ray fr melbourne

I will be in the Loire valley for two free days in late May and would like to know which is the best base for touring the castles of the Loire. I will only have time for a one day (or two half day) tours.
Suggestions please

ellen

Blois is very close to Amboise which was my favorite town to see Clos Luce and the chateau at Amboise. I stayed in Tours which I must say is a very easy commute to all the chateaus. Tours has a larger town center than Blois and more restaurants from what I could see. Either way, your fine.

Lynn

We were there in summer of '96. I know that often Blois is recommended over Tours, but we liked Tours much better. Amboise would be a nice place to stay because it's quicker to get in and out of than Tours. It's also a great little town. The two best castles in my opinion in Chambord and Chenonceaux.
These two are an abosolute must! Unforgettable and totally different! I loved all the castles, but my husband could only take a few. All a matter of taste I guess. Also, in Amboise there is a castle right in town. If you are on a limited time-frame, this would be the first and foremost to see.

christina

I think either would be fine, but it might mainly
depend on how you intend to do these tours. If you
have a car, then I'd probably choose Blois because
it's a smaller and more charming town than Tours.
Tours was okay, but I didn't really like it as a
city. If you are depending on public transportation
(train or organized bus tours), it might be better
to be in Tours. I don't really know, but since it's
a larger city and gets lots of chateau tourists, I
think the bus tours to chateaux might be more
extensive. There's info on these at the train station,
as well as probably your hotel. I saw a few by
train/bus from Tours--it's easy to get to Blois and
Amboise by train from Tours, I went to Chenonceaux
by a public bus from Tours, as I recall--it
goes right to the chateau; schedules on public bus routes are also
in the train station. Chenonceaux was my favorite;
both the Bois and Amboise chateaux are a bit strange,
but interesting in their way. I tried to see
Azay-le-Rideau, also, but the train schedule is not
coordinated very well (it's about 1 mile from the
station) so it's impossible to see by train in one
day without getting stuck there (only arrival and
departure to Tours are only about 1 to 1-1/2 hrs apart,
so you can't walk there, tour it, and walk back in
time).