Regards La Peniche barge/resto. Apparently has sunk as i went to the Blois tourist office web site and their seemingly comprehensive list of restaurants failed to mention any such place. Even if it were seasonal i think it'd be mentioned there.

PalQ: Thanks for looking into La Peniche for us...too bad, it sounded ideal!

That's too bad to here it folded, Thanks Ken, also for calling their old number.

AMBOISE
Amboise is the perfect Loire base. A fairly small town yet one that has everything tourists need Amsboise is also located at the epicenter of the Loire's most popular sights- Chenonceau, Blois, Chambord, Azay-le-Rideau, Chinon, Chaumont, Usse are primo chateaus within a short drive from Amboise. For car-less folks Amboise has great train service and has mini-bus tours that take you to a few (half-day tours) or 3 or 4 castles in the same day: these reasonably priced tours can be booked thru hotel desks or at the local tourist office. (One that's been around for several years is ACCO-DISPO (sp?). Amboise also has a slew of hotels, including the Chateau de or du Pray, a mile from the town center - the rare castle-hotel easily accessible to rail travelers. (I don't recommend specific hotels because i don't know much about them, i only mention this one because of its proximity to town and the train station.
Amboise also offers a great castle, on the Loire (for a great view of its facade, cross the bridge in front of it to the island, where there is also a campground and youth hostel). the castle has an especially bloody history; in one famous rebellion many bodies were hung dangling over its facade. Rent a bike and cycle thru the forest to nearby Chenonceau or up the Loire to Chaumont, the castle with famous stables. In Amboise you have a pleasant shopping street, a street of troglodyte houses cached behind the castle and Leonardo da Vinci's house with nice gardens and a display of re-created Leonardo inventions as well as memorabilia. Leonardo was brought here by Francois I and died here - his tomb i believe, or at least his heart is in the parish church (often closed). Amboise has a lively riverfront market some days. The Loire is at its most captivating in Amboise as it is often a wide expanse of sand with a few rivulets of water running through it. Locals proudly point to the Loire being a 'wild' river as opposed to most in France that have been damned up for shipping needs. On the edge of Amboise is an unusual relic of centuries ago when one rich guy built a lavish palace which was later pulled down, leaving only the Pagoda de Chanteloup, a relic of times when infatuation with things Chinese raged, a lonely sentinel hinting at its past glory. Today you can climb the pagoda and there is a nice park. (About 2 miles out of town.) Amboise castle has one of the Loire's finest son-et-lumiere shows in summer at night - with a cast of hundreds of locals in old garb.

I have to go to Blois this week to renew my residency papers. I'll try to find the address I have for La Peniche restaurant and see if it's still there. It will be fun because I haven't explored Blois that much -- I just go there for administrative things since it's the "capital" of my region. I'll let you know what I find out. Hi Mimi!

LOIRE BY BALLOON
A popular thing in recent years is to take a hot-air balloon trip over the Loire's fabled castles. These leave from several places as do airplane rides. Seeing the castles from above is a whole different treat!

BEAUGENCY: If looking for a neat old town with its own neat old chateau, head for Beaugency, on the eastern part of the classic Loire Valley chateau country. This is a sleepy almost untouristed town that is the essence of an old French town - narrow streets lined by gray stucco facades. And the castle here, though few of the hoardes descending on the Loire's other more famous castles come here, is really neat. An older castle that was once a medieval fortress, in more ways a fortress, Beaugency's chateau is rather dreamy - especially since you're liable to be here almost by yourself. Beaugency is famous for its medieval Loire stone bridge, still a main artery over the river - it makes a quaint riverside scene. Beaugency has good rail service, being a stop on the Paris-Austerlitz-Les-Aubrais-Tours rail line. There are a few quiet hotels - if looking for a quiet yet cool Loire base, investigate Beaugency.
Footnote: Beaugency is at the center of French history. An old school rhyme still sung by local kids goes: "Orleans, Beaugency and Notre-Dame de Clery" referring to the time when the whole of the lands controlled by the king of France was limited to the area between these three neighboring towns. At one time this was France!

MEUNG/SUR/LOIRE
If looking for an even more sleepy Loire backwater than Beaugency, opt for smaller Meung-sur-Loire, a similarly ancient non-gussied up town with its own captivating castle, one with dungeons and mysterious 'sousterrains' as well. On the Loire, Meung also has good rail serivce on the Paris-Les Aubrais-Tours rail line and a few hotels. Chambord, to many the Loire's finest castle, is a short drive from either Beaugency or Meung/s/Loire.

