I am planning 2-3 days (2 nights) in the Loire Valley in early June. I understand Amboise or Chinon are nice. Which would make a better base location? Or a different town altogether?
Also, I hope to rent a bike for a day and make a 4-8 hour, semi-leisurely, ride along the river. Any suggestions would be most welcome. Thank you!
Month of year? One issue is whether you prefer the western or the eastern Chateaux? Because we only had 3 days with a car, and were headed to the coast, we chose to skip the (important enough) eastern Chateaux, with a car. Will you visit Chateaux by bike? Will you be dripping sweaty as you do?
We chose a rural hotel to facilitate daily return and parking. Others prefer a city location. For example, Chinon is a nice place to stroll around before dinner. But in season, you might need a dinner reservation even for modest places. Neat, easy to view nuclear power plant in Chinon, BTW!
Thank you Tim. I will be there in early June. Any recommendations for a smaller town to use as a base in that area?
Also, if I only have time to visit 1 or 2 chateaux, which should i choose?
Amboise makes a good base for riding the 9 miles (1-hr) to Chenonceaux which is one of the few chateaux with period furnishings. Small Chenonceaux village is beautiful and there are a number of places to overnight. The route can be continued for 2.5 hours (44 miles) ) to Cheverny- one of the very few Loire chateaux that has been owned by the same family for more than 600 years. Because of this unique history, Cheverny’s interior is in a lost-in-time condition looking mostly as it did before the French Revolution. It is something quite rare among the Loire chateaux.
I would suggest Amboise as a base. Bike east along the river and back. You can see Chambord and Chenonceaux chateaus in one day by car. Those are the two most visited. I would do Chambord as early as you can first in the morning. While in Amboise, visit the Chateau du Clos Luce. Pretty interesting.
Kurt, you have not said yet if you have a car too. To get the best answers, you need to say "I am taking the TGV from Paris and returning there after three days in the Loire." (Made that up, of course.)
That all is a factor in choosing a hotel location in a WIDELY dispersed area of many attractions. We stayed in an isolated, rural chateau-hotel, one which I do not recommend because it was a little disappointing, and very hot in summer, with no A/C. However, that was in 2012: Château de Marçay, 37500 Marçay - Chinon. One of the first things we did with our car was to drive to a "Target" clone and buy a 240 volt box fan!
Our small hotel hosted a commercial bike-tour for a couple of days, slamming the breakfast room. Ahem. But since you asked a question, I will mention that one place we visited for gardens looked very promising, and it's closer to the TGV stop you may (?) be using than are most chateau-hotels. https://www.labourdaisiere.com/en/portfolio-category/the-property/ It's also "centrally" located. I am not a biker, but I would not see the Loire entirely by bike. It's too BIG.
I’ve used Onzain twice. Amboise would be my choice of your 2
I'm not sure I'd be wanting to cycle from Amboise to Chenonceau, to be honest. A lot of tourist buses use what is basically a country road to get between the two. There's no separated bike path.
Likewise, cycling from Chenonceau to Cheverny is a no go, unless you're prepared to battle it out with trucks on some pretty major roads. Otherwise it's a pretty hefty 3 hours ride.
Chinon would get my vote, as there are bike paths to Richelieu, and the road to Fontevraud and Angers (also a bike path, this time partially through caves) are quieter than those to the east
Thank you all for the great suggestions -- I really appreciate the recommendations!
Note: Onzain is now Veuzain-sur-Loire
get yourself the Micheln 1:200,000 scale map and stay on the white roads
