First-Time visitor to Loire Valley

I would add Azay-le-Rideau.

When entering a shop, greet them with Bon Jour

We did this 35 years ago and stayed in Blois.

We stayed near Amboise, but either it or Tours are more central for the most visited chateaux in the Loire. That cuts down a bit on travel time. We divided our visits to chateaux west of Tours on some days and those to the east on other days. To your list I'd also recommend Azay Le Rideau, and Chaumont for its International Garden Festival. And if there's time the Royal Abbey of Fontevraud

We did a similar trip a few years ago, staying in Tours. We liked staying there as it's convenient for the TGV from Paris and has a lot of good options for eating/drinking/etc in the evening. I agree with others who suggest visiting Azay-le-Rideau. I would also suggest Cheverny which is known for its beautiful furniture and its army of hounds. If you time your visit right you can watch them all at feeding time (la soupe de chien).

Fred,
You may want to visit some of the troglodytic caves and shelters in the valley, as well as stopping in Saumur for the mushroom museum (and maybe a mushroom cave visit?) Saumur also has some nearby wineries to visit and some places to taste. And I concur with Azay-le-Rideau.

P.S. The Loire Valley is filled with tourists from all over, not just the US. If you are polite it won't matter if you look like a tourist (you undoubtedly will). Remember bonjour" merci, and s'il vous plait.

Let me second the recommendation for Chaumont-sur-Loire's International Garden Festival. It's outstanding. My favorites among the others mentioned are Chenonceau, Villandry, Fontvraud and Azay-le-Rideau. Just look into each one so that you satisfy your own interests.
I agree with Judy. You will probably be easy to spot as a tourist, but your attitude is what matters. Yes, learn the polite words and always begin conversations with "bonjour." One more note about the culture: don't handle the fruit (this is true in small stores, but does not seem to apply in large grocery stores). Point at what you want and the people running the store will pick it for you. It almost felt like I was going to get my hand slapped for violating that custom.
Enjoy. You can hardly go wrong in the Loire Valley.

We also really liked Cheverny. We combined it with Chambord and Chaumont-sur-Loire in the same day. We had some trouble with our car which cut into our time. So we opted to just drive up to Chambord, walk around the chateau and enjoy the grounds. Especially when I read that Chambord was largely unfurnished. We did have a lovely lunch at the cafe. Chaumont-sur-Loire was by far our least favorite, although the grounds were lovely. The next day we drove west from Amboise to Villandry which was stunning! Then saved the rest of the afternoon for Chenonceau - probably our favorite. We visited the chateau in Amboise where we were staying on our arrival day. So, in all - visited 6 chateaux. I’m not sure our brains would have handled more than that! I would say our top 3 were Chenonceau, Villandry and Cheverny.

I believe that the public can not view the dog feeding at Cheverny any more. Too bad. We didn’t know about it but just happened to be there at that time when we visited in 1984 ( yikes ! ). It is my primary memory of our visit.

I twice enjoyed the view of Chaumont from my room in the hotel Chateau de Tertres in Veuzain-sur-Loire ( formerly Onzain ) across the river. The town is a quiter alternative.

Hi There are many lesser-known castles worth visiting. For example, Brézé for its troglodytic underground passages, the Château de Rivaud for its art exhibitions, and why not, not too far away, La Mothe-Chandeniers for its romantic atmosphere, though just a quick visit, as the interiors aren't open to the public. Also Montrésor, which is also a very pretty village... The region is also full of troglodytic dwellings, so there are many such attractions to explore... Here are a few ideas: Roche Meunier/Louresse, Turquant, Chêne-Hutte/Trèves-Cunault...

To avoid an overload do not plan to many châteaux, you can start with three you want to see anyway. A few more in case you can’t get enough you will find out once on the move there. You can’t go wrong with those you mention, but it’s certainly worth to consider Azay-le-Rideau and Cheverny as already noticed.

Not a château, but the mansion where Leonardo da Vinci stayed the final period of his life in Amboise is not to miss to my opinion too. You can find his tomb in a chapel of Château Amboise.

Used Amboise as a base and loved it….we as a rental car and drove to each chateau……Amboise was a nice easy laid back place to come home to each day.

No, Cheverny does not feed the dogs in public, but many of them were in their courtyard taking their morning nap! So sweet! We loved the chateau though!

If you stay in Amboise it is well worth it to visit the Chateau du Clos Luce which was the final home of Leonardo da Vinci. It is fascinating and displays his inventions as well.

The Chateau Royal d'Amboise is great to see also. The grounds are beautiful, and there are stunning views of the Loire River and the town of Amboise. We really enjoyed it.