Loire Valley Trip Report
May 11th, 2004, 01:13 PM
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Loire Valley Trip Report
My daughter, a 19 year old college student studying in Paris this year, went on a trip with her co-students to the Loire Valley last weekend. Thought some of you might find the trip report she emailed me interesting. Anyway, for what it's worth, here it is.
I met everyone in the lobby of the Fondation des Etats Unis around 8.45. It was really
rainy and dark outside, but (thanks to the coffee) I was plenty perky and
looking forward to castles in the rain. Unfortunately not everyone was as alert
as I was and we didn't get underway until about 9.30 due to stragglers and one
guy who was found to be still asleep at 9 (we were supposed to meet at quarter of!).
The bus trip was nice because we had plenty of space to spread out. I listened
to music and watched the french countryside go by. The great thing about europe
is that there really aren't much in the way of suburbs. After less than half an
hour out of the city, you are driving through big agricultural fields.
The first castle on our stop was Chambord. Very elegant and big, sitting in the
middle of a large field, surrounded by large forest (apparently for the king to
hunt in). I saw three horses being ridden about - I think they do demonstrations
on nice days. It made me really really miss my horses, and also wish that a)it
was nicer out and b)we had more time to look at the castle and grounds. We had
about 30 minutes once we got our tickets and went in, which was not enough time
in my opinion. I did see all of the castle, but didn't really have time to
meander and soak up the ambiance. It was very large and bare for the most part,
although there were tapestries and large ancient pieces of furniture in most
rooms. Very impressive huge stone spiral staircase in the center of the castle
that comes out on the roof where you have excellent views of the surrounding
countryside.
We were supposed to picnic on the grounds, but it was raining so we had to give
up that plan. I ate my humous with pita bread, cheese and apples on the bus.
Next stop was Amboise. I think the village was the coolest part, especially
since most of the castle is no longer there. We had a tour guide at this one,
and she gave us a lot of the history of the french kings and the mideival court
(all in french of course). We saw Leonardo da Vinci's tomb. Then we walked
through the village (wish we had time to stop and see some of it!) to Clos Luce,
the last home of leonardo da vinci. It was a lovely house and had very
interesting exhibits on his life and his inventions. The garden and forest were
full of life-size replicas of his inventions including a tank, an automobile and
a flying machine. They don't look anything like the modern versions though... We
had a lot of fun running around and being chidish.
Then we had to scoot back to the bus (everyone was late again, naturally).
From there we went to our hotel, which was quite lovely and out in the middle of
fields and forest. It was so nice to walk throught the grass and smell fresh
air! We had an excellent dinner at the hotel and then watched some french tv,
hung out and went to bed.
Woke up bright and early (6 am) the next day even though breakfast wasn't till 8
because Terry was concerned about hot water for showers. All the extra time
allowed me to go for a peaceful morning walk. I took some pictures of the hotel
(but not of the funny bungalows we stayed in).
Breakfast was yummy - your usual selection of croissants, brioche, baguette,
yogurt and coffee. There were eggs too, but I didn't make any. Terry tried three
times before hers was cooked to her liking (she's rather picky).
Of course everyone was very very late getting to the bus (not me of course).
That is what happens when you stay up late smoking and drinking too much.
Sunday was cool and grey again, but not as bad as saturday, and no rain. Our
first stop was a tour of a wine-making facility, followed by a wine tasting. Was
very cool to see where the wine was made and to check out the caves. They were
quarries from the castle-building ages.
The wine tasting would have been much more fun if it were later in the day. I
tried a couple and they were quite yummy. There were 7 in all I believe. Very
affordable too. The room
where the tasting was had a nice fire going which was great on a chilly grey
morning.
Back to the bus after everyone had a cigarette. tisk tisk. and the cigarette
packages here have FUMER TUE (smoking kills) written in huge letters that take
up half of the package. They actually look like anti-smoking adds and yet they
all do it anyway! its so gross... they really ought to know better.
First castle of the day was Chenonceau, which I remembered well from our trip four years ago but really loved anyway. Once again we had only about 45 minutes! It was really
frustrating, but I got to see it all. The kitchens were my favorite part, but I
also loved the all black bedroom - that must be where the evil sorceress lived.
We walked around the woods on the grounds a little bit and we found a maze that
got us really excited, except it was really easy.
That afternoon we saw Villandry, which had gorgeous gardens, although they were
that very square tight-laced french kind. The interior of the castle was very
nice, although done in victorian style. I loved the canopy beds in the
children's rooms the best.
