My wife and I have just booked a last minute break in the Loire valley for next week - and now I need to catch up on my research.

We have booked to stay for 5 nights at Le Manoir de Minimes in Amboise, following all the great feedback on Fodors and other sites.

We'll be driving down from the UK on Monday, probably via Dover/Boulogne, and will then have 4 full days to explore the area, before returning home on Saturday.

My current thinking for an itinerary is something like :
Day 1 : Amboise, maybe Clos de Luce (We'll have spent about 6 hours driving the previous day so don't want to overdo it)

Day 2 : Chenonceaux + Vouvray. I'm a bit of a wine bore so would like to check out some of the producers with outlets in Vouvray - any recommendations ?

Day 3 : Vilandry + Azay-le-Rideau

Day 4 : Chinon (Another fairly quiet day)


Haven't done enough research yet to prioritise my highlights - Does the above list sound sensible ?

Is it worth heading over to Sancerre/Pouilly ? - looks a fairly long drive on my map - and my wife will not be happy if we go all the way there 'just' to look at more wine.

Any restaurant tips in and around Amboise gratefully received. It would be nice to be able to walk to places rather than needing to drive, although we'll travel if its worth it (StCirq's Cheval Blanc in Blere sounds great - How long would it take to drive there from Amboise ?)

Thanks in advance

We're staying there in June, so I hope you will check back in and give us a report on your experience and discoveries.

My husband is in the wine biz, so although we are really only spending one night here on our way to Vinexpo in Bordeaux, he does have a list of producers that he'd like to visit (which could easily take a week).

In Vouvray, there's a big producer, Chateau Moncontour. Also, Domaine Huet, Jean-Claude Aubert, Benoit Gautier, the negociant Marc Bredif, Domaine Freslier. There are two cooperatives too.

DH is actually more excited about the whites from Cour Cheverney (east of Amboise and south of Blois) than Vouvray . Producers there include Phillipe Tessier, Domaine des Huards.

You will love Manoir de Minimes, Steve. We stayed in room 11, which was just beautiful. The lady who runs the front desk in the evening was very helpful about recommending restaurants. she had sample menus available and was very well informed. One particular recommendation we will never forget, Le Pavillion des Lys on Rue d'Orange was excellent. Very gracious service and lovely presentation of the food. One observation, the breakfast is not great for the money. I suggest you stroll in town and find something more reasonable. Pat Olga the gorgeous Briard for me!

Sounds like a very nice trip - you will love the Manoir les Minimes - lovely place. I had a very good dinner at l'Epicerie, which is on the main street leading up to the chateau. The drive to Chinon is a fairly long one - I stopped at Loches on the way there. But I stayed in Chinon 2 nights after leaving Amboise. From Amboise, the drive to Blois isn't very long, and that's an interesting chateau. But I loved the town of Chinon. The chateau is interesting, but all in ruins, whereas Blois isn't ruins.

I did this exact tour last May. I was totally blown away by Clos de Luce. They have models of all da Vinci's inventions, and I was totally amazed. I loved Amboise itself - had a wonderful lunch and a wonderful dinner there but for the life of me, I can't remember the name of either restaurant.

All the chateaux in the region are a bit different from one another and all fascinating. Of course, that might be because in America, we aren't used to castles like you are in the UK.

Blere is very close to Amboise [about 10km], and well worth the drive for dinner at Le Cheval Blanc. If yopu can arrange it, by all means go!

Hi Steve, you will love Manoir Les Minimes - we stayed there for a week in 2002 and are booked in again in early July for a few days. I totally agree with the above poster about the breakfast, though. The rooms and public rooms are charming. We had a really great dinner (actually 2 dinners) at Le Manoir St Thomas, a Michelin one-star, which was divine and extremely enjoyable, both the food and the service. We will definitely be going back there. Clos de Luce is worth a visit - perhaps you could visit there in the morning, then visit the Amboise Chateau in the afternoon - so you don't have to do any driving that day. Clos de Luce would keep you occupied all morning, then the chateau in the afternoon. From memory there is a wine-tasting place underneath the ramparts of the chateau where a number of producers are represented, I think. Chinon is perhaps quite a longish day trip from Amboise but if you don't mind the driving.... We also ate at L'Epicerie and that was pleasant too.

Nerida

We drove from Amboise to Sancerre/Bourges on our trip through the Loire and Berry last summer. I would say it's too long for a day trip. It IS doable and Sancerre is a an interesting hill town on its own, with a few good restaurants, but I still wouldn't do it as a day trip.
An easier, shorter trip might be down to Montresor, one of the prettiest villages in France, and home to a small castle that gives visitors a big, personal welcome. It is off the beaten track for most Loire Valley visitos, except for the Poles, because the castle owners have a strong Polish connection.
On our trips to the Loire and Berry, Amboise turned out to be our least favorite base (we stayed in Angers, Amboise and Bourges--of the three we would eagerly stay in Angers and Bourges again, but once was enough for us in Amboise). However, I know it has a lot of fans, so I'm sure you will enjoy the trip!

Nerida, I'm not sure you will be going back to Manoir St. Thomas. When we were in Amboise last summer, I walked over to the restaurant and it was closed. Not closed for the day or for a vacation, but completely closed. They were doing some major construction work on the building.
Perhaps it was merely being renovated or expanded, but you should check to see it it's re-opened.

