Accessible Loire Chateaus

I think I'd skip Chambord or just view from the outside. Villandry has stunning gardens and the upstairs of the chateau could be skipped without missing much. Chenonceau also has lovely gardens, but I can't recall if there was a lot of steps in the chateau

I wasn't looking at the time, but my memory is that the vast parts of Chenonceau are on one level. It is down to the river of course, and there may be a handful of stairs as you go around but very few.

Here's what their website https://www.chenonceau.com/en/practical-information/services/ says

Disabled access People with reduced mobility may book a wheelchair
free of charge.

(Leave an ID as a deposit)

A fitted ramp enables easy access to the château, and a video guided
tour helps to visualize each room inside. The shop, restaurants and
toilets are all disabled accessible. Accessible gardens.

Thank you, Jules and Nigel!

My wife isn't in a wheelchair, though--so I'm trying to see how many flights of stairs she would have to negotiate. I've heard Chambord has a lot of steps on the tour.

During our recent visit to Paris, Versailles, Fontainebleau, Chantilly and several other Chateaus, we've found the staff to be very gracious and have taken us to elevators none of the other visitors were allowed to use.

Overall, the French people were really considerate of my wife on busses and the metro, as well.

Re Chambord, I recall that the parking lot was a bit of a long hike to the chateau as well. I stopped and sat for a while. (It was before my knee replacements.) And, yes, there are lots of stairs to visit the chateau fully.

Thanks, Judy.

Fortunately, we found on our recent trip to France that they respect my wife's handicap placard, so we were usually able to park fairly close--except at Chantilly, where the lots are at a distance...then there is the long promenade after entering the grounds!

As crazy as Versailles is we actually found a sympathetic guard who let us take the staff elevator and skip a long hike, plus stairs, to the Hall of Mirrors.

I was at Chenenceaux 2 weeks ago. There are a lot of stairs and some are spiral. Down to the kitchens and up to the second floor.

Chenonceau is a fair distance from the car park, but as others have said wheelchairs may be available. The ground floor is interesting (and big and engaging enough) for those who struggle with stairs. There are famously no spiral staircases, but the existing stairs can get crowded.

Chambord is a drive past. It's only interior feature is stairs.

Villandry: most people only visit the gardens. The interior is ok, but nothing special.

Cheverny should be ok. The ground floor is interesting in itself, and the stairs are wide and easy to negotiate.

For Amboise there is disabled access, but you have to buy your tickets beforehand, and park at the top of the hill. Details are near the bottom of this page. https://www.chateau-amboise.com/en/practical-information/

Forget Clos Lucé - the road is closed

Away le Rideau may be a bit too much up and down

Thank you, Simon, for a detailed reply. It looks like we need to re-think this expedition as we were thinking about spending two weeks exploring the chateaus. Your reply is good guidance!

Regards,

Ye Olde Travel-Junkie 3PO

Travel-Junkie,
Even with no accessibility problems, I feel two weeks in the Loire is a week too long. Chateaux overload is a real thing IMO. I would pick another area for one of those weeks.

OP TJ,
Great advice for you both above. A timely thread coz we are Loire-bound this fall and my wife has new knee issues. And I seem to have an unprecedented pulmonary issue: God's sense of humor. These posts are exactly what I've been seeking as I've been tryna suss out the stairs logistics.

Other non-chateaux (read stairless) activities could include: Chaumont's Garden Fest, a French answer to the London-Chelsea equivalent; little towns like Loches (we're starting there in a rental); littler towns such as Sache, Chedigny and Montresor. There exists a B-league chateau just beyond Clos de Luce called 'Gaillard'. Dunno about stairs there (its small), but it has a lovely garden with an Italianate influence plus many citrus trees. We'll be lunching there and enjoying the gardens mostly.
If boats appeal, one may go there and back to Chenonceau in either a traditional gabarre or a more touristy lunch boat from the same nearby outfit in Chissaux.

Btw, we have a killer splurge rental house in Tours to recommend if anyone wanted--a vacation unto itself.
I am done. The end