Thanks for all of your feedback on my previous posting (which I deleted to clean the site-I wish more of you would do so). We have added a 6th day in the Loire Valley. Can we do the following Chinon area chateaus in 3 days: Villandry (gardens only), Langeais, Usse (photo only), Chinon, Azay-Le-Rideau, and the Abbaye Royale De Fontevraud and the following Amboise area chateaus in 3 days: Amboise, Chenonceau, Chaumont, Cheverny, Chambord, Blois? Is Amboise a good place to drop off our rental car? We want to take a train to Paris for our final week in France. We plan on traveling to the Loire Valley from Bayeux and visit Chartres and probably also visit Villandry gardens and Langeais Chateaux