Visiting the Loire Valley
 

Hi All
We are planning a ten day trip to the Loire Valley arriving March 27 and departing on April 7 2020. We have not got any definite bookings as yet and we will be travelling by car.

My first thought was to stay in Tours as we like bigger towns but I am open to suggestions. Not sure if we should divide the time between Samur and Tours or one location only. We are not keen on packing and unpacking frequently. We will do the Chateau visits and will probably pick the best five. This may be 4 too many for my husband.
I would be very grateful for any advice.
Thank you.

" We will do the Chateau visits and will probably pick the best five. This may be 4 too many for my husband."

I don't know your hubby, but in case he's the kind of boy who likes big, heavy, noisy and deadly stuff, treat him to a visit of one of the best tank museums of the world in Saumur.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mus%C3...s_Blind%C3%A9s

Musée des blindés de Saumur : toute l'histoire du blindé

My favorite largish town in the Loire is Angers, with its wonderful ch teau, Jean-Lurçat tapestries, and lack of overt tourism. For ease of visiting both the eastern and western ends of the Loire, though, I like Chinon. I hate driving in and out of Tours, though as I gave up doing it quite a few years ago, perhaps it has become more palatable.

Be prepared for some changeable, possibly unpleasant weather that time of year. I used to lead student groups there every March and April on their spring break, and it was often wet and windy.

I would choose these over Lurçat: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apocalypse_Tapestry

The problem with staying in Angers is that it is quite a bit west of the better known castles of the Loire which are found between Tours and Orléans, such as Chenonceau

https://flic.kr/p/8mqcor

<<I would choose these over Lurçat: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apocalypse_Tapestry>>

Well, the Lurçat tapestries are a modern interpretation of the original ones in the ch teau, which is why I always recommend seeing them both. By themselves, the Lurçat tapestries don't tell you much. They're not far apart - it's easy enough to see them both in one day, or half-day, and if you see the Apocalypse tapestries in the ch teau first, you get the whole context.

BDKR you are a gem, and possibly a marriage saver. We would both love that. Thank you.

StCirq as always thank you. Haven’t looked at Angers. I will do a bit more research

I love the look of Blois. What are your thoughts rather than Tours as a base.

Blois is a vey nice, and pretty central, town with an interesting castle. It was a lot more fun before they closed down the chocolate factory, though;(

StCirq if I don’t stop eating the chocolate from Le Comptoir Mathilde I won’t fit in the car

If you have 10 days, you can space out your 5 chateaux so your husband doesn't get an overdose. There's usually a weekly market open in one town or another every day. A drive right along the Indre river, passing old mill after old mill, is enjoyable. Going through Sache, you can't miss the Calder mobile.

Loches is not a city, just a town, but it's full of charm. Montresor, one of the Plus Beaux Villages, is worth a visit year round. Chedigny is my favorite village in France, but that's mostly because it's a "remarkable garden", and I'm not sure what would be in bloom in March. If you are near tiny Chanceaux pres Loches, the Foret des Livres building is photo-worthy.

Our favorite place to stay in this area is a B&B, La bihourderie, north of Loches. We've encountered guests there from Australia, NZ, Canada, the US, and all over Europe. It's nice to be in a quiet place in the country overnight and still have an easy drive (not short, but easy) to Chenonceau, Azay le Rideau, Villandry, etc.

There are plenty of scenic roads in this area, marked in green on the Michelin maps.

I really like Angers also, and I suppose you know how big it and Tours are. I suppose this is semantics, but I would never call them towns, they are cities as far as I'm concerned, they have a population of over 100K. I don't think Tours is that great, it has a tram that is convenient for getting around, but I'd vote for Blois as more manageable and attractive and it's pretty central, also. Angers has plenty of tourists, just more French ones. They even have one of those little tourist train things that goes around town.

That's a long time to be in that area, I would go bonkers visiting that many chateaux, also, so you could visit one of these larger cities as they have some interesting museums (Tourts and Angers) and other sites. I quite liked the Musee du Campagmonnage which is rather unique. https://www.museecompagnonnage.fr/en/node/67

Chinon us pleasant, some local hotels can be on noisy squares so choose carefully. Tours is not impressive, I prefer Angers centre and Saumur..

