Some itinerary advice on the Loire Valley

i would leave at 8 am to have time for breakfast

Option 1) Plan to be on the road by 8:00 reaching our hotel by 3:00 check in and explore around Amboise.

Option 2) Leave at 7:00 check into hotel by 2:00 and see Amboise Chateau. It is open until 6:00 in October.

Ah, the best laid plans... . It's a tad over 400 miles so if you manage to average 50 mph (with no stops), you might make it in 8 hrs. However, I've never driven that far without at least stops for potty, leg stretches, maybe a meal. I know the map sites say 6-7 hrs but that's extremely optimistic. At least in October you may avoid some of the high season traffic, but there's still the possibility of delays due to road conditions or weather conditions, etc. Yes, you can do the drive in a day but don't expect to be checking into your hotel in the early to mid afternoon.

You are so right - I was doing conversions in my head and thought it was closer to 300 miles. I live in New England and very much understand the delays and traffic - especially on the I95 corridor. Yes - potty breaks are very much needed,

So - I will right off that entire day ........ oh well.........

Would you jettision Amboise Chateau or Chambord ? Has anyone been to the Chaumont Garden Festival ? What did you think.

Maybe I'll have to come back next year .....

The chateau at Chambord seemed more impressive than the one in Amboise.
You might be interested in visiting Clos Luce Leonardo Da Vinci's house in Amboise

You can see the Chenonceau and Amboise on the same day. They are not that far apart

Don’t know the logistics, but why don’t you turn the car in in Fontainebleau and take the communter train into Paris. It will save you the drive.

I would hit Chambord en route to fontenbleu. There's an amazing mushroom cave between Amboise and Chambord that was a highlight of my trip last year. Here's some info.

www.cntraveler.com/stories/2013-03-03/gourmet-mushroom-cave-loire-valley-france-vacation/amp

Have fun. It's a great region. Great wines and cheeses too. Can't wait to return!

Matt

I agree that the drive from Colmar to Amboise will take pretty much all day. I wouldn't plan to visit the chateau that day, but you should certainly do so while you're staying in the town. Clos Luce is also worthwhile.

We generally stuck with two chateaux a day in the Loire, but you and your husband seem energetic enough for three, and I think your choices are good ones. Lacking furniture, Chambord may not take as long as you think. Chenonceau is worth all the time you can give it.

Bets has a good point about leaving the car in Fontainebleau if you can.

Thank you for your replies and suggestions. Great suggestion about seeing Chambord on the way to Fontainbleu. I felt like i would really be backtracking that day we were seeing the other ones. We also want some time to just poke around, drive into the country side and see what is up.

For a $55 Euro cab fare - Its worthwhile to us to be delivered to our hotel door. The convenience is worth it. However - I will look int the commuter rail - it may be faster. We are staying near the Tuilleries Gardens.

Villandry made our short list - but thought it might not be that spectacular in October.

We are staying at Le Choisel - which is right by the Amboise Chateau - so I know i will want to go up there and check it out.

I really appreciate all the ideas. I love talking over my plans with more seasoned travelers.

OPINION: On October 4th, I think seeing 3 Chateaux in one day is too much, and you won't remember what each of them looked like in later rememberences.

It's really too bad that your time in the Loire is so short. Picking the chateaux is that much harder. The Chateau Amboise doesn't take long to see, so if you're lucky with traffic, hopefully you can see it on your arrival afternoon. And there are several good restaurants in the street facing the entrance. Too bad you won't have time for Close Luce - We found it more interesting than the Chateau.

You'll still see a lot of bus tours in Oct, and Chenenceau seems to top everyone's list. I'd recommend hitting it first, preferably when it opens. A side benefit at that time of day, in the fall, is that the light is wonderful for taking exterior photos. I think we spent more time in the gardens than inside!

Chaumont will eat up a lot of your time if you take in the Garden Festival - which I highly recommend if you enjoy gardens at all. They're still lovely in Oct. We were there in mid Oct.

These 2, plus lunch could easily take most of the day, but leave Chambord on your list in case youve got time later in the afternoon. We were in the Loire for 3 full days and only managed 2 per day. But we tend do linger... Seeing it on the way to Fontainebleu makes sense. We only needed about 3 hours to see each of them.

Travel certainly is painted with personal preferences. We enjoyed the chateau in Amboise, but we were disappointed in the DaVinci home... It was delightfully grand, but there was an indescribable element that was missing or too commercialized. Maybe it was the display funded by IBM, maybe it was the recreations of "things DaVinci-esque, but not actually DaVinci" in the home. I'd pass on that - if only to sit at a sidewalk cafe to people watch...

I did plan 2 days in the Loire ( second day going to Orly airport ). Fontanbleu interested us a great deal - so definitely had it on the list and cut into our second day.

I looked at Clos de Luce - and for the same reasons mentioned above did not interest me. I really enjoy everyone's different perspectives.

knowing us, we may go to one chateau and spend the day exploring small villages and drinking coffee in a cafe ! What I am learning is that I will be going back to France !

Oh trust me, KER, you WILL go back. Including four work trips, I'm planning my eleventh trip now :)