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Paris - Loire Valley - how to split it up

We will be traveling with several families, one or two adults and one or two kids (aged 13-14), so we are trying to do everything by train instead of renting cars.

We will fly in and out of Paris, and want to spend ~3 night in the Loire Valley (Amboise) and ~4 nights in Paris. My question is how to break it up. My initial thought was fly into Paris and immediately hop on the TGV to Tours, then connect to Amboise. We will be tired after the overnight flight but hopefully we can corral everyone onto the train and then sleep on the train or at least recover a little bit before we get to Amboise, check in to the hotel, and relax and get used to the time change. Then we can have a few more days in Amboise, take the TGV back to Paris, and then spend our time there before going home from CDG.

Would it be better to spend a night in Paris before going to Amboise? I was thinking the less hotel transfers the better, and I definitely want to be in Paris the night before we fly home.

Thoughts?

Posted by
824 posts

You have to buy your train tickets in advance, which means you really have to be confident of your flight arriving on time.

We always stay the day of arrival in Paris. It gives us a bit of time to adjust to the time difference, but also gives us more options for trains. From CDG there are only a couple of trains a day to Saint Pierre des Corps, after which you have to catch a train to Amboise. From Paris you have the option of many more trains from Paris Montparnasse, plus direct trains from Paris Austerlitz.

Posted by
333 posts

I think the answer depends on what time of the day you arrive in Paris. As long as you give yourself a good cushion in case your flight arrives late.

We just did this exact trip in April. We prefer to go straight to our further destination normally, but our US flight got in too late to make it possible, plus it was Easter weekend and trains filled up a long ways out. It turned out to be amazing anyway! We arrived in Paris around 8pm and had time for a late dinner. The next morning we took a nice walk and had our "we're really here" moment. Then we got our train at around 1pm to the Loire valley.

However, on our last trip, we arrived in Madrid early in the morning and took a train straight to Seville. Booked the train about 3hrs after our arrival I believe. So it just depends on our arrival, in my opinion.

Let me know what other questions you have about your trip-it was fabulous and we enjoyed it so much! Can't say enough good things about La Dialecta B&B in Amboise. Enjoy!

Posted by
1038 posts

I’m a proponent of pushing to your second destination on arrival, however you’re kind of pushing two destinations further. If you were just trying to get to Tours then maybe, but getting to Amboise is a bridge too far imho. The fact that your group is several families also adds some complexity. Everyone tends to move at a different pace and moving together can be an obstacle. A lot of moving parts.

Your first night being in Paris is not such a bad thing. It won’t really throw off your time in the Loire, and you’ll be well rested. Plus, a Paris overnight is a good teaser and will leave everyone with something to look forward to at the end of the week!

Posted by
420 posts

The Amboise station is also some distance from the tourist centre of Amboise, not sure about your chances of getting taxis if your accommodation is across the bridge.
Logic says 2 nights Paris, 3 nights Amboise, 2 nights Paris.

Posted by
3 posts

These are all really good points - thank you all! I am a bit nervous about plane delays, and some of us have never traveled before so I do need to make it a bit easier to maneuver. We would likely be arriving on a Friday or Saturday morning, and I wanted to hit the Sunday market in Amboise which also colored my initial thought to head straight there. That's not set in stone - we could arrive on a Sunday instead, for instance. I wonder if I'm putting too much desire into the market in Amboise - the markets are always my favorite parts of visiting little towns, but I'm picturing the Sarlat market in my head. Maybe I shouldn't worry about missing it.

I'm using rome2rio to figure out trains, etc, so I hope that is pretty accurate. It looks like Paris Bercy goes direct to Amboise and is only an hour longer than the TGV through Tours. That might be our best bed. Spend a night or two in Paris, then Bercy to Amboise for 3 nights, back to Paris for 2.

We were thinking of staying at Chateau de Pray in Amboise, which looks on the same side as the train station, but it is a bit of a walk to town with luggage. And I was looking at Hotel Familia in Paris. Now to decide if we should switch hotels or stay at the same one both times. It looks somewhat close to Bercy, which is good.

Posted by
824 posts

Chateau de Pray is outside Amboise (and outside the Amboise bypass) to the east, the station is the north side of the Loire. If you do book chateau de Pray, ask them to book taxis for you for your arrival, and be aware you will need taxis for everything. I have never seen more than one taxi at the station - I'm not sure how many there are in town.

Check out other markets in the area - Amboise Sunday market is good, but not unique or remarkable.

Posted by
3 posts

Thank you - very helpful. Our other thought was Chateau de Perreux which is on the north side but also needs a taxi, I presume. The teens all want to stay in a castle, but it would be easier to be able to walk to a hotel. Something to think about.

Posted by
9436 posts

You might consider 3 nights Paris, 3 nights Amboise, then the train back to CDG after dinner in Amboise and stay at an airport hotel - unless your flight leaves late the next day.

I would find a hotel in the heart of Amboise where the chateau is. Amboise is super charming and fun to walk around, including the residential areas.

Don’t miss Leonardo da Vinci’s house in Amboise (Château du Clos Lucé), and Château de Chenonceau (my favorite) nearby. You might consider renting ebikes and riding there… it’s a beautiful route.

Booking.com is a great resource to find hotels. You can then book directly with the hotel. We stayed at Hotel Bellevue in Amboise many years ago and it was awful, might be better now though. Have stayed at Hotel Le Manoir Les Minimes in Amboise ever since, it’s amazing, but expensive,

Just fyi, Hotel Familia is very budget, nothing fancy. Good location though.