I plan to begin in Tours in the morning & drive to the chateaux. I would like to see Ambois, Chenonceaux & Usse. Then, I plan to drive to Mt St Michel (estimate 4 hours). How much time do I need to allow just for the tours & the transportation beginning in Tours where I will rent the car & ending in MSM? After I know the minimum I will add gawking time just to enjoy the surroundings. Thank you all in advance for the expert info I know I will receive.

I think it takes between 1.5-2 hours minimum per chateau to soak in the interiors and furnishings, and have a nice stroll around the gardens. That doesn't include the driving time between them

Mimmel, I also stayed in Tours and did Usse, Chenonceaux and another chateaux in the same day. I could have stayed much longer at Chenonceaux and felt rushed. It was my favorite of the 7 I saw. But I agree with Travelnut that it takes at least 1.5-2 hours to visit a chateaux and their gardens, even at a fast pace. Usse is on the *smaller* side and I still spent over 2 hours there, and I usually am one to go through museums rather quickly. Maybe you could start with Chenonceaux and take your time, then move on to Usse or Ambois, and play it by ear if you have time for another one? Just an idea. Although I fully understand the need to see as much as you can if you only have one day. Have fun!

Mimmel - I have started a tour of the Loire on two occasions from the town of Tours. Hope you find time to look around, it's a fascinating place.
Do yourself a favour and pass through Azay-le-Rideau and see the magnificent Chateau surrounded by a moat.
We overnighted in Saumur before driving on to Avranches for the night. Only then did we arrive at Mt.St.Michel and start a morning tour, having lunch on the mount and then driving to St.Malo.
I can't see you seeing anything except in a blurr if you try to do it in one day.

Since you are going to be in Tours have you considred the possiblility of visiting nearby Vilandry. It has absolutely wonderful gardens and an interior which is still very much in use.

Frankly, I think you could skip the chateau at Ambois, especially if it would give you more time at Chenonceau, but that's obviously just a subjective opinion.

Amboise is a partially destroyed castle, if I remember right. I did a half-day trip with a tour group, and we went to Amboise and Chenonceau. I think the tour started around 9:30 and it was over around 12:45 (I took the TGV back to Paris).

I was the only one in my tour group to opt for Amboise. Everyone else chose Clos-Luce, which is within walking distance of Amboise. This is where Leonardo supposedly spent the last days of his life.

By the way the tour group basically provided transportation and some commentary en route, but we were free to do whatever we wanted when we reached the castles.

Personally I didn't think that Amboise was that interesting. There was a choice of two audio tours of Chenonceau, if I remember. The fast one might be just an hour (or less). This was obviously the one I chose. Check the website for details.

I don't know Usse.

Three chateaux in one day sounds like one too many. I would recommend two chateaux tops. Chenonceaux is a two hour visit minimum if you want to poke around the grounds and perhaps have lunch (they have a nice, more formal restaurant and a spot for lighter meals) or try its wines. Visiting even two chateaux plus a 4 hour drive to MSM seems like a recipe for pure exhaustion.
Unless you want to just blast through the chateaux, snap a few pics and hit the road, I think you've got just too much planned for one day. Is there no way you could spend the night in that area before heading to MSM the next day?
Our own experience has been that some of the smaller, lesser known chateaux can be the most interesting. We spent far more time at Montresor, for example, than we had originally planned (and we enjoyed every minute). When we went to Ainay-le-Vieil, we thought it would be an hour max, but we ended up spending three hours there...my husband took a guided tour that poked through almost every nook and cranny while the spaniel and I had the entire gardens to ourselves (so after exploring them I stretched out on a bench with a novel and pretended this was our chateau; the dog chased some squirrels and then dozed on the grass).

Allow two to three hours for your visit to Chenonceau. If possible, visit Chenonceau in the middle of the day because it is open continuously throughout the day without any mid-day closure. It is also self-guided so you can go at your own pace.

Usse is located on the other side of Tours. It is a lovely chateau to view. Visits to the chateau are by guided tour only; guided tours were offered either hourly or half-hourly so we had a wait. I think the chateau closes between 12:00 and 1:30 or 2:00 every day. Our tour was in French and we were handed an English translation to follow. The interior was OK. We now just drive to Usse, park in the lot, and view the exterior of the chateau.

