Loire. Valley base

I haven’t been to Chinon or Saumur, but we enjoyed basing in Amboise. The town is very walkable with a range of restaurant options and a couple of grocery stores (we were in an apartment with a tiny kitchen). Chenonceau and Chambord are close by; there is also a chateau in Amboise as well as Clos Luce, da Vinci’s last home. We also did a hot air balloon ride which was the highlight of our trip.

For me, the decision would depend on which specific chateaus you want to see and wine tasting. Amboise is quite centered around tourism with a lot of mediocre restaurants and about or 3 or 4 very good ones so just enough for a 3-4 day stay and it is a good base for the eastern portion of the Loire Valley although Blois might be better. The red wines from the Chinon area are interesting and maybe if red wine tasting is a big part of your trip, then Chinon might work but IMO Saumur is the better base for the western portion of the Loire Valley. If you are just randomly picking chateaus and have no particular ones you wish to see, I say go with Saumur -- slightly easier drive from Normandy, troglodyte caves nearby, close to Chinon for wine tasting, and it's the Loire Valley so there have to be some castles within an hour drive.

My husband and I spent five days in the Loire Valley in the Fall of 2017.

We spent 3 days in Amboise and two days in Chinon. Our reasons for this
Were strategic and very rewarding. Amboise is a wonderful place to stroll and visit
Numerous sites particularly Le Clos Luce where Da Vinci retired to in his final three years.
The tour through this small chateau provided Leonardo by his close friend King Francois I
Was incredibly interesting. That is if you have any interest in viewing Da Vinci’s actual
Workshop with sketches of both his art and inventions. The grounds contain multiple models
Of these inventions as well. Amboise has numerous restaurants and cafes that are good, but
Definitely cater to the tourist crowd so few are memorable. From Amboise it is a Must to make
A day or even half day trip to the renowned Chenonceau the “mack daddy” of French chateaux.
Amboise is a 25 minute train ride from Tours which is the major city of the Loire Valley. We took a
Train in one evening to eat at L’Embellie that I had read about and it was (is) amazing. Wish
We could have spent more time in Tours. Looked like a really pretty City, but just went there
For dinner and took train back to Amboise. In Amboise stayed at Chambres D’Hotes St. Raphael,
Is located across the bridge from center of town, but is a short and picuresque walk where you
Experience full view of The Loire and all the fishermen trying their luck!!
We then traveled West of Tours and spent two days in Chinon. On way to Chinon from Amboise
Stopped for several hours to visit Villandry, another famous chateau along The Loire. We skipped
Going into the Chateau and instead spent out time in the incredible gardens of Villandry. A MUST
VISIT !!! I am not a devoted gardener by any means, but these gardens are magnificent. After
Our visit to Villandry it was a short drive to Chinon which is a lovely, smaller French town and far
Less touristy than Amboise. We were there in late September and any remnants of Summer
Tourist season had ended which was a plus!! However, the only minus was that many of the
Town restaurants were open one night and closed the next so my recommendation is to check
The days open for those you wish to dine in. Had one of the best meals in our three weeks in
Southwest France at L’Ardoise in centre-ville Chinon on rue Rabelais. Be sure to check when they
Are open. We stayed at Domaine de Givre located maybr two/three miles out of Chinon. Located
In the middle of wine country. Owned by Ronan and Vero, a delightful young couple. There are only
Two (maybe three) roomsand you will sleep in a 13th century stone house that has been totally refurbished, I would book now for October! Used Booking.com.
Be in country surroundings and have a lovely breakfast. We stayed there two nites . On the second
Full day we visited Azay-Le-Rideau, a gem of a chateau and also a must see!! Only a stone’s throw
From Chinon. By seeing the above three chateaux you will have seen the “stars.” By splitting up
Your stay in the Loire Valley, you don’t have the hassle traversing east to west and west to east
In the area plus see two quite different towns in the Loire Valley.

If you want to be away from crowds of tourists, I think either Saumur or Chinon would be good -- not Amboise or any other town at the eastern end of the region. Although October will be less crowded than midsummer, there will still be many day trippers from Paris in & around Amboise.

We thoroughly enjoyed the Fortress of Chinon, but didn't have time to explore the town so can't speak for whether it is "run down." Saumur is rather far to the west from most of the famous chateaux in the region, which could be good or bad depending on which destinations you want to visit and how much time you want to spend "commuting" from Saumur.