CLERY-ST-ANDRE
Just opposite Meung/s/Loire is the small town of Clery-St.Andre, an old village suffocated by a loud road but with one intriguing attraction, the local church whose importance at one time belies its present state as looking like yet another French parish church for here lies one of the kings of France, Louis XI, one of the few not resting in St Denis by Paris. the basilica also houses two old wooden statues of saints.

BLOIS: Blois is a major Loire city and one that has its own storied castle, smack in the heart of town overlooking the Loire. The town of Blois is a thriving regional town with a large shopping district. Blois has many good hotels and restaurants and makes an idea base for the Loire. Near Blois is Chambord, to many the best Loire castle. If you car-less you can rail to Blois and then take special buses (in summer) to chambord, leaving time for a visit and then back. Mini-bus tours to other castles also serve Blois in season. Once known for its chocolate factory, sadly this place has melted away and no longer does its wondrous odors from the now shut plant permeate the town. blois also has a great cathedral.

ORLEANS: Along with Tours the most important city on this part of the Loire, Orleans is a pleasant but unremarkable city from a tourist standpoint. I know Orleans extremely well, having spent weeks and weeks here babysitting my French son for several summers. Its only major sight is its fantastic cathedral, a wedding-cake Gothic style towers gargantuan edifice that is one of the biggest in France. Other than that the town, smashed to smitereens during WWII has been nicely rebuilt - a vibrant shopping and commercial town, again very pleasant. Could be used as a base for the Loire but is a bit too far removed from the likes of the Chinon-Azay-Fontevraud area. Those interested in flowers and landscaped parks, however may want to visit the Parc Floral, a few miles out of town in La Source - lots of flower beds, a mini steam train in a large park. To get to Orleans by train from Paris or Blois/Tours you may have to get off at Les Aubrais, Orleans main train station one mile from the deadend Orleans train station in the town center. Some trains serve Orleans but many only Aubrais, from which a navette (shuttle) train links with all trains at Les Aubrais.

TOURS: the major city of the Tourraine and castle part of the Loire, Tours ('too-uur') s is not pronounced, though a fairly large urban area has a gem of an old town with the usual assortment of old churches, pleasant squares and stately shopping streets. Its old town has a great variety of restaurants and in good weather is animated. If staying elsewhere like Amboise, consider night tripping into Tours for a meal here. Most trains don't go into Tours itself, whose intown station is on a deadend spur line - many only serve St-Pierre-des-Corps 2 miles out; navette (shuttle) trains link most all trains there to Tour. thus those Tours lacks the small town ambience many look for in a Loire base, it deserves a good look at least for a few hours.

CHENONCEAU
Chenonceau is the most famous Loire castle and certainly one of the most beautiful anyway, built straddling the lazy Cher River. The stomping grounds of Diane de Poitiers, a consort of the king, she was forced to down-trade it for Chaumont when she fell out of favor - i may have the story a bit wrong but that's the gist of it. During WWII folks escaped from Nazi France to Vichy 'Free' France by going thru the castle to cross the Cher to the Vichy controlled part of France. Trains take you right to the gate of the castle as the Chenonceaux rail station was recently relocated about a mile to now letting you off right in front of the castle. Thus a day trip by rail from Paris is possibe, though service is spotty on the St Pierre-des-Corps sideline so know schedules!

Hey PalQ, this is a great thread so I hope you don't mind me putting a plug on here for a great site I found on Virtual Tourist for Angers. This guy studied music in Angers for 6 mos so he knows it pretty well. The photos are fantastic & the commentary is lively - an excellent read! He's just getting started putting some stuff up so I'm sure there will be lots more great stuff within the next few weeks.

OH, and he's on the soundtrack for an indie film, pretty cool, titled <u>Kisses and Caroms</u>. I've never known anyone who's done a soundtrack before!

http://www.virtualtourist.com/m/67d10/21e7a/t/

Beatchick: au contraire i'm happy for any inputs - especially about Angers, one Loire place i have only hazy recollections of. Merci.

Merci beaucoup, PalQ!!

Angers was the first place I ever visited in France 30 years ago. It turned out to be one of our favorite places in Europe. We went there three times last year alone and plans are underway to buy an apartment there. We're going back there in June, partly to meet with some real estate people. It's a delightful city, mild climate, beautiful parks, lots of good &quot;everyday&quot; restaurants (no major destination restaurants that you'd travel miles out of the way for, but many places where you'd be happy to relax with some good food and wine), friendly people. And bonus points for very little smoking and strictly enforced rules about cleaning up after your dogs.

