One extra day at Alsace or Loire

ghoshorpita,
Just one thought.......If you arrive in Amboise by early or mid afternoon on day 1, you could visit the chateau there, and possibly Leonardo's house that day. I haven't checked their hours and days open. On your full day, day 2, begin with your farthest chateau, Chambord, then Chenonceau, and if there is time, one of the two places in Amboise if you missed it on arrival day. Day 3, plenty of time to make the 11:00 train to Strasbourg. I haven't been to the Chateau in Amboise or Leonardo's house, so can't advise you on which to drop, if necessary. I would probably drop the chateau.
Best of luck with your plans!

Option 1 only wastes about 30 minutes total, even if you account for a generous 75-90 minutes between your trains. This is because the trains to Paris are faster than those that skirt Paris.
With the metro transfer it is undeniably a hassle, but line 4 is direct between the two stations. Are strollers/toddlers/people with limited mobility involved?

Thanks Judy,
I am guessing that on arrival day I will be able to arrive by 5:00PM earliest as in the morning we will be visiting the Mont st Michael abbey. May be will be able to squeeze Leonardo's house but not for sure. As of now looks like the approach will be whatever I could cover in a day or option 1.

Thanks Balso. No stroller/ toddler/ limited mobility. Me, my husband and 11 yrs old. How much time shall I keep between the two? 90 min? Do I have to go out of the station to enter Metro or there is a connection from the station? Luggage will be there. I medium suitcase for each of us and one back pack for each.

You're going to spend way too much time traveling. Why would you go clear across France for one day in Strasbourg? That makes no sense. Strasbourg is okay, but there's a lot of nicer, and less expensive, places to visit without spending hours getting there. And you still would have to rent a car and drive to other places? Again, what you're trying to do in the Alsace is squeeze a weeks worth of stuff into part of a day.

Go to Orleans, or Bourges, or Chartres. Spend another day in Paris (take the 11 year old to the French Aviation Museum). I love the Alsace, I visit every couple weeks, but it's not worth the time it takes to get there if you can't spend a few days. And Strasbourg is really only worth the effort at Christmas. Even then I'd tell you to find a place closer.

Thanks KGC,

But why are you saying 10+ hours of travel? I thought its only 3.5 hrs. (+/1.5 one hour) in direct train. isn't it?
Also, the current itinerary have 2 full days to do Strasbourg and nearby couple of villages. Alsace is promoted as weekend destination in many places and those colorful villages kind of captured my imagination hence the decision but definitely will research the places you mentioned.

This is only last 6 days of my itinerary, we will be visiting number of museums at Normandy before arriving to Amboise.

I edited out the travel time as it was an error, but still, you don't have to travel clear across the country to see picturesque towns. Nancy and Metz are at least as attractive as Strasbourg, without the expense. And the smaller towns near those two are quite nice. But you're right in the Loire, go see Tours, or Orleans, or Vendome, or Blois. Heck, just drive along the river and hit the Chateaux, there are over a dozen within an hours drive of Saint-Pierre-des-Corps. My opinion is you'd do better to really enjoy one beautiful part of the country instead of trying to fit in someplace else.

Those hours you'd spend rushing over to Strasbourg, then getting a car, then driving to another town, finding parking, etc. You could just as well be spent sitting in a cafe, or on the riverbank, or in the palace garden, etc. You want to see some really pretty country with neat little villages to explore? Go to Paris, rent a car for a day or two, and drive the Champagne route to Epernay or Reims.

Frankly I find the attention paid to some places in the Alsace-Lorraine amusing, because it focuses the tourists there (like Hallstatt in Austria) and leaves the rest of the country to those who actually try to use "the back door'.

Thanks Balso. No stroller/ toddler/ limited mobility. Me, my husband and 11 yrs old. How much time shall I keep between the two? 90 min? Do I have to go out of the station to enter Metro or there is a connection from the station? Luggage will be there. I medium suitcase for each of us and one back pack for each.

Then it is manageable. 90 min is comfortable as a first-timer.
From Montparnasse station, the line 4 platforms can be reached either underground directly from the station through long corridors incl. a moving walkway, or walking straight out of the station along rue du Depart and entering the metro in front of Miramar cinema. Either way takes about 10 min, option 2 has fewer steps.
At gare de l'Est, the metro is directly underneath.

I'll add that at Gare l'Est it's a good idea to have your tickets before you go. Because that's a major metro junction as well as the train station and there are not a lot of ticket sales booths. Get stuck behind 12-20 tourists trying to make the machine work and you waste an half an hour, easy.

I am in line what Judy says. In September Château Amboise is according their websites open till 6:00PM and Le Clos Lucé till 5:00PM. Know that the latest admission is an hour earlier. Suppose you have already the car in Le Mont-Saint-Michel and leave early enough you can visit one of the places the day you arrive in Amboise. You can for instance drop your luggage at the hotel and check-in after the visit if needed.

Have visited all the mentioned places, my preference would be visiting Le Clos Lusé in case running out of time. It tells more about the life of Leonardo da Vinci than it’s tomb at the château. Ofcourse that's how I see it. Château de Chenonceau has a comparable interior as the one in Amboise, so not a real pain in case you have to miss that. Chenonceau is as most see a must and the garden is worth spending some time as well.

Chambord is a bit empty inside, but anyway I wouldn’t skip seeing it’s stunning exterior. The only reason going inside is to my opinion the double helix staircase and the panoramic view from the roof terrace. Château de Cheverny has still it’s original interior and for many a favorate place to go. So you can drive to Chambord to enjoy it’s exterior and I suggest visiting Cheverny as an alternative on the way to or back.