"but once was enough for us in Amboise..."

It would be most helpful if we knew why you thought once was enough.

1) It felt rather honky tonk and much too touristy after Angers. (It also felt that way in comparison to Bourges, but we went to Bourges after Amboise.) A lot of bus tour groups. In Angers and Bourges, tourists are just a small part of the town's life, not its lifeblood.
2) Mosquitoes! We couldn't sit at an outdoor cafe for more than 10 minutes without becoming targets. Lady mosquitoes everywhere love me, but even my husband was bothered (normally, mosquitoes leave him alone).
3) Just not our style.

Thanks for that info. We are planning to stay in Amboise in July for two nights so I'll perhaps do some re-thinking.

Amboise is a pretty town and it has a great market on Sundays out on the banks of the Loire, but it it true that it is very touristy. It's a good base for exporing the region. This time of year there will be fewer tourists than in the summer months, and it's much too cold still for us to have to worry about mosquitoes yet. (I live 20 miles SW of Amboise near Saint-Aignan-sur-Cher.)

For anybody who prefers Angers or Bourges because they is not so overwhelmed by tourists and their buses, Tours (pop. 300,000) might be a better choice than Amboise (pop. 12,000).

Two other restaurants in the area worth mentioning: The Domaine des Hauts de Loire, in Onzain, which is between Amboise and Blois; and Le Rendez-Vous des Pêcheurs in Blois. Both are Michelin-starred, and neither is more than a 30-minute drive from Amboise.

I like Jean-Claude Aubert's Vouvray wines, which somebody mentioned, but his place is really a place for buying wine, not for experiencing the charms of a winery. It has sort of an agro-industrial feel to it. But the wines are very good. I'm not so crazy about Moncontour, but it does have a wine museum. The château is not open to the public.

I second the recommendation for Montrésor, and I can recommend Loches too for its "donjon" and the Agnès Sorel house up on the hill, if you want to do some uphill walking and climbing. It has good views.

Sorry for the typos...

Thanks, ckenb, but it's not the size of the town that bothered us. We like plenty of small towns (and we didn't care for Tours itself all that much either). We thought Fontevraud and Sancerre were very pleasant, for example, and would have enjoyed staying there.
I know plenty of Fodorites love Amboise for good reasons. It just didn't hit the right notes--for us. We simply haven't found a place we really like in that part of the LV--we seem to be happier on the western and eastern edges (which is probably why we also like the 16th arrond in Paris a lot more than the Marais!).

Sancerre is a beautiful hilltop town but as someone else said I don't think it's close enough to Amboise to be a good day trip.

Fontevraud is nice -- but what about Chinon? It's one of my favorite towns around Tours. It's big enough to have a life of its own but isn't full of buses carrying tourists.

Angles-sur-l'Anglin, south of Tours, is another nice hilltop town, but it's smaller than Sancerre. Like Montrésor, Angles has the "l'un des plus beaux villages de France" designation.

We visited Montresor and the chateau... the keeper gave us a 'discount' on the entry fee because he didn't have enough singles to make change. He showed us to the front hall, gave us a printed guide, and then left us to wander about freely on our own, not another soul around, no 'security' staff... it was most congenial. I was very surprised that the village seemed so quiet on a Saturday - no one about shopping, no market, etc. There is a lovely path along the creek that is very nice to take...

Thanks for all of the great info so far.

Keep it coming please.

Thanks

Steve

<b>Info about Chinon:</b>
http://www.chinonfrance.com/chinon.html

We enjoyed dinner at La Maison Rouge, in a half-timbered house. Be advised Madame adores 'les chats', both live and in the decor...
38 rue Voltaire tel 0247984365

<b>Info about Montresor:</b>
http://www.tourisme-valdindrois-mont...en/index1.html
(click on the icon on the map)

<b>Info about Amboise:</b>
The Town - http://www.amboise-valdeloire.com/anglais/index.html

The Chateau - http://www.chateau-amboise.com/anglais/presentation.htm

Clos Luce - http://www.vinci-closluce.com/

Playconnect (cyber cafe)
119, rue Nationale - 37400 AMBOISE
Internet: www.playconnect-cyber.com
E-mail: [email protected]
Open Sunday 15h00:22h00, Mon 13h00 &agrave; 22h00,
Tues - Thurs 10h00 &agrave; 22h00 Fri - Sat 10h00 &agrave;24 h00
<i>(note: Manoir les Minimes has free internet in the parlor)</i>

La Florentine - across from the chateau
Inexpensive but good food
50 place Michel Debr&eacute;
37400 Amboise - 02 47 57 49 49

More restaurants in Amboise:
http://www.renaissance-amboise.com/S...ave;%20Amboise

<b>Lots of information on Loire Valley:</b>
http://www.jack-travel.com/Loire/htm...ley_droite.htm

When I was at Montr&eacute;sor in February, I had a similar experience. My friend and I wandered around the inside of the ch&acirc;teau with our printed guide, and then the man running the place came and met us at the end of our tour. There was a piano in the room that he said had been played by Chopin. My friend is a pianist/organist, and the man asked if she would like to play it. She did and it was beautiful.