Wine tasting, cycling, canoes, horse riding much nicer than chateau visiting.

Thanks for all the great suggestions. The visits to the Chateaus will be spaced out as suggested, and it maybe that I may not get too all of them. We like to take our time and I have planned 10 days as my husband is the only driver. One day in each place will be taken up with a leisurely morning walking around each destination, a long lunch, and more walking. That then means four days in each place to use as a base. We might even catch train or buses to places.

This part of the trip has always been important to me as I love the thought of living in a Chateau, just not the practicalities of doing so. I will do some more research and come back to the forum in a few days with more questions.

I think you'll do well to do some research on things to do in the Loire other than the chateaux, like the troglodyte dwellings, the local cheese mongers, viticulteurs, etc. It's actually one of my least favorite parts of France, and the local wines and the food don't do much for me in comparison to almost everywhere else in France, though I do think Chenonceau (distinct from Chenonceaux) is a lovely castle with an endearing history.

I'm sure you'll have a great trip. I'm also pretty sure you'll be happy to get "home" to Nîmes.

A few years ago, we stayed in Tours, with five chateau visits: Chambord, Chenonceau, Blois, Angers, and Villandry (gardens only). Details here: https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...alley-1077978/

StCirq we will be leaving Nimes on March 25 and not returning. We will be visiting the Loire Valley then heading to Normanby and Brittany, then Strasbourg until July. Happy to take your advice though. I do have other things to do besides visiting the Chateaus. My husband wouldn’t be interested at all if that was all I had planned.

SemiMike thanks I will take a look.

cheska, OK, I get it. It's the end of your journey. Personally, I wouldn't end such a lovely journey in the Loire, because I think it just falls flat in comparison to much of the rest of France, but that's my personal take. I'd focus more on Brittany, which while not truly French is undeniably beautiful and has incomparable food. I'm of two minds about Alsace, which makes sense because it's of two minds about itself. It's pretty and historically interesting, but the food just doesn't draw me, and the German-ness can be slightly off-putting for a francophile like moi. You get all sucked in and OMG-ish about all those gorgeous begonia'ed window boxes and half-timbered houses, and then you have to sit in front of a plate bursting with sausage and sauerkraut and boiled potatoes and you're longing for a croque-monsieur or a salade verte.

Just my take, obviously.

Be sure to sign up for an account at Le Comptoir de Mathilde before you leave France for good.

Cheska, to add to the advice above, you might enjoy dipping into this blog by two Australians who’ve been living south of Tours for umpteen years. They are really imbedded in the area. Between the two of them, they are interested in just about everything. Their lively blog is one of the reasons we’re drawn back to the Loire. At least once a week I read something on the blog that I make a note about for a future trip. They lead small tours, but you don’t have to sign up for a tour to enjoy reading the blog–though I’ve always thought that if our ship comes in, I’d ask them to design a few days in their area with our interests in mind.

https://daysontheclaise.blogspot.com/

I like the Loire much more than StCirq does, and I like Normandy even more than I like the Loire, so I think you'll find plenty to enjoy for the rest of your trip. To be clear, by Normandy I don’t mean just the WWII landing beaches. That’s only a small part and, to me, the least interesting part of Normandy.

I follow the above blog as well and enjoy the sound of their lives in France. In fact, the day we visited Chedigny in May 2014, Simon glided past in one of their wonderful old cars. Their tours are well reviewed, but we would need to win lotto to afford one. I also enjoy these blogs which tell of Ken and Walt's life near St Aignan. The church in St Aignan is at the top of long flight of stairs, and as first time visitors to France, we were smitten when we saw it.

https://ckenb.blogspot.com/

https://wcs4.blogspot.com/

Our very first week in France, in April 2006, was spent in the Loire valley at Selles sur Cher, and we returned in 2014 near Chinon and Richelieu. Selles, in 2006, had great fromagerie, but we were clueless about french cheese, so could not make the best of the opportunity. In 2014, We enjoyed the Abbaye de Fontrevaud and some of the lovely villages such as Montsoreau and Candes St Martin. We also visited Le Grand Pressigny and Preuilly sur Creuse which is Susan and Simon's home village. I look back to our first week in 2006, and I think that is when our love of the country roads of France began. Coquelicot, we found Chanceaux pres Loches and have a lovely photo.

