Amboise or Tours (Blois?)

Tours and Blois are both cities, Amboise is a small town. Because of RS, Amboise, although it has plenty going for it, can feel as busy as as Paris, depending on when you're there. There are some good restaurants, not over expensive, but there are also some quite average restaurants at the same price.

May shouldn't be too bad, but there are quite a few public holidays, and also school holidays, so it will be busy, but not necessarily with American tourists. The disadvantage is that some restaurants may be on holiday (it has been known)

The big advantage Tours has is that it's the centre of the transportation network, espeiclaly important if you don't have a car. If you're in Amboise you will have to travel through Tours to get to anywhere except Blois, Orleans and Chaumont sure Loire (and Chenonceaux if the stars all align). It has a much larger choice of accommodation and food, as well as being really interesting but vastly undervisited by tourists.

If you do not have a car, I shouldn't even consider staying in Amboise which is bloated with tourists in summer.

Tours is the transportation hub of the region and the Office de Tourisme there has a large selection of tours which depart from their office near Tours Centre, the train station. Tours also has an excellent choice of cafés, restaurants, museums, and other types of commerce. I recommend staying somewhere near the train station or a location near the Hotel de Ville or Place Plumereau.

Other areas of Tours offer little of interest to tourists.

https://www.tours-tourisme.fr/

Thanks to both of you for your advice. Looks like I'll be staying in Tours. Appreciate the voices of experience.

I am planning a bicycling trip to Loire for May 2022. We are considering Blois and Chinon as home bases for cycling to the Chateaux. Would these towns be better than Tours? Thank you

bro_cl - better to start a separate thread. But to answer your question - Chinon is fine. Blois is also fine but I really like Onzain

Blois would be a great deal easier to bike into and out of than would Tours, as Tours can have a great deal of auto traffic.

When I visited the Loire Valley, I stayed in Amboise without a car that made it a hassle to get around. If I did it again, I would stay in Blois.

Thanks. I think I'll just do the easiest public transport hub and stay in Tours. It has a fine arts museum, plus what looks like a "guild masters" museum featuring work by tradesmen past, so there's plenty to do there.

Re: Biking Loire bases, Bro_cl

I've been looking, as well, for May '23. My post to the RS Travel Forum yielded little of great value. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/france/loire-et-plus-17-days So, I searched the net. There are numerous resources on line. Not shown below are any of the numerous sites tied to a single tour promoter, though those can be informative about routes and places to choose on your own. Instead, below are a few more general resources to help your own trip and route planning.

https://www.enrouelibre-centrevaldeloire.com/carte-interactive/?reseaux_de_boucles%5B%5D=la-touraine-autour-de-bourgueil-et-langeais

https://en.francevelotourisme.com/cycle-route/la-loire-a-velo-loire-valley-by-bike?etape=0022_06_ETP_A

https://veloenfrance.fr/circuits?id_circuit=181250 (Zoom out on the map; more will be revealed)

The next one has lots of good general info plus links to various company tours: https://www.freewheelingfrance.com/where-to-go/?region=Loire%20Valley-Centre

And, of course, RS general piece on the Loire: https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/france/loire

Thanks for all the research. There are also some suggestions on these sites:
https://www.alltrails.com/france/indre-et-loire/tours
https://www.tours-tourisme.fr/incontournables/sorties-nature-en-bords-de-loire/

Wasn't planning on serious cycling--just something leisurely up or down the Loire/Cher with a picnic along the way.

My daughter and I stayed in Amboise without a car back in 2016. One day we visited Chenonceau castle via public bus.
Another day we took the train to Blois where we took a shuttle bus to Chambord and Cheverny.

RS described all the details in his France book (2015), but not sure this information is in his newest book.
You’ll find information about the shuttle bus here: Navette Blois-Chambord- Cheverny-Beauregard

Enjoy your trip!

P.S.
I forgot to mention that the shuttle bus is located in a parking lot just left of the Blois train station. Just look for the bus shown on the foto of the link I added. You can get your tickets from bus driver or from the TI in Amboise.

Thanks for the info. May opt for just a guided tour so I don't have to worry about connections, etc. My French is elementary conversation (for example, "Your watch must be a little slow." Why would they teach you that sentence?), so I have to look up a lot of "specialized" vocabulary.
Appreciate the input.