Summing up: Le Clos Lusé, Chenonceau and Cheverny for a complete visit and Chambord to see it from the outside. If the tomb of Leonardo da Vinci is a must, you can pay a rushed visit and enjoy the panoramic view of Amboise in the process.

If you have set your mind visiting Alsace I would go for it, instead regretting afterwards missing it. I wouldn’t spend the whole day visiting Strasbourg, but just visit the cathedral and the Grande Île area. Better to my opinion using the car for the whole two days visiting the villages and for instance Château du Haut-Koenigsbourg. After or before these daytrips you can go to the mentioned places in Strasbourg.

Getting in and out of Strasbourg is time consuming so why not staying in a more southern place closer to the villages you want to see? Obernai for instance is very lovely, touristy too, but conveniently located close to the freeway. The same for Bergheim, very charming and a bit off the beaten path and so lesser touristy.

Have to say your plan is a bit rushed, but it’s ofcourse your trip, so see if with some flexibility is doable for you. Enjoy your trip!

Thanks for great ideas IJZendijke. I like your suggestion regarding Strasbourg- just will be doing the cathedral and take a walking tour of the central historical Area. For the second day my plan is just to drive around to soak the natural beauty and see couple of villages and whatever catch the eye while driving the wine route. Thanks for the idea of lodging at Obernai or Bergheim. I think that will save me time.

For Loire I will love to add one more day to avoid rush or else, have to just live with whatever we could cover in one full day and the previous evening.

Where is your hotel in Amboise? The chateau there is right in the center of town on a hill with a view of the river. So it's easy to visit if you're already there. And it's also where DaVinci's grave is located. It was my favorite of the three chateaux. Le Clos Lucé was interesting if you want to look at models of some of his inventions, but otherwise there wasn't much to see in my opinion as I'm not a museum person.

I’m assuming the start of your trip is mostly in Normandy and then you spend 1 night in msm before heading to Amboise? If so, I propose a 5th option. Reallocate the Alsace time to Dinan and the surrounding area . There’s plenty to do and Dinan is just as charming as the Alsatian towns in my opinion.

In 2022 my family and I did a Dinan, Bayeux, Beaune, Alsace, Paris trip.

Thanks Stan,
The apartment I booked is right below the foothills of Amboise castle. So yes that will save me some time.

Thanks Matt for your suggestion. I will check Dinan. My total trip so far is for 13 nights.
5 nights Paris
2 nights Bayeux ( hubby interested in ww2 and me in medieval town ) hence Bayeux
1 night mt st Michael
2 night Amboise ( can add one more day here but donot want to be chateau’d out) we will be fine with Amboise+ couple more. One and half days would have been perfect
3 nights Alsace.
Basically my goal was to sample different favours of France than very similar locations or similar activities. Wanted to stay only Northern regions as will plan for Southern France later.
My understanding is that Alsace’s colorful towns with rolling hills have very different vibe than the flat towns of Normandy or Central France. Isn’t that correct? Are they very similar in terms of vibe/feeling.

It really depends on where you are (within France) but yes, the towns do have a different feel to them. The architecture, the ways they are laid out, and other regional issues make a mark. The buildings in the wine regions of Champagne differ from those of the Alsace; even though both regions have hills. The flat agricultural area between Epernay and Metz is drastically different from that of the Meuse-Argonne, which is right next door. None of this is is striking as, for example, the differences between the area around Toulouse vs. Nancy, both being cities on fairly flat ground, with major forests and rivers nearby, close to mountains, etc. Toulouse reminds me more of the oak hills of California, whereas Nancy is more like Montreal.

The point being, just running through a region by train or car isn't going to give you the feel for the area. You need to slow down, take some time to walk down a back road, and become part of the scenery to really get the feel for it.

Alsace has certainly a different vibe compared to Normandy. The region belonged once to Germany, so the architecture is much similar to what you can find in other regions there. So despite Alsace is French the German influence is still noticeable and so gives a different vibe for shure.

But within Normandy you can find this difference too. There are, like in Alsace half-timbered buildings, but are not exactly the same. You can find them in and around Rouen, but much lesser as soon as you travel (roughly) west of Caen. In Bayeux there are still half-timbered houses, however just a handful.

I see you drive or go from Paris straight to Bayeux and skip actually the region described above. There are many lovely villages like Beuvron-en-Auge, Blagny-le-Château, Le Bec-Hellouin, Lyons-la-Forêt and ofcourse Honfleur. And many like to visit the abbeys west of Rouen, like the one of Jumièges. And north-west of Rouen, Étretat with it's white cliffs is a hotspot as well. Certainly worthwhile to visit to my opinion.

Think it’s worth to consider dropping Alsace and explore the region as described. This way you save time, but as said before if you really want to visit Alsace…… After all it remains your decision where to go.

You mention Northern France but none of the places listed above are located there. Keep in mind that Alsace is eastern France. Northern France is in the direction of Belgium, eg. Amiens, Arras, Maubeuge, Cambrai, Lille, Albert, Compiegne, etc....all these are worth seeing if you're into Northern France

Logistically, it is possible to get from Northern France to Alsace, say from Arras in Nord Pas-de-Calais to Strasbourg, all in one day. Take the TGV to to Paris Nord, (40 mins or so) , then walk over to Paris Est for the TGV to Strasbourg.

Normally, I don't mind zipping around but I would have to be pretty desperate to do such a route relative to what I want to see. in both cities. Just a matter of timing.

Bottom line: I would suggest skipping Alsace this time and focus on the Loire. Easily done from Paris.

I came close to it last summer logistically speaking. Take the train from Paris to Orleans, where you change to Blois. I spent the afternoon exploring Orleans instead of going out to Blois...next time. The train station in Blois has a bus going out to the chateaux, ie, Chambord.