Going to Paris for 5 days in late April. Would like to have a guide with car/van for a one day trip to the Loire Valley. Intent is to see 2-3 chateaus. I know it'll be a rush, but we can go back at a more leisurely pace during a future trip. Any recommendations on a guide and/or 2-3 chateaus that can be seen in a day?
Thanks in advance,
Rick
Rick there are two ways to do this. Leaving from Paris you can take the small van tours by Parisvision tours.. they have big bus tours, ,but they also offer the smaller van tours. Expensive but for many worth it. I did the big bus tour about 10 years ago and it wasn't as bad as one might imagine. We left very early in am.. then visited three Chateau ( Cheverny, Chambord and one other forget name at moment) . We had enough time to have a quick escorted tour around the palaces.. maybe 45 minutes.. then always had another 45 minutes to 1.5 hours to explore grounds and rest of palace on our own.
Another way of doing it is to get a train from Paris to Tours.. from there you can take the Acco Dispo tours .. they are small van tours and apparently well thought of..
I have to say my first trip was 3 days and using a rental car and that is the best way to do it. but I understand one simply does not always have the time.. or wish to self drive and the tours are a viable option.
Rick:
You don't have to go all the way to the Loire valley to see some really nice chateaus! You can get to Fountainbleu in about a 1 1/2 hr drive from Paris, or the Veaux Le Vicomte - check them out on their websites! They are fantastic. each one should take a whole day though, pretty hard to do 2 in one day as they aren't that close. If you just want to see a chateau, I would recommend those. If it is the Loire valley that inspires you, then go for it! I don't know how you can do 3 in a day. I did 2 a day and it was a lot. Went through so quickly I barely remember them. They are close enough though it is possible.
Hello Sally,
My wife and I are planning to visit Paris in June and would like to do a one-day Loire Valley chateau/castle tour. Any tour company you would recommend? merci!
Hi Rick,
I've been researching this myself, since I'm going in September. I'm going to use "Quart de Tours" (recommended by Rick), which offers half-day or full-day tours of the chateaux. It's based in Tours, and an early (7:16 or 7:46) TGV train from Paris (Gare Montparnasse) gets you to Tours in time for the 9 am full-day tour. They go to 5 chateaux and end with a wine tasting - 50 euros. Since I don't drive, I thought this was the best (and cheapest) option. Also, they use mini-buses instead of huge buses.
http://www.chateaux-tours.com/
Enjoy your trip!