Congrats, BTilke! I'm so very happy for you &amp; your family! I know how much you love Angers as I've seen you write about it glowingly before. :)

THE BEAUCE
If driving to the Loire from Paris or Chartres towards Blois you pass thru the heart of the Beauce, perhaps France's most unremarkable region - one that is more like Kansas than what you expect in France. This largely flat as a crepe region is one huge farm - mega farms in one of Europe's most productive agricultural areas. Blessed with an aquifer yielded lots of water for irrigation, the Beauce's fertile land yields great crop harvests. Boring to drive through perhaps but coming south from Chartres well out into the Beauce you have an unforgettable sight - that of Chartres Cathedral, high on its hill dominating the landscape from a vantage point of about 20 miles away. Imagine how medieval pilgrims, having trekked days to get here, must have salivated at this sight as their goal neared - being able to pray to the Our Lady of Chartres!

LOCHES
Like someone said in an above post Loches is a nice diversion away from the Loire and the typical Loire castle. Dominating a neat old town on a lazy river, Loches is a chateau-fort - a brooding fortified castle that dates from medieval days. The castle is known for a replica of one King Looie's infamous 'Hanging Cages,' where enemies of the king were literally hung out in dark dungeons often for years on end. The cages were so small that the prisoner couldn't even stand i believe. Anyway, Loches is not to be overlooked!

Thanks for this informative post, PalQ.
I spent 10 days in the Loire Valley 2 years ago. Wish I'd had your post back when I was planning that trip!

Re Loches, we were there in June. A nice, but quiet town. We had an excellent lunch at the Hotel St. Antoine's restaurant on the main square in town (more of a roundabout than square, actually).

I am seeking the wise advice from PalQ (or anyone else who wants to comment): Another traveller told me to expect it to take 3 HOURS each way driving from Paris to Chenonceau (and back).

Is this an accurate estimate?! It seems a bit long.

My current plan is this: Leave Paris early morning for TGV to TOURS; pick up rental car at TOURS; drive to CHENONCEAU; spend the day touring the castle and its environs; have dinner outdoors (possibly BLOIS area); drive back to PARIS.

Please critique this plan.

Thanks PalQ and other fellow travellers,
Betty (NYC)

P.S. Sorry--forgot to mention that I may do the TGV to St. Pierre rather than TOURS, depending on the morning schedule availability.

Well it's about 140 miles by autoroute Paris-Chenonceau - most of that on autoroute with max speed of about 70 mph so three hours is a reasonable guesstimate if conditions are optimal - you may encounter 'bouchons' or bottlenecks in Paris area depending on time of day. So yes i think expect three hours, Blois is closer so will take bit less to return from there.
Your train to St-Pierre-des-Corps and planned day sounds very easily done in my opinion.

Thanks, PalQ!

CHAMBORD
Often called the 'finest' Loire castle, Chambord, near Blois is a colossal truly monumental structure - its immense facade is known for its hundreds of windows and chimneys. Inside and out this is the fanciest of all Loire castles. It's still surrounded by a former royal hunting forest where roam the legendary 'sangliers,' or wild pigs, still a must sought after game for hunters. Car-less folks can take buses to Chambord from Blois in season, otherwise public transport is spotty.

Re: Chambord

I'll steal a word that the Brits like to use and call this building a &quot;pile&quot;.

CHAMBRES D'HOTES
An institution throughout the Loire and similar touristed areas of France is the Chambre d'Hote, where locals rent out a room or several in their dwellings to tourists. In the Loire you'll see a parade of Chambres d'Hotes signs along the road announcing these places and there are several organizations that also book them - the local tourist office inevitably carries a comprehensive list. The rooms may or may not include breakfast and the possibility of an evening meal. In the Loire these places are often in neat old stone houses and on farms. Gites de France is a large booking organization for not only Chambres d'Hotes but also for gites - often whole houses typically rented for a week or more by an absentee landlord. But Chambres d'Hotes can be secured as you go along though during high season many will be full. catering to the English invasion you'll also see many B &amp; B signs along with the Chambres d'Hotes ones.

Do any of these Chambres d'Hotes include the use of bikes. I thought I read something like that in one of the posts, but can't seem to find it now.

Yes many of them do - i don't know if all do but many will advertise in their listings about bikes being provided. There are also local services that move your luggage between B &amp; Bs whilst you cycle there. This would provide the same type of tour that American companies charge 1000s of dollars for. Even the chateau hotels often seem to offer use of bikes.

CHEVRNY
Not the most impressive Loire castle but still a very impressive monumental chateau, Cheverny, close to Chambord, is of interest not only for its architecture but for its re-created royal hunts, with horseman in old garb, etc. Hunting is the theme of the castle and relics of the hunt are displayed throughout.

We are spending a week at various B &amp; Bs and chateaux B &amp; Bs in Loire Valley. Going to a Sanseverino concert in Vallet, just east of Nantes. Anyone know where the Espace Culturel is in Vallet? restaurants in Vallet?