2 full days in loire valley, based in tours, no car

Posted by ariel on 04/20/24 04:41 AM

Hello all! So here is what i'm thinking and wanted to see what the forum thinks

day 1 - early train from tours to blois - rent a bicycle and go to chambord and then to cheverny to see both castles and then back to blois. Does anyone know if this route is mostly flat? Are electric bikes offered for rent. Also, do people generally recommend chateau cheverny over chateau blois?

day 2 - early train from tours to amboise - go to clos luc when it opens at 9 AM and then possibly chateau amboise depending on timing and then rent bike to chenenceau which closes at 6 PM. Again, is the route mostly flat? I'd have to return the bike by 7 PM. What time do i have to make sure I leave Amboise by to have enough time at chenenceau?

As an alternative, does anyone know of a shuttle from amboise to chenenceau?

Posted by markcw

Los Angeles

04/20/24 06:02 AM

1171 posts

Re Day 2: I biked from Amboise to Chenonceau years ago - it was the day I arrived by train, so not a full day, and easily did the trip in the afternoon. You can get time, distance and elevation using Google Maps.

On the second day I took a minibus tour using this company:

https://www.accodispo-tours.com/amboise.html

Posted by ariel OP

04/23/24 02:41 PM

19 posts

thanks for the reply Mark. So overall you would rate amboise to chenenceau as doable by someone with moderate fitness?
and thanks for the link to the tour. I'd really like to go without tours but it's nice to have a recommended alternative, i appreciate it

Posted by stephen

Greeley, co, usa

04/23/24 05:08 PM

2587 posts

The routes are flat.. If going to Cheverny, try to be there when they feed the dogs

Posted by Simon

Loire Valley

04/23/24 06:59 PM

824 posts

Don't bother trying to be in Cheverny when they feed the dogs. That hasn't happened since March 2020, and doesn't appear likely to return.

Amboise to Chenonceau is flat, but the road is very busy with cars and buses. I cycle regularly, but that road is one I'd try to avoid. It's not very wide and more than 50% of drivers appear to be tourists slaloming it.

Blois to Chambord is flat once you're over the river, and some of it is bike paths.

Posted by ariel OP

04/30/24 09:50 PM

19 posts

so i spoke to some bike companies, and it seems the blois to chambord to cheverny and back day will amount to 6 hours riding (though one company said that's for a 60 km route and another company said that's for a 75 km route) and the bike shops are open 9-7 so that only leaves 4 hours for scarfing down a protein bar or two and sightseeing at the two castles. Would you say that's enough?

I was also told amboise to chenonceau has some inclines and takes about an hour. One company suggested an e=bike

The company markcw was kind enough to link offers a day trip that is chenonceau (2.5 hours), chambord (hour fifty minutes) and cheverny (1 hour) for 90 euros. The price doesn't seem terrible since renting a bike is 18 euros per day and an e-bike would be 40 euros. So if I rent an e-bike both days, it's 80 euros, only 10 euros less than the tour. Anyway, does the amount of time per location sound good for this tour?

The idea of biking sounds so much more appealing but i'm concerned about the time spent cycling for the chambord-cheverny day and the inclines for the chenonceau day

Posted by amy

Washington DC

05/01/24 12:33 AM

43 posts

Just returned from a Loire trip and want to put in a good word for Blois. I found it beautiful and charming, perhaps even preferable to Loches and Amboise, where we stayed. Just felt a little more dynamic as a city. We didn’t tour the chateau and the nearby magic museum was closed during our hours there but I was impressed by the beauty of it (you can see courtyards and exteriors without paying) and the Saturday market atmosphere added to the city’s appeal.

I’ll also note that we stopped only to view the exterior of Chambord and that was good enough for us (and it’s breathtaking). We invested more time in seeing Chenonceau.