I visited the Loire in July a few years back. Hit some heavy rains which I would hope is unusual in the summer.

Took the TGV to Tours and rented the car, with auto transmission, right at the train station.

Stayed at a cheap hotel in Tours and was able to hit most of the chateaux basing there for a couple of days.

Now I want to do it again.

Does anyone know if the chateaux are lit at night?

Maxmox,

The Best Western Val de Loire in Azay-le-Rideau is a good value if you do not mind that it is east of Tours. The town of Azay-le-Rideau is lovely and the chateau has a large English style park. Sounds like a wonderful trip.

Scootoir

scrb,
not sure about whether most chateaux light up at night, but did come upon this page for Chenonceaux:

http://www.chenonceau.com/media/gb/j..._promenade.php

Also, some have son et lumiere shows apparently, but I have not been able to find schedules for these shows.

You could do more on day two and I'd stay in Amboise on day three -- way nicer than Tours. Usse is a bit of a waste and Chinon needs a real reason for visiting other than just that it's there. Make sure the chateau at Saumur is fully (or nearly fully) restored -- it has great views over the river but was undergoing extensive refurbishment when we were there (two years ago).

As for the "do more" -- you may consider Chateau de Cheverny (the inspiration for Marlinspike Hall in the Tintin series -- quite famous in France), which is very nice. Also a quick trip to Chateau Beauregard is great if you like the "Tudor" period of history -- the early to mid-1500s when Francois I [1515-1547], Henry VIII [1509-1547], Charles V [1515-1556] of the Holy Roman Empire (and Carlos I of Spain -- same man), Suleiman II the Magnificent and other strong rulers of Europe were enthroned at the same time. Beauregard has a portrait room with hundreds of portraits of kings, queens, princes, clerics, popes, etc. It's on the way to Cheverny from Amboise, or vice versa and only takes a short time to peruse.

We stayed in a unique inn, La Demeure de la Vignole, set in a private cliffside village, partially troglodytic, not far from Saumur. http://www.demeure-vignole.com/web/index.php

Nearby is the fascinating Chateau de Breze, billed as a chateau under a chateau, with tunnels and rooms dug into the rock, all in a beautiful vineyard setting with wines that can be tasted and purchased on site.

Nikki - La Demeure de la Vignole, did you enjoy your stay there? Was the pool as nice as it looks?

I see some really good and some really bad reviews on trip advisor, but none are in english so I'm looking for some more information on this inn. THANKS

Enjoyed it very much. We were only there for one night. It's a lovely setting. I don't remember a swimming pool though; that is either new (we were there in 2005) or somehow I missed it. Now I'm curious, I'm going over to Tripadvisor to see what people have said.

OK, just looked at Tripadvisor. The negative review in French was written by a guest who says the room was full of spiders and spider webs and that she is arachnophobic. Also thought the breakfast was too expensive. I couldn't read the negative review in German.

All I can say is that I don't remember any spiders.