My wife and I will be traveling to Paris next month, then to Reugny (near Ambois) for a 5-night stay in a beautiful looking hotel. That should allow ample time to explore the chateaux, nearby towns and get some much needed relaxion in. But from there, I am really struggling planning our next 4 nights before returning to Paris for our eventual journey home.
I have considered 3 different options, but would love some input and additional suggestions on these!
Some additional context:
- We will have a rental car (planning to pick up at the train station in Tours upon arrival from Paris); open to returning it and taking the train somewhere else, or dropping it off in a separate location (as long as the one-way rental fees aren't way too high)
- Hoping to visit/tour the top 4-5 chateaux (Chambord, Chennenceau, etc.) during our time in the Loire
- Our other interests include antiquing/market shopping, excellent food and wine (with a preference for quaint, authentic experiences over high-end, touristy destinations and formal winery tours), beautiful scenery and iconic villages//towns (over cities or large towns)
- Strong preference for keeping total travel to less than 4 hours, regardless of mode of transport
- We have traveled to France several times in recent years and seen multiple different regions, but not the Loire or Britany yet
Option 1: Stay in the Loire, but in a different location/base that may allow us explore a different area of the region. Would be looking for a unique and amazing place to stay like in a chateaux hotel. This would be, by far, the simplest option travel-wise but I am a bit concerned it will be TOO much time in the Loire especially in winter (not to mention the FOMO of foregoing a different region/destination of France).
Option 2: Drive west towards Nantes or even out to the coast near Pornic or another nearby coastal location. Interested in suggestions on the most scenic or beautiful locale in this region. It is about 3.5 hours driving to reach this area from where we will be staying first, so that may be a bit too far. Another alternative I've considered for this option is to return our rental car in Tours and take the train to Nantes where we would rent a separate car. Train from Tours to Nantes is a little over 2 hours, then we'd be within roughly a 1.5 hour radius of the Atlantic coast to drive somewhere there.
Option 3: Drive north towards Saint-Malo with the goal to be able to explore the north coastal region of Britany. The scenery looks incredible there, and is in close proximity to Dinan, of which we've also read is a very beautiful historic little town. This would be roughly 4 hours of driving, possibly more if weather was not good, which concerns me a bit. I would plan to return the rental car in Rennes to take the train back to Paris after 4 nights. There is also the option to take the train from Tours to Rennes and rent a separate car there, but there is no direct train between those locations that I can tell which also concerns me. Would it be worth this much travel to head to that region for 4 nights?