Loire Valley Without a Car

You can do the Loire Valley without a car, but just like in most other parts of the world it takes more time and planning.

Your choice of where to stay is more limited: to tour the Loire Valley properly without a car you need to be staying in Tours. Anywhere else, and you will be doubling (at least) your travel time most days. You will also find yourself spending either slightly longer or slightly shorter at a place than you would ideally want because of public transport timetables.

Probably the easiest way to organise your day is to hire bicycles for your whole holiday, and catch a train to the station closest to where you are aiming for. Some places (Chenonceaux, Langeias, Loches, Blois) the station is close to the town, some places (Amboise, Azay le Rideau, Chinon) you will have a 20 minute walk to get to the tourist centre, and other places (Chambord, Cheverny, Fougeres sur Bievre) don't have stations but may (or may not depending on date) have a bus shuttle servie.

The bus network is OK, but understandably set up for locals and the work/school commute. You may be lucky and find a bus that suits your plans.

Bus info https://www.remi-centrevaldeloire.fr/wp-content/uploads/37-indre-et-loire/plans/Plan-de-r%C3%A9seau-37.pdf

Train info https://www.horairetrain.fr/

Simon has given excellent advice if you decide to do it without a car.

However, the Loire Valley is much better with a car, since the chateaux are almost all in country locations, which makes them challenging to get to without a car but facilitates driving to them and parking at them.

And the Loire Valley is not a bad place to start driving in Europe, since it's a right-hand drive area and most of the chateaus/chateau are in the country. Avoid driving in congested areas, which you can do by sleeping at lodging not located in the middle of towns. You would also want lodging that has surface parking, such as lodging outside of towns will often have.

You'll want to pick up and drop off the rental car at a location on the outskirts of a city or town, not at a train station in town, this is to make the first 1/2 hour easy. You can even find a large parking lot or other suitable area and practice driving.

It was years ago, and we were on our way towards Bordeaux, but spent a night in Amboise, then rented bikes and pedaled out to only the Chenonceaux chateau and back.

A few years before that, we had a honeymoon bike tour through the Champagne region by bicycle, which was a lot hillier.

And this isn’t exactly nearby the Loire, but it’s still in France: Nice is a great base along the south coast. Getting around in the city on foot/by tram/and bus works. Boats or buses can link you with Villefranche, take a bus to Vence and St-Paul-de-Venice, train to Arles, and bus or train to Monaco.

In addition to the excellent advice above, keep in mind the various minivan companies that provide service from Tours, Amboise, or Blois to various châteaux. These are transportation services that drop you off and pick you up--not guided tours--so they are a lot cheaper. Some of the companies Rick recommends are Acco-Dispo, Touraine Evasion, and Eco Shuttle. You can also check with the local tourist information office for other recommended shuttles. Bon voyage!