Suggestions for a 5 day trip in France

Feedback on any of the following fro this time of year and accessibility?
Annecy, Chartres, Giverny, St Emilion, Cacassone, Le Mans,

I would suggest flying to Tours in the Loire Valley and staying in one of the medieval towns there. There are many to choose from: Amboise, Langeais, Chinon, Saumur among others. Amboise is closest to Tours and has car rentals available which works best to tour the Loire Valley. There are wine caves you can visit where local vintners age their wines and offer tasting and sales. Remember to have a designated driver if tasting wines. . You can take an 80-minute flight from London’s Gatwick Airport and train or tram to downtown Tours in less than 30 minutes from its airport. There is only one of these flights each morning on Ryanair. See www.Skyscanner.com for details. You can catch a fast TGV train at Tours St. Pierre des Corps train station to Paris and be there in less than two hours.

Thank you for the reply! That is a great idea! I was in Amboise a couple of years ago, rented bikes and toured the chateaux in the region-- was wonderful! I did not see all of the towns you are suggesting, and might do that. If I wanting to find a different area, what else would you recommend? What do you think about Burgundy area?
It is occurring to me that renting bikes (or ebikes) might be a great way to spend a day touring around and getting some fresh air. Any suggestions for this type of activity outside of the Loire?

Should we stay in Dijon or Beaume and rent bikes and tour burgundy?
What city would be best for this sort of trip? Should we fly into Lyon and train to Beaume? Or take TGV from London to Paris and them to Dijon?

Ok thank you! I have decided we will stay in the Loire in either Chinon, Langeais, Saumur or Loches. Do you have a recommendation among these? We would like to bike among the beautiful towns. Which town offers bike rental? Do they all?
As you suggest, we will fly from London to Tours and then travel on to the town where we will stay. Should/can we rent a car in Tours?
Thank you so much!!
Karen

There are bike rental outfits in Langeais, Chinon and Saumur. There also are companies that will deliver bikes to you at your location in the Loire. www.RentalCars.com shows cars available in Chinon, Saumur, Tours airport and Tours St. .Pierre des Corps train station. This is the same train station you would take the TGV train back to Paris so it may be most convenient to rent a car here.
Have a great Trip!
Ken

I loved Loches. It has a little more things to see and do than Langeias.
I thought it more attractive and more interesting than Amboise.
Langeias chateau was very impressive, well worth visiting.

Agree that Loches is really lovely, touristy and certainly worth visiting or staying, however consider if it is convenient located for the places you want to see. Tiny Montrésor east of it with a nice château I visited long ago, is worth the detour. Driving from Loches to Montrichard Château de Montpoupon was a nice surprise driving by last month. Seeing once at home the (Google Maps) pictures inside think it’s worth a visit too. I stayed near Saint-Aignant-sur-Cher, stunning little riverside village with a very low number of tourists, lacked the liveliness of Loches and Montrichard and needs a clean-up to make it really attractive.

I have to say we loved Saumur. We stayed at https://www.saintpierresaumur.com/en/,. It is very well located, the owner parked our car and we never needed it again until departure. The hotel is small (14 rooms) and everyone involved with it takes such pride in it.

Among the things we did and truly enjoyed was Cadre Noir de Saumur the national equestrian academy of France. You can attend equestrian events throughout the year and meet the horsemen of the Cadre Noir , so called because the officers wear a complete black uniform. Our hotel owner, Regis, told us about the Cadre Noir and got us tickets.
There is a 14th century chateau, Saint Peter’s Square with traditional houses with half-timbered facades of the 15th and 16th centuries adjoining 18th century houses with wrought iron balconies. There are 4 or 5 five wineries within a very short distance including Bouvet Ladubay winery, founded in 1851 and located 5 minutes by car from the city center. They produce sparkling wines called Bruts de Loire.
A large part of the reason we were there is because I desperately wanted to go to Chinon and Fontevraud Abbey, both part of the story of Henry II, Count of Anjou ,Duke of Normandy and King of England, his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine and Richard the Lion Heart, their son.(PS all three are buried in Fontevraud) The Abbey is about 20 minutes from Saumur and Chinon about 20 minutes further. BTW, the fortress of Chinon was the main residence of Henry II, the King of England and his wife Aliénor (Eleanor) d'Aquitaine until 1189 when the king died grieving over the betrayal of his son Richard (Lionheart). Another fact, in 1429 during the Hundred Years’ War Joan of Arc met with the dauphin Charles VII in Chinon and persuaded Charles to stand up to the English and reclaim his throne. She led the army but it did not go well.
Vineyard cycle tours in and around Chinon, in the Loire Valley https://vineyard-et-velo.com/
And to say that from Saumur you are under an hour to the most beautiful Chateaus of the Loire. And there ar multiple bike tours available in the region.

Je recommande un restaurant traditionnel à Bayeux : O Local