroen with Loire Valley Time travel Tours. Pick-up and drop off at Tours included.

We’ve been to the Loire Valley twice as a part of longer European trips. Neither time did we rent a car as we didn’t want the stress of driving on the other side of the road (we’re Australian).

While it would have been easier in some ways to have a car there, we managed fine without one.

The first time we stayed in Tours at the Best Western. It was a bit of a walk from the station but in the old area and really interesting to walk around. That time we did a minivan tour to Chambord and Chenonceau. It may have been Accodipso, I’m not sure. But it was fine - plenty of time to see the castles thoroughly.

The second day we caught a train to Langeais Chateau. We loved it and the village it’s in. The only trouble was that the trains weren’t very frequent so we had to wait a while for a train to go back to Tours.

The second time in the Loire we stayed in Amboise. The first day we saw Amboise Chateau and Clos Luce. Both were interesting and I don’t understand why people put Amboise Chateau down as it was really nice.

On our second day we caught a train to Blois and saw the chateau there. It was well worth seeing, along with the town itself.

You should be fine without a car, and there are always taxis though you might have to phone for one. We found they weren’t often waiting at small stations in France. Rick Steves lists taxi numbers for some towns in his France guidebook and these numbers were often a Godsend for us if stations were a fair way from our hotels.

I'm an amateur photographer so I can always spend a bit of extra time wandering around.

BigRuss, Expect, able, preferable are merely words. You add up the points; driving, parking, car issues, auto type (manual, automatic), etc, etc and make decisions.

We WILL NOT have a car.

However, you do bring up a point I was thinking about over the weekend; How much time to plan on for each chateau.

The chateaux that we may visits (probably not all but possibly) are Chenonceau, Chambord, Chevery, Chaumont, Blois, Clos Luce & Azay-le-Rideau.

I realize we won't be the only ones visiting any of these and each person spends a different amount of time in each place, but any guidance would be very helpful.

This could even be in units of time such as if you spent 1 hour in place "A" then you would want to spend so much time in each of the others, etc.

jacooper,
Of all the chateaux, Amboise gets the most varied opinions. Anything from it's a waste of time and the only worthwhile view is from across the river to it's really nice.

My wife has a very different approach than I do. She say I leave no stone unturned. Maybe. She could probably see a couple of chateaux (one , two or three) and be satisfied.

What she doesn't consider is that somebody (me) has done the research so she's starting with a fair amount of work having been done.

<<I don’t understand why people put Amboise Chateau down as it was really nice.>>

The people who put it down no doubt are purists who recognize that much/most of what you see there now is a complete reconstruction. The château fell into ruin after the 16th century, and I believe the chapel was entirely destroyed. So people who are put off by things that aren't entirely authentic may not like it. Same thing goes for Viollet-le-Duc's monumental reconstruction of Carcassonne, which people either love or hate. Of course, it's possible many people don't have a clue whether they're looking at the real thing or a fake and just make up their own minds, which is fine.

I don’t mind reconstructions if they are done in the same material and style as the original. In Japan I’m not keen on some of the reconstructions of castles using concrete instead of the original wood, eg Osaka Castle.

But even the authentic wooden ones have probably been reconstructed to some degree, I imagine.

In case you are not aware of, many châteaux have evening light shows only in summer. As the shows need to start when it is dark in summer, you would need stay in that town if you don't have a car.

The show is called "Le Son et Lumière."

In case you are on the fence about Amboise, if you are willing to stay overnight on Wed or Sat night (except 7/14) there is a show at Amboise castle from July 7 to the end of August.

http://www.renaissance-amboise.com/l...8.html?lang=uk