Before getting back in the bus I had to have some of the ice cream sold at the
castle gate. I had pear and rosemary! Very yummy!
Last stop was Azay le Rideau. What I love best about this one is that the
grounds are very small - because it isn't set in the middle of huge perfectly
manicured lawns and gardens it feels more like an enchanted castle hidden in the
woods.
We had to make a pit stop at the hotel again because someone had apparently
left behind her cell phone! And then we drove back to paris. We stopped at a
rest stop to grab food (since everything is closed in paris on sunday) and I got
an icky sanwich. but i also got some Yop, which I have never tried before but
which the french drink all the time. It is drinkable yogurt. Was very good! I
also bought some of those violet pastilles from like we found in Flavigny, which i haven't been able to find in paris (i've found other flavors, but no violet)
So! There you have my trip! I had a great time!
I met everyone in the lobby of the Fondation des Etats Unis around 8.45. It was really
rainy and dark outside, but (thanks to the coffee) I was plenty perky and
looking forward to castles in the rain. Unfortunately not everyone was as alert
as I was and we didn't get underway until about 9.30 due to stragglers and one
guy who was found to be still asleep at 9 (we were supposed to meet at quarter of!).
The bus trip was nice because we had plenty of space to spread out. I listened
to music and watched the french countryside go by. The great thing about europe
is that there really aren't much in the way of suburbs. After less than half an
hour out of the city, you are driving through big agricultural fields.
The first castle on our stop was Chambord. Very elegant and big, sitting in the
middle of a large field, surrounded by large forest (apparently for the king to
hunt in). I saw three horses being ridden about - I think they do demonstrations
on nice days. It made me really really miss my horses, and also wish that a)it
was nicer out and b)we had more time to look at the castle and grounds. We had
about 30 minutes once we got our tickets and went in, which was not enough time
in my opinion. I did see all of the castle, but didn't really have time to
meander and soak up the ambiance. It was very large and bare for the most part,
although there were tapestries and large ancient pieces of furniture in most
rooms. Very impressive huge stone spiral staircase in the center of the castle
that comes out on the roof where you have excellent views of the surrounding
countryside.
We were supposed to picnic on the grounds, but it was raining so we had to give
up that plan. I ate my humous with pita bread, cheese and apples on the bus.
Next stop was Amboise. I think the village was the coolest part, especially
since most of the castle is no longer there. We had a tour guide at this one,
and she gave us a lot of the history of the french kings and the mideival court
(all in french of course). We saw Leonardo da Vinci's tomb. Then we walked
through the village (wish we had time to stop and see some of it!) to Clos Luce,
the last home of leonardo da vinci. It was a lovely house and had very
interesting exhibits on his life and his inventions. The garden and forest were
full of life-size replicas of his inventions including a tank, an automobile and
a flying machine. They don't look anything like the modern versions though... We
had a lot of fun running around and being chidish.
Then we had to scoot back to the bus (everyone was late again, naturally).
From there we went to our hotel, which was quite lovely and out in the middle of
fields and forest. It was so nice to walk throught the grass and smell fresh
air! We had an excellent dinner at the hotel and then watched some french tv,
hung out and went to bed.
Woke up bright and early (6 am) the next day even though breakfast wasn't till 8
because Terry was concerned about hot water for showers. All the extra time
allowed me to go for a peaceful morning walk. I took some pictures of the hotel
(but not of the funny bungalows we stayed in).
Breakfast was yummy - your usual selection of croissants, brioche, baguette,
yogurt and coffee. There were eggs too, but I didn't make any. Terry tried three
times before hers was cooked to her liking (she's rather picky).
Of course everyone was very very late getting to the bus (not me of course).
That is what happens when you stay up late smoking and drinking too much.
Sunday was cool and grey again, but not as bad as saturday, and no rain. Our
first stop was a tour of a wine-making facility, followed by a wine tasting. Was
very cool to see where the wine was made and to check out the caves. They were
quarries from the castle-building ages.
The wine tasting would have been much more fun if it were later in the day. I
tried a couple and they were quite yummy. There were 7 in all I believe. Very
affordable too. The room
where the tasting was had a nice fire going which was great on a chilly grey
morning.
Back to the bus after everyone had a cigarette. tisk tisk. and the cigarette
packages here have FUMER TUE (smoking kills) written in huge letters that take
up half of the package. They actually look like anti-smoking adds and yet they
all do it anyway! its so gross... they really ought to know better.
