Ideas for Loire Valley other than Chateaux? Oysters?

The main oyster harvesting areas, to the west and north in Brittany and Normandy, are a bit of a drive. However, Nantes is only 2 1/2 hours from Amboise, and has lots of places selling and serving oysters. But seafood and shellfish distribution is very good in France, so you can also find plenty of oyster purveyors where you're staying. And non't forget that French law requires that you must drink Muscadet if you eat oysters in Brittany.:-)

Robert keeps saying Muscadet, but he means Muscadet de Sevres et Maine, which is a Loire white that goes well with seafood. No, it's not really law--in case you didn't pick up his humor. There's also GrosPlant de Nantes,, Vouvray, etc. all flinty whites.

For your 17 year old, there are troglodytes dwellings, a troglodyte chateau (Breze) and troglodyte farm to visit on the west end of the Loire. Google loire cave dwellings or troglodytes for details.

There is the Da VInci home in Amboise, with a small museum of some of his inventions in the basement. Its walking distance from the downtown area, passing by the cave dwellings. Plus I think the Chateau in Amboise is as historically interesting (if less elaborate) as the more famous ones.

I went to the DaVinci home in Amboise many years ago, and yes, it is definitely worth a visit. As to Muscadet, Bets, there are others besides Sevre et Maine, and the poor producers in those regions have trouble getting any recognition. For example, Domaine de la Pleiade near Ancenis makes a very good Muscadet, and won a medal at a major competition a few years ago, but has trouble getting more than 4 euros a bottle at the winery because they're in the Muscadet Coteaux de la Loire appellation rather than the more prestigious Sevre et Maine.

Have you considered the "medieval" construction project at Guedelon? It's a 2.5-hour drive each way from Amboise, but you can go and return by different routes.

I know you were asking about Amboise, but I am going to make an assumption you will be staying in Paris too at some point. We stopped at Le Procope in Paris and it has history of being the oldest continually run restaurant in Paris. We just stopped for a quick oyster stop. They had many different varieties and I think are pretty well known for their oysters. The other food looked good too. It was mid-day and I was worried we would be under-dressed, but I think we were fine. If it had been evening - I think I might have been under dressed for sure.

When I lived in France as an Au Pair, my host family were very big in to Oysters. You don't have to be by the coast to get good, fresh Oysters. However, you may be out of luck for Oysters in June no matter where you are. Like in the US, Oysters are only supposed to be eaten in months that have an R in the name. And my family told me they would only eat them in November-February.

I was living in a village an hour southwest of Paris and the family would buy oysters from a stand on the side of the road in the nearby town of Rambouillet. I was told to that the Bréton variety from Brittany are the best, but I think that was just their personal opinion. ;-)

Thank you all for such excellent suggestions. Laura, we had hoped to go to Guedelon last year, but did not, so that is a definite possibility, as are the caves, etc. I also loved y'all's wine suggestions. We spent a week in Burgundy (in a gite in Volnay) last year, and hope to explore some of the domaines in the Loire. I am glad to have a few suggestions of wines you all like.

The Oyster Capital of France is Cancale which is near St Malo in Brittany,there are stands on the beach selling Oysters,great experience.I stayed in the Loire Valley in Sept. and drove to St Malo,it was 3 1/2 hour drive.
Mike

Here are some other Loire ideas, keeping in mind you have a 17-year-old with you
*Rent bikes or even take a bike tour of the region
*Rent a canoe in Amboise and paddle around the Loire, or better, canoe under the chateau at Chenonceau
*Tour the wineries around Chinon for excellent Cabernet Franc wines
*Go on a hot air balloon ride
*Watch the equestrian show at Chambord
*See the sound-and-light show at Blois

I agree that Amboise is ideal for most of the "big" chateaux. But it's farther from Brittany and the coast. If you do drive towards the actual source of oysters, consider the evocative ruin of the hilltop "chateau" in Chinon-also a nice evening-walk and restaurant town. Chinon is also, er, famous for the very visible and very approachable nuclear power plant. It's a slice of "The Simpsons" your son might enjoy.

You need to think about whether this is the trip to see Mont St. Michel, which is a family-friendly outing. But it's a long drive from Amboise. Consider dropping the car remotely and training back to Paris (or wherever.) I was underwhelmed by the Troglodyte stop, but it is unique. Note also Dinan and Dol de Bretagne is you go that way. Vitré is a possible substitute for Dinan.

Need a recommendation for an English speaking guide for various tours in the Loire Valley in May. We will be a group of 20 staying in a Chateau near Angers. We are having difficulty locating any one at a price point that we generally experience thru Rick Steve's recommendations elsewhere. Any thoughts/recommendations?

Thanks y'all for more great suggestions! We will be traveling to Amboise from a few days in Bayeux, so we may stop by MSM on the way, but Brittany is sounding like a better option for an oyster meal.

rterapak -- I would suggest you make your question a new post, otherwise it might be missed.

Posted by rterapak 03/22/16 01:16 PM 1 posts Report Need a
recommendation for an English speaking guide for various tours in the
Loire Valley in May. We will be a group of 20 staying in a Chateau
near Angers. We are having difficulty locating any one at a price
point that we generally experience thru Rick Steve's recommendations
elsewhere. Any thoughts/recommendations?

I agree too that you don´t really need to go to the coast to enjoy seefood, but I think too that an open air restaurant where you can smell the sea is hard to beat.

On the way to Amboise visiting the Le Mans racetrack (24 hours race: 18th and 19th of June) and the museum can be of interest for your son. Btw historic downtown Le Mans is very nice.
In Nantes a special attraction is Les Machines de l’île with moving mechanical creatures like that gigantic elephant. http://www.lesmachines-nantes.fr/en/ In Nante is a Jules Verne museum as well.

More west in Saint-Nazaire there are organized tours to the Airbus factory where they built fuselages for their planes including the A380. The tour starts outside the ticket office of the former WWII U-boat base, which can be visited too, but home to an out of service French submarine.