Looking for a place to stay for 3 nights in the Loire valley. There are two couples and we have a car. We would prefer a vrbo type. We are not sure if we stay in the small town or out in the country and drive in. We would like to do day trips to other places. We read about Amboise, Angers, Saumur. Where should we stay and where should we visit in the valley before heading back to Paris?
Posted by
Long Beach, Ca, usa
1326 posts
GoYears,
Welcome to the forum. To begin, the Loire Valley is not a small place, and sometimes it is better to stay a day or two in the eastern part and a day or two in the western part. Do you know which chateaux you are interested in visiting? It seems to work best visiting 2 per day (sometimes 3, depending on which ones). Where to stay is generally dependent on what you want to see.
Last time we were there was in 2017, we stayed in Saumur after driving from Brittany, and next day we went to Chenonceau in the morning, picnicked there then drove on toward Chambord, saw it in the afternoon and stayed at a gite that evening. The next day we drove on to Beaune (our next stop).
We stayed in a hotel in Saumur. In Chambord we found a lovely gite and had dinner with the owners in their home. Check out gites de France and look for chambres d'hote. You won't necessarily have a kitchen, but you will find some great lodgings. Gites de France has been around a lot longer than AirBnB and to me, is more reliable. We have always been happy with the places we found there, whether just a bed and breakfast for a night or two, or a whole house for ten days.
Be sure to check out the parking situation wherever you stay. It can make all the difference if you don't have to drive around looking for a nearby location to park the car.
Have fun!