To judge the appeal of either Chinon or Saumur, you could probably find some photos online and You Tube videos to view and decide for yourself how you like the "vibe" of the place.

We spent a night in Chinon some years ago and didn't find it "run down," unless you mean it had a lot of very old buildings -- which is what we look for in the Loire, right? I spent a night in Saumur in 1963 and remember only the bar where I indulged to excess, so no useful insights for you about that place.

Use a guidebook to figure out what you want to see -- which chateaux, whether caves, wineries etc. Then look at a map and base yourself as centrally as you can given those choices. You have enough time if you want to spend a couple of nights west of Tours (Chinon would be good) and a couple more east of Tours (Amboise would be good), if your sightseeing priorities include both sides.

I would be interested to know where you heard that Chinon is run down. It's not buffed up to a Disney polish like parts of Amboise, but it's by no means run down. The nuclear power station is miles away and won't impact on your day at all unless you decided to visit. Just think of it as a pretty standard late medieval Loire Valley Town.

Ambosie is great if you're a RS reader, otherwise its just a small town with too many visitors and too many dubious restaurants. Clos Luce is OK, but also a bit disneyfied. It does have a replica of the bed that Leonardo spent the last couple of years of his life in, but thats about it for traces of the man. The chateau is good, and there are some excellent events programmed for this year. There are some great tourist trap shops though.

Every Loire Valley town has troglodyte caves, and depending on which wine you want everywhere has wine too. Most places have at least one good restaurant (even Amboise) and most places are near pretty villages. As you have a car you're not restricted to staying in a town, anywhere bewteen Azay-le Rideau and Amboise (geographically) would be fine, Chinon would be fine, but think of the extra hours travelling if you want to visit Chenonceau, Chambord, Cheverny or any of the other chateaux east of Tours (and add yet more time if considereing Saumur)

Saumur is about the size of Pontefract (about 25,000), Amboise is less than half that size, and Chinon is half that size again. You will spend consideraby more time travelling if you stay at Saumur - it's the western extreme of what most people think of as the Loire Valley

Thanks for everyone’s feedback, love the comparison of Size of Pontefract and Saumur, used to live close to it before I moved to the US.Think I will split my Loire trip in 2 halves East and west, spend 1st couple of days in or around Chinon then move further east to Amboise or Chenonceau, maybe even Blois area for a couple of days before we head back towards Paris for our flight back.I am even considering staying in Azay-le-Rideau, anyone know any thing about this place?,just wondering if it is too small and sleepy for a base?, I want less tourist and quite but I want a couple of decent restaurants and a bar to enjoy wine in the evenings without driving out of town.I only saw one post on this forum about Chinon being run down but further research points to this being incorrect.I wasn’t planning to book a hotel but I see some are quite small and if it looks good I may have to pre book.Is October usually quiet?.I have obtained many books and am still researching, will
Let you all know where I end up!

A couple of places we loved were Langeais and Loches. Both are small towns but two of the very best chateaux.
Loches is a visual delight. It has enough facilities to make it practical as a base. It is however a bit further away than you might be looking for. The benefit of that being less tourist crowds. The Donjon is amazing.
We travelled to it by rail bus from Tours.

Langeais has a fantastic chateau with a fascinating interior. It too is a visually delightful town. It is very close to Villandry and just a short train ride from Tours.

Just another couple of options for you to ponder.

Blois might be a good choice for a base east of Tours, it's bigger than Amboise but (and therefore?) less tourist-oriented. The chateau in Blois, up on a hill, is for me one of the most interesting and historic, with three or four distinctive architectural styles in different wings. It's not on everyone's must-see list but I liked it a lot (and I was sober both times I visited).

We are staying in an air bnb in "Bron" which is close to Le Coudray-Macouard which is close to Saumur. Saumur is a lovely slightly off the beaten track medium sized ville but we are really (family of 3-- son is 20) enjoying this spot which is on the river Thouet. This is a very in the country feeling which we are liking. It's a pretty long schlep to Chenonceau. I've found that the best plan is your first day in a town find the local bakery and a good restaurant name. It seems like the good restaurants in an area (I don't mean $$ I mean quality) require reservations so make the reservation when you first get to the town.