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.