The loire valley has some lovely goats cheeses, including St Maure de Touraine, Valencay and Selles sur Cher.

Bon voyage

Lovely to hear about everyone’s travels in the Loire Valley. The great thing is everyone has a different view and I am really happy to hear good and bad. If I didn’t visit the Loire Valley I would wonder for the rest of my life what it is like.

I have done a lot of research and it never hurts to go back and look at it once the time gets closer. I have saved part of trip reports from people looked at blogs etc. Thanks to all on here as there were a few things I missed.

We stayed in Amboise, which was pretty central to visit the ch teaux we wanted to see. But, since you'll have a car, it doesn't matter so much whether you stay in Amboise, Blois or Saumur.

Hi All
We have decided to stay in Blois. We are only going to see three or four of the Chateaus and the list of other things to do is very long. Thank you all for the wonderful advice.

If you visit Amboise or are considering visiting it your DH might like Leonardo Da Vinci's home. In the basement they have copies of some of his inventions with explanation of how they were predecessors of current day technology. Also in the gardens are full size copies of some of the inventions. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clos_Luc%C3%A9

And in Amboise don't miss a meal or at least a snack at L'Epicerie.

Thanks AGM we have this on the itinerary. My DH will tire very easily of all things Chateau. Hence I’ve reduced the number an added lots of other things to do. He is probably nervous I will want to buy a Chateu at a bargain price.

StCirq thank you as always. Will definitely book.

And also in Amboise-be sure to go to Amorino for gelato if you haven't already managed to hit one of their shops on your travels-they build the cups and cones with the gelato in the shape of flowers :)

3 min walk from Château Royal d'Amboise
Address: 6 Place Michel Debré, 37400 Amboise, France

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...fb5e8d52ce.png

And this, which has been around forever, but still great for a bit of a splurge: https://www.lechevalblancblere.fr/re...blere-touraine

I'm not sure I'd recommend the Cheval Blanc now. We were wowed by the dining room, the service, the ladies' room, ad what we saw of the hotel. Such luxury in a restroom! But the food was not all that good, and that's why we go to restaurants. It has lost its Michelin star and is in the 2019 Michelin list as just "good cooking."

As an aside, we really enjoyed our stay in a private château just outside the nice little town of Richelieu.

We spent a week at the Château de la Noue just outside of Villedômer near Amboise. The château is from the 17th century while the two towers are from the 16th. The current owner Marie-Christine has converted one wing into a three bedroom apartment she rents out, we paid about €750 for a week in September 2017. The grounds are extensive and we loved the stay, would go back again in a heartbeat.

I can give you more details if you’re interested, Château de la Noue is also on FB. We found the location perfect for visiting the Loire, from Chambord in the east to Fontevrault in the west. Of course you absolutely need a car.


https://www.google.com/amp/s/m.lanou...tresor-meconnu

geetika that sounds a delightful place to stay. I see myself as lady of the Chateu. Sadly my husband doesn’t

Good choice to stay in Blois.
That is a beautiful town the chateau us stunning.
Just a small remark without malice intended.
We spend hours teaching our children the special plurals.
Chateau is irregular and becomes chateaux in french. You may borrow the word but it hurts my eyes to see it with a s.
I know. I am a bit of a grammatical bore.
Have a great stay.

ahbon no offence. There are some words that this iPad does not like. I did spell it as you mentioned and it kept auto correcting. Then I forgot to spell check before posting.

ahbonvraiment, I can get fussy about Chenonceau vs. Chenonceaux too. French is fussy. I like that. Keeps us old people on our toes. Dementia has a hard time attacking the multilingual population.

Blois is a good choice. It's been ages since I was there, but I seem to remember there were nice boat rides from down at the riverside.