The chateau at Amboise also closes during the middle of the day. We finally toured this chateau on about our twelfth trip to the Loire and were very pleasantly surprised. The chapel, supposedly is where Leonardo da Vinci is buried. The chateau is quite interesting in its history and decor. Tours are self-guided.

You could do all three in a day if you start early in the morning at Usse (since it is on the other side of Tours), then drive to either Amboise or Chenonceau (depending on the time of day since Amboise is closed during lunch).

As others have said, Azay le Rideau and Villandry are on the same side of Tours as Usse. These two chateau are gorgeous in their own unique ways.

Chenonceau is my absolute favorite chateau and one not to be missed.

I like Amboise for both the chateau and for Clos de Luce... the chateau is on a bluff so nice views over the Loire and the tile rooftops of Amboise, and houses an interior circular 'drive' for carriages; other than that feature, it is rather 'typical'... Clos de Luce houses models and drawings of many of Leonardo's inventions.. yes, he is buried in the chapel at the chateau.

I do not think that you'll be able to do more than two per day. Geographically, Chenonceau and Amboise make sense, as from Amboise yu can go north and by-pass the Tours agglomeration.

The answer depends partly on which châteaux you're visiting and which of those have only guided tours. Most tours take a good 2 hours, and for at least one--Saumur--you can't leave until the tour is over because the main door is locked so the next set of visitors can't enter. This may have changed since our visit, but two hours entirely in French was a long, long time.

Another factor is how crowded the château is; if it is filled with tours, getting from room to room--especially at Chenonceaux--can take quite a while.

Well - you don;t say when you will leave Paris - but if you start very early, arrive at the first chateau when it opens and keep moving fast all day you can cover the 3 chateaux and have time for lunch.

(I have found that any chateau takes 2 hours between finding it, parking, getting your brochure and organizing your plan. Chenonceaux and the grounds I would say takes around 3 hours. Then - you have the distance between them on small local roads.)

Getting to Mt. St. Mchel in the same day is - I believe really pushing it. Getting there is all smaller roads - not highways - and will take about 4 hours - assuming you don;t have any delays due to traffic, accidents etc - so you would be arriving there quite late at night.

We were at Chenonceaux 3 1/2 hours but we had bought the ipod tour package. My husband had the long one..I had the short and I had to wait for him.

We find these tours are excellent. I think it would be a shame to miss sitting in the outside restaurant area and doing some "people watching"...

Thanks you all for the helpful replies. I wasn't clear in my post. I was trying to determine how many days to alot. I has planned on at least 2 with an overnight(probably) in the Chenonceaux area. I am thinking of seeing Ambois or Clos Luc & Chenonceaux one day & then See Usee the next & drive to MSM. I want to arrive in the early evening. But now I may also considering Vilandry. I will definitely drive through Azay-le-Rideau.

I am happy to see this posting as it confirms my itinerary for (alas) only 2 days. We plan to arrive in Tours by train from Paris and pick up a car around 9am. Then head out to Chambord, which is about 50 miles. I thought we could have lunch after seeing that and then back track to Chenonceau for the rest of the day. We have a B&B in Blere. The next day we thought we'd head for Azay Le Rideau and Villandry, returning the car around 5 pm and back to Paris.

According to all of the helpful comments, it sounds like it won't be too rushed.

Mimmel, I forgot to second, third and fourth that Azay-le-Rideau is a must see! Glad you are including it.

prr761--your itinerary sounds fabulous. And FYI, you are seeing all my favorites!

Hi- do you guys recommend stopping at Azay-le-Rideau over Usse or just seeing the outside?

Mimmel, if I had to choose one, it would be Azay. Just MHO. I did like Usse a lot though. I know a lot of people seem to be turned off by the Sleeping Beauty wax figures and decorated story rooms. I personally liked them (but I am like that, also like M. Tussads!) and thought it was something different. But still, Azay would be my first choice, since the outside is really spectacular and the inside is nicely appointed and has a more "castle-like" feeling. Just one opinion!

If you are staying in Bléré, it would be a crime not to have dinner at Le Cheval Blanc.

Hi RonZ:

We are actually staying at Le Cheval Blanc on the recommendation of local acquaintances. For the express purpose of eating there! Thanks for the additional endorsement!