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Paris & Loire Valley with Kids - November

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Hi all,

We are traveling to France with our three kids (aged 9, 8 and 3) to France for 10 nights. We arrive on November 1 at 11 am and will be leaving on November 11 at 1 pm from Charles De Gaulle. We have a direct flight both ways from Washington DC. We are thinking of spending 3 nights in the Loire Valley and the rest of the 7 nights in Paris, but are open to going somewhere other than the Loire Valley. Would love your thoughts on the following:

1) Does it make sense to go to the Loire Valley the first week of November? Or is there somewhere else that we should go to?

2) Assuming we go to the Loire Valley, is it better to go there first? Or Paris first? I am thinking that the Loire Valley may make sense since we will be jet lagged and it seems to be slower paced. That being said, would the logistics of getting there from Charles De Gaulle be too difficult?

3) If we do go to the Loire Valley first, how do we get there? Should we take the train from Charles De Gaulle? How easy it is logistically? Or should we rent a car? How long is the drive?

4) I am thinking of staying in Amboise. Is there anywhere else we should consider? Any hotel recommendations?

Thank you all so much!

Posted by
419 posts

Seeing the Loire first since your flying home out of Paris makes good sense to me. The amount of nights in Paris with kids I would rethink, that seems way too long in a city for kids. Do you like to bike ride with your kids? there are lovely bike trails around Amboise and bike rentals are easy. Leonardo da Vinci home in Amboise has a wonderful garden with toy replicas of his inventions to play on. Every kid in the world loves to explore a castle /chateau so lots of possibilities there. I have taken the train to the Lorie Valley from Charles de Gule airport it worked fine. I recommend staying on the lower level of the train as getting downstairs to exit with kids and bags can be a challenge (grandson left his backpack on the upper level without his name on it so it went to Bordeaux to be blown up). Enjoy your family trip it sounds wonderful.

Posted by
3 posts

Thanks so much for your suggestions. Would you recommend three nights in Amboise or just two? Perhaps we could do Amboise and maybe Bayeax and/or Rouen? We could reduce our Paris trip by a night or two. We generally like taking our time in cities and not rushing hence the initial plan of staying there for 7 nights.

Posted by
638 posts

Are you going to rent a car? If yes, then I would say train directly to tours (at Pierre des corps) from cog on arrival and spend 4 nights. As long as you have wheels you should be able to keep busy

I’ve done this twice. The first time with a 5 and 8 year old. We stayed on a farm near Amboise (now closed). It was fun and relaxing and a good contrast to Paris. Train was great as was car pickup at the station. Kids liked chamborg, chenonceaux, the Davinci house, and a mushroom cave that offers tours.

If you are not renting a car then I might shift gears.

Posted by
3 posts

Yep the plan is to rent a car. Thanks for all the tips! Will look up the mushroom cave. My 8 year old has become obsessed with mushrooms somehow after doing a unit on fungi in school.

Posted by
7750 posts

As someone who was born in Manhattan, and lived there for 21 years, I take issue with the idea that kids need to be in a rural area to avoid (gasp) boredom. A week in Paris can be very stimulating, with medieval, sculpture, industrial, and decorative arts museums, parks and canals, the Seine, Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, ice cream, and much more.

I now live in a wealthy suburb 25 miles from Manhattan, and I can never get over the number of well-off parents for whom sports, tutoring, and the YMCA music concerts are "enough" for their families. My wife grew up near Media, PA, and her Estates and Trusts lawyer father never took the 4 kids to the Philadelphia Orchestra, near his Union Club clubhouse.

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