Beyond Chateaux in the Loire

On the far western end of the Loire Valley is Angers, where a museum holds the Apocalypse Tapestries. They are from a later period than the Bayeaux Tapestries so one can't make a direct comparison, but I would vote for them over those in Bayeaux.

Also of interest: Villandry Gardens and Fontevraud Abbey [where English king Henry II, his wife (Eleanor of Aquitaine), and their son (Richard the Lionheart) are buried].

Leonardo da Vinci's house, Clos Luce, in Amboise. There are models of his many inventions as well as the house itself.

It may be over by October (I've been there twice in September), but at Chateau Chaumont there is an annual garden festival that is interesting. Landscape designers from around the world are invited to create gardens inspired by that year's theme. Each garden is unique and some of them are at the brink of being weird, but it is fun. The chateau isn't one of the most interesting except that there is a connection between it and Chenenceou relative to Catherine de Medici and Diane Porteriers.

Not everyone's cup of tea, but the Zoo-Parc de Beauval near St-Aignan is supposed to be one of Europe's best zoos. Kids should love it, and a nice change from all those chateaux.

I agree that the Apocalypse Tapestry is well worth seeing. I'm not sure a comparison to the one in Bayeux is really appropriate, since Bayeux has its own historic importance.

At the western end of the Loire region is Saumur, where the "Cadre Noir" performing horses put on a show regularly.

See http://www.ifce.fr/en/cadre-noir/ and

http://www.ifce.fr/en/cadre-noir/visits-galas/?utm_source=Effiweb&utm_medium=PushCNEN&utm_campaign=CNEN%20visites%20et%20galas

How many days will you have? The distances are considerable, so even though it's possible to visit 2 or 3 places per day if they are close together, if you want to see places farther afield from your home base then you have to allow for driving time.

Le Mans has a stunning historical centre and the race car museum at the entrance of the 24h race track is worth a visit.

Some 20km south of Chinon is Richelieu, birthplace of that famous “servant” of Louis XIII, a walled little town completely in renaissance style. Alas the huge castle of him in the adjacent park is destroyed during the French Revolution otherwise it would be a real tourist magnet nowadays. Nice place if you like things of the beaten path, but the atmosphere is a bit boring as there is nothing more to do there.

I highly recommend a hot air balloon ride over the Loire or Cher valley. We went in May and it was the highlight of our two week trip. Here is a link to the company we went with.

http://www.aerocom.fr/en/

We paddled a canoe on the Cher river under the arches of Chateau Chenonceau. The river is wide and calm. We did a short trip up to the chateau and back because a rainstorm was approaching. We are not experienced paddlers. It was really beautiful. Check out the Canoe Company in Civray. There are a variety of trip options.

Wine tasting! I enjoy a little wine shop just outside of Amboise in the village called Montlouis-sur-Loire . The wine shop is called La Cave Insolite and is owned by winemaker François Chidaine, who makes lovely lovely wines (but also sells others' wines as well as other local products). It's on the road along the river on the way out of Amboise.

http://www.francois-chidaine.com/accueil/la-cave-insolite/

Thank you everyone....lots of good ideas to choose from! Barbara

I enjoyed the city of Tours. I stayed there a few days and made it a base for visiting some chateaux, but the old part of the city is also very nice. Sunday was market day when I was there, which was during a September. I am not sure if it is all year or not, but there were plenty of market stalls, and plenty to eat. It was quite crowded though. I also liked the market in Angers (I forget which day of the week that was), and that was less crowded than market day in Tours.

Mushroom cave!

For me, Fontevraud and Chinon Fortress. Both have history that predates the luxurious hunting lodge era.

I also enjoyed Clos Luce in Amboise, less of a fancy chateau, more a nice place where Da Vinci lived. It also has really nice gardens that are nothing like the formal gardens at the chateaux.

I've seen a lot of balloons in Loire, so maybe a balloon ride?

Matt, we're going this fall to the Loire Valley as well and appreciate your idea of the mushroom cave...found this article. Looks fun and interesting.

I second the hot air balloon trip. That has probably been my favorite travel experience, ever. It was expensive, but completely worth it. We flew over Chateau Chenonceau as well as fields of sunflowers. Just spectacular.

My husband would love the mushroom cave and the balloon ride sounds gorgeous. Thanks for all of the advice.

My husband and I will also be there in October. Rick's book mentions bike rides in the Loire Valley that we might try. I'm wondering what the weather will be like, too.

Julie, yes that's the cave we went to. It was a riot. The mini city is bizarre but pretty awesome. We bought 2 kg of mushrooms. They were so good that we were eating them raw.

Matt