First castle of the day was Chenonceau, which I remembered well from our trip four years ago but really loved anyway. Once again we had only about 45 minutes! It was really
frustrating, but I got to see it all. The kitchens were my favorite part, but I
also loved the all black bedroom - that must be where the evil sorceress lived.
We walked around the woods on the grounds a little bit and we found a maze that
got us really excited, except it was really easy.
That afternoon we saw Villandry, which had gorgeous gardens, although they were
that very square tight-laced french kind. The interior of the castle was very
nice, although done in victorian style. I loved the canopy beds in the
children's rooms the best.
Before getting back in the bus I had to have some of the ice cream sold at the
castle gate. I had pear and rosemary! Very yummy!
Last stop was Azay le Rideau. What I love best about this one is that the
grounds are very small - because it isn't set in the middle of huge perfectly
manicured lawns and gardens it feels more like an enchanted castle hidden in the
woods.
We had to make a pit stop at the hotel again because someone had apparently
left behind her cell phone! And then we drove back to paris. We stopped at a
rest stop to grab food (since everything is closed in paris on sunday) and I got
an icky sanwich. but i also got some Yop, which I have never tried before but
which the french drink all the time. It is drinkable yogurt. Was very good! I
also bought some of those violet pastilles from like we found in Flavigny, which i haven't been able to find in paris (i've found other flavors, but no violet)
So! There you have my trip! I had a great time!
May 12th, 2004, 09:37 AM
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The person who wrote the trip report, my daughter, was on an overnight trip with a bunch of college students. As she says, she didn't feel she had enough time to do four chateaux and DaVinci's house but I suspect a lot of that was due to the bus waiting for stragglers, etc. If you rented a car and did it yourself I think you could easily do that amount in an overnight. The only time I personally went to the Loire Valley was a four night trip that included Normandy. But I think we did three chateaux and Chartres in about a day and a half. I think you could enjoy yourself if you allowed about 2 hours at each chateaux and the area is about 2 hours or so (depending where you wanted to go) from Paris. So you could do it in one day.
A few months ago I remember reading a post here from someone who rented a car for one day (picked it up around St Sulpice if I remember correctly) and visited a few chateaux. Sorry I can't remember the poster's name but if you search you might find it.
A few months ago I remember reading a post here from someone who rented a car for one day (picked it up around St Sulpice if I remember correctly) and visited a few chateaux. Sorry I can't remember the poster's name but if you search you might find it.
May 12th, 2004, 10:03 AM
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valmoon:
With a car you could visit the château at Amboise and the Clos Lucé in a day (I assume you mean a daytrip from Paris). I think on trains and public transportation it would be a challenge.
With a car you could visit the château at Amboise and the Clos Lucé in a day (I assume you mean a daytrip from Paris). I think on trains and public transportation it would be a challenge.
May 12th, 2004, 10:33 AM
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I don't think it would be hard to do a day trip to Amboise from Paris. A train goes directly there in only 2:15 hrs and there are many runs all day. You can walk around Amboise itself to see the chateau and Clos Luce easily. I did it and it wasn't difficult. The only thing that took up time that I would not do again (and it was raining a bit at the end of my day, which made it worse), was that I walked to/from the train station. It's not dead center, and that takes some time although not a bad walk (it was at least a mile, as I recall).
However, that is easy to solve by just taking a cab to/from the train station. You can get to Amboise by 9:20 am on a daily train run Gare Austerlitz. There are daily returns at 5:40 pm and 7 pm.
However, that is easy to solve by just taking a cab to/from the train station. You can get to Amboise by 9:20 am on a daily train run Gare Austerlitz. There are daily returns at 5:40 pm and 7 pm.
Jun 3rd, 2004, 07:59 PM
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You don't have to rent a car to tour Loire valley chateaux. The Tours TI runs half day and day-long mini-van tours for 2-8 people for reasonable prices (19-31 E for half day; 49 E for full-day; you pay chateaux entrance fees.) I haven't done the tour yet, but plan to in July 2004. You can google for "Tours" or try this website: www.ligeris.com/usa, which is where a google led me to the information. There is also a booking engine on the site; you can visit various chateaux including Chenonceau, Amboise, Chambord and Cheverny. The TGV gets you from Paris to Tours in 90 minutes, so chateaux-hopping can be done as a day-trip if time is limited.
