The Loire Valley

I liked Amboise. There are some cafes and a small central area with shops. Blois may be another choice. I'd recommend first mapping out the Chateaux you really want to see, then pick something central.

We also liked Amboise and thought it was a good base for visiting some of the chateaux. I liked the peaceful atmosphere of this charming town by the Loire River.

!Enjoy!

Amboise usually gets the most votes in this category on this forum. I tend to agree but have not stayed there myself. I probably would stay there if I went back again because I really enjoyed the day I spent there at Amboise chateau and Clos Luce. I have stayed in Blois and Azay-le-Rideau and enjoyed them both immensely. The other one most often mentioned here is Chinon. All four are centrally located for visiting chateaux - Blois and Amboise a bit more to the east and Azay-le-Rideau and Chinon a bit more to the west - but distances are not great so any of them work. In terms of size (population) Blois is more of a city (about 47,000), while the others are small towns/villages, Amboise (about 14,000), Chinon (about 8,000), and Azay-le-Rideau (about 3500).

Another vote for Amboise. It was easy to drive to Chambered, Cheverny, and Chenonceau; the chateau in Amboise was beautiful; and the shops and cafes in Amboise were convenient and fun.

Azay-le-Rideau gets my vote. Too many tourists in Amboise and it's accessible to Paris day trippers. We stayed at Hotel Biencourt in Azay-le-Rideau and the innkeepers are the nicest people you'd ever dream of meeting. Also, you can get your laundry done for a very reasonable fee (not folded, though -- just machine dried).

If you want to see the chateaux that are farther out from Paris such as Villandry, Chinon, and Azay-le-Rideau itself, Azay is a great home base. It took us about an hour (without hurrying) to drive to Chenonceaux on the day we visited there.