Amboise, Tours, or elsewhere for Eastern Loire base?

We spent a week in Azay Le Rideau last spring. We were very happy that we stayed there over amboise. We did a day trip to amboise and found it very touristy and crowded. It’s definitely worth a day trip but not a place I’d want to stay. Azay has a gorgeous chateau and its busy during the day but clears out in the afternoon. There were several very good restaurants in town and we very much enjoyed grabbing a drink across the water watching the local families enjoy the outdoors. It may be further west that you want but we found the drive to the chateaux in the eastern areas very pleasant and scenic.

It does look like a charming village. was it easy to get to the “Big C” chateaus? Chenenceau, Chambord, etc?

Yes it was a nice scenic drive. We went to both on different days

Try Loches. It's about 30 minutes south of Amboise, even smaller than Amboise but with an equally good market twice a week, and equally close to most of the big hitter chateaux. It's closer to the Zoopark Beauval and Futuroscope than Amboise.

It's also surrounded by a lot of forests with walks and bike paths, and loads of picturesque villages.

https://www.touraineloirevalley.co.uk/discover/the-finest-cities/visit-loches/

I’ve stayed twice in Onzain ( now known as Veuzain-sur-Loire ) which is across the river from Chaumont. I could see the Chateau from my room both times. Nice town, not touristy. I stayed at Chateau des Tertres. I have also stayed twice in Azay ( Hotel Le Grande Monarque ). Both were good bases.

If possible, make a list of must-photograph places, and if you have enough experience, how much time you will need. Some gardens, like Villandry, are immense. Use Google Maps to estimate some driving times.

We found that Chinon to Chenonceau was farther than we wanted to drive repeatedly, on traffic choked summer roads. Opinion, not suggesting what you should skip. We favored the west because Dinard was our next base.

Thank you for the tips so far. Loches looks wonderful, with some great sights as well as lodging.

I think I'll end up going back to Chenenceau at different times of day, so it's a good location. I also want to spend some time at Chaumont because of the garden festival, but I can see combining it with Amboise for Da Vinci.

It will also make it more likely for me to get to Azay-le-Rideau. We have 6 - 7 days, so we could do two locations, but we also like "slow travel" and settling in to experience a place. That allows us to discover the unexpected.

In Veauzain-sur-Loire, Chateau des Tertres is temporarily closed. It looks beautiful though!

Thank you for the ideas! Nothing is carved in stone at this point except the time of year - late April, early May.