To Do in the Loire Valley

We stayed in Chenonceaux which is a tiny town and found that worked really well for us on our 2003 trip. Our hotel was Relais Cehnonceaux which was still in RIck's book in 2010, when we made a return trip to France but did not make it to the Loire. It gets 3.5 stars on TripAdvisor, not sure if it's still in Rick's book. You might find more variety for your group's diverse interests in a bigger town though. Amboise sounds nice from the description in my 2010 Rick Steves France book. We saw the following chateau: Chenonceau, Chambord, Cheverny, Château de Fougères-sur-Bièvre. Chenonceau was my favorite, Chambord was probably my least favorite, but it might have been because I was tired at the end of the day. It was good, but the others were better for me. Rick's videos are good for chateau coverage, including Cheverny. If my wife and I were to return to the Loire, I would want to go to Villandry and Fougeres (the other one), the first because of the gardens and the second because it looks in photos like a castle style chateau. I would highly recommend working in a stop at Giverny and Chartes, if you can make it work. We found the Monet Gardens and Chartes Cathedral to be very rewarding.

So you'll be in a British car driving in France. Do be careful when overtaking and passing another car on those narrow 2-lane roads in the Loire and Normandy, since the driver of your car will be sitting on the wrong side and not be able to look for on-coming cars.

Thanks VS, I was looking at Villandry to be one of our visits. We might also see the International Garden Festival at Chaumont-sur-Loire.

Kent, yes, we'll be in a British car. Thanks for the tips. Do you have any advice on what we can do in the valley?

What to do in the Loire Valley and Normandy?
Well, entire guidebooks have been written to answer that question, and of course you'll want to get one of those guidebooks, so that you know what you need to know.

Here are 2 links to get you started in your trip research:
http://www.ricksteves.com/europe/france/loire
http://www.ricksteves.com/europe/france/normandy

Sorry, I thought this forum was to get advice from people who had real experience visiting the locations. Do you have any experience? I've done lots of reading already, I just wanted some personal views on the topic.

Hi Ava, sounds like you're planning a great trip! I've been to the chateaus at Chenonceau (wonderful, beautiful furnishings and flowers), Chambord (nice architecture, setting), and Villandry (best gardens I've ever seen). Loved Amboise (Da Vinci's house and castle). Planning another trip to Giverny this year (we're doing a Fat Tire Bike tour). Other places you might want to include are Chartres, Sarlat (loved walking around the town, market day), Carcassonne, and the Pont du Gard. Love France, love this part of the country. Have fun!

A dozen years ago we stayed in Amboise (good choice for a nice town, centrally located within the Loire Valley), and one day rented bicycles (from a shop recommended in Rick Steves' guidebook at the time) and pedaled out to see the Chenonceau chateau and gardens. The trip out and back was very pleasant, partly on a forested road. At least you wouldn't be dealing with sitting on the "wrong" side of the bike, although you'd all want to ride at the right edge of the road :-)

For overall perfection (chateau and gardens/grounds) I don't think anything beats Chenonceau. If you've 'done' enough chateaux and just want to see amazing gardens then Villandry is the place. I went there for the gardens and didn't even go in the chateau and it was definitely worth it.

I stayed in Azay-le-Rideau and I really liked the smaller town ambience (and the fact that I could walk to the chateau), but with a group I think you'd like Amboise better with a little more to do in the evenings. The chateau there is very nice and Da Vinci's house, Clos Luce, was one of my favorite visits.

If you're in Amboise on Sunday, their market is supposed to be the best in the valley. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get there for that but most of the towns/villages have nice markets. You can google for a list of towns and market days in the Loire Valley.

Also, if you're there on the right nights, take in one of the sound & light shows. I think they're at Azay-le-Rideau, Chenonceau, and Amboise and maybe others too.

I was there last year. For gardens, Villandry is amazing, but also don't miss the International Festival of Gardens at Chaumont-sur-Loire. It was just as creative as the Chelsea Flower Show--without the crowds. You should definitely see some wineries while you are there--it's the third largest wine-growing region in France. I greatly enjoyed the tour at Domaine de la Chevalerie near Chinon--the vineyards have been in the same family for 14 generations! There are several bike and canoe tour companies in Amboise that can entertain the twentysomethings while the older folks relax. Have fun.

Basically, the Loire Valley is all about the chateaux. You could do 2 chateaux plus the Villandry gardens in one day, easily. A not-too-far day trip would be Chartres to see the cathedral as well as wander the town. If you're interested in wine, there are some in the Loire (I happen to love Voudray), but you might consider cutting the Loire short by a day and heading up to the Champagne region (Reims or Epernay). I can't think of a whole lot else to do in the Loire than visit chateaux -- one that you might find interesting is Clos Luce, Leonardo Di Vinci's home in Amboise. In addition to touring the house itself, there are models of many of his "machines". Also there is an international garden show every summer at Chaumont-sur-Loire that is always interesting. They have a different theme every year and invite about 30 internationally renown landscape designers to develop gardens suited to the theme. I've been two different years and would go back again. Back to wine, on the road that skirts the south side of the Loire River, you'll see many caves and some will have signs for wine tasting. We had a weird experience when we stopped at one, so I wouldn't recommend them. The wineries seemed to be mostly on the north side of the river and some had wine tastings. That would be a better choice.

Another wine item, and I don't know whether they're still doing it, but in 2003 the Chenonceau chateau was growing their own grapes and making their own white wine, and selling bottles in the small shop on the grounds. They offered tastings, and we pedaled off with a bottle.

Clos Luce near Amboise for the park with Leonardo machines as well as the house itself.

Cheverny for the afternoon dog feeding, which will remind you to chew your food carefully and make you grateful to be human. ;-)

Villandry has probably the best gardens, Chenonceau also excellent.

Loches isn't really a chateau but a medieval fortress with a Renaissance mansion inside. Also a piece of Roman sculpture.

You're right, it's easy to get chateau'ed out after three or four, so it helps to vary the diet.

An offbeat idea, if you like zoos the Zoo Parc Beauval near St-Aignan is supposed to be the best in Europe. We spent a day there after over-chateau'ing and it was well spent.

Re the car, I can't help asking, why not take the Eurostar train to Paris and rent a right-side-of-the-road car there? Wouldn't that be price-competitive with bringing a British car to France (especially with what must be a big dropoff fee for a different country and side-of-the-road car no less)? Or am I missing a vital fact here?

Have fun!

I liked Amboise. There is a Leonardo DaVinci Museum which is a change of pace from the Chateaux.

Another suggestion is to go Chinon. It's very different from the Chateaux as it's older and a ruin. You can follow it up with a visit to Fontevraud Abbey where Eleanor of Aquitaine is buried. It's quite impressively restored.

Pam

Thanks so much for the wonderful replies! You all know your stuff.
We're driving for a few reasons. We want to avoid Paris since we did that last time we were in France and want to stay rural this trip. We also like the idea of being able to load the car up with all our things and not have to worry about being able to carry things when we return (if we get some lovely antiques we can just whack them in the car and not have to think about getting them on a train).

I wanted to ask if anyone has any experience with the Azay Evenings. I can find a little info online about music and lights but nothing too specific.

Thank you all!