Loire Valley towns - which of these do you prefer?

We need the month of the year. How about Chateau de la Bourdaserie, near Tours?

Edit: Chinon is very attractive, if urban, and a great place to eat. Very assertive Joan of Arc sculpture. Don't miss Homaire Seempson's nuclear plant, easy to drive by, unlike in the US. Azay also looked very attractive to us. But I gave Bourdaisière a plus for biking-as well as their special tomatoes and daliahs.

I stayed in Blois but you will here good things about Amboise since it has Leonardo Da Vinci's house there.

We enjoyed our stay in Amboise. We were there last June and found Amboise to be quiet and peaceful.

We also visited Blois, and it's castle, one fine afternoon, but preferred Amboise due to it's smaller size.
If you will be traveling via train, be aware that the city center of Blois is downhill from the train station, so getting there is not a problem; but you'll have to walk up a long hill to get back to the train station. We took a bus back up to the train station at the end of our visit ;-)

Have a wonderful trip!

I vote for Chinon. The Fortress is wonderfully restored, with motion-activated sound effects, videos, and lots of informative signage about Joan of Arc, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and the Knights Templar. It has a large gift shop too. We didn't have time to follow Rick's recommended walk through the old town; would love to return and do that.

We stayed at Hotel Biencourt in Azay-le-Rideau, about halfway between Tours and Chinon. It was terrific; the innkeepers are the nicest people you will ever meet. Several very fine restaurants in Azay-le-Rideau. Can't speak for eating in Chinon, but we bought a bottle of wine there that was lovely.

Generally the western end of the Loire region is less touristed because it's too far from Paris for day trips. You might look into Saumur -- I haven't been there, but it has lots to offer, including the Cadre Noir performing horses.

We did not stay but visited Amboise and wished I had stayed there. Sooooo pretty.

Bonjour hlauf, of the places you mentioned, I'd vote for Amboise and Chinon. I've been to Amboise several times, most recently Sep 2016 for 5 nights. Lovely, quiet town with a chateau and Clos Luce (where DaVinci spent the lasr several years of his life). It's located in close proximity to several other chateaux and you can arrange for a shuttle bus tour at the Tourist Info Center.

Chinon is also very nice. Actually, I liked it better before they restored the fortress (the ruins were cool), but it's very nice and informative. Lots of good food and wine.

Hope you enjoy your trip!

We stayed in Amboise.. actually just outside it.. ( cheaper hotel. .lol ) .. and thought the town was very pretty , and we felt well located to visit many place from there..

I like Amboise too. It's not the most spectacularly charming town you'll ever see, but it is a lovely small but big enough size with so much right there and the little pedestrian area right by the chateau and the market and everything. I've stayed there several times and always enjoyed it. Also easy to get in and out of to go see the other chateaux. And it IS nice to have your morning coffee (or evening apéro!) in the pedestrian area shadowed by the grand chateau!!

Also the market, and an easy walk just a block or two to admire the river.

Another vote for Amboise. We rented an apartment just across the street from the Chateau and an easy walk to fetch the morning's croissants and baguettes. Loved every minute in this town.

How about Saumur? A lovely town on the River Loire, within good reach of the chateaux at Montsoreau, Villandry, Azay and Usse. Good for tourists, but also liked and lived in by locals! Great market on a Saturday morning (I've just been!). Plenty of choice of restaurants and a great wine area too. In between Chinon and Angers.

thanks for the advice - Amboise, Chinon and maybe Saumur are on the itinerary. Maybe the village at Azay as well.

Great tip that as we go farther west there will likely be fewer tourists because we are getting out of range of a Paris day trip. Thanks.

Does anyone know the villages of Montsoreau or Candes-Saint-Martin? They're both right on the Loire and both listed on the Plus Beaux Villages of France website. Are these places to stay or rather stop in for a look as we ride through?

Merci!

When I stay in the Loire, I stay in Langeais, just west of Tours. It is a small town, with cute village life around you. The town center is the Chateau de Langeais, which is an OK visit, but nothing compared to the bigger and more famous chateaux of the Loire. But the town itself is centrally located to the many Loire chateaux of the region. But, if you are dead set on the cities from your list, I also concur with Amboise. It's a cute town that has built up around the chateau, which is a definite "To See" place, along with Da Vinci's residence. Amboise is an actual medieval town that maintains much of its traditional flavor.

pricehike thank you -

Langeais looks like a really nice village! I ran a Google Images search for "Langeais Village" and it came back showing a really handsome town. We'll be riding from place to place on bicycles, so having as many potential outstanding little dots to connect as possible is a big advantage in being able to come up with an optimal route. Given how we travel the journey is the main feature and stops/sights become somewhat secondary. But we are HUNGRY at the end to the day, and ready to drink some good wine in relaxed setting. Langeais looks like a great candidate for that.

For me Blois is too busy and crowded - and has a hill.

I like Amboise a lot, but of course it is also hilly. Great views.

I've used Onzain and Azay-le-Rideau as centers for cycling. Both worked well

I've visited all 5 towns you mention, and stayed in 4 of them. Like several others, I'd recommend Amboise. I've visited Candes-Saint Martin; it's very charming, but really not a place to stay as opposed to a place to visit. I thin we spent an hour or 2 there.

Chinon.

It is a very historic town according to both French and English history. It has served as the capital of both, watch the Lion in Winter. That was Chinon!

And it has some of the best wines in France. Don't believe me? Believe the border guards at Paris CDG who waived me through with a crate of Chinon AOC as 'les meilleurs de France'.

I picked up a bike in Chinon, rode through Villandry to Amboise, then around the Chateaux in that area. Overall, it worked pretty well. I lost the bike path through Tours and ended up on fairly narrow highways with lots of truck traffic, a little more adventure than I had expected.

Chinon isn't served by the main bike route, so I had to follow highways (mostly comfortable riding though) until I got to Villandry. It's also considerably more hilly between Chinon and Villandry than most of the bike pathed area. The initial climb out of Amboise toward Chenonceau wasn't really "rolling" hills, after the initial climb the rest of the ride is fairly comfortable.

My advice is plan your route a little more carefully than I did. Know the route rather than relying on a GPS for guidance. I used CoPilot with my phone for navigation. It worked fine with my car but horribly in bike mode. When I was on the bike path, it was either because I knew where it was ahead of time or stumbled across it. CoPilot didn't seem to know a bike path existed. It also took me down a dirt road, between Chinon and Villandry, that dead-ended probably ten miles into a forest. Rather than backtrack, I opted to carry my bike (and bag) and forge ahead. I probably went two or three miles, over hills and across a stream, before I picked up a road and could start riding again. It was a sunny day, so I knew which direction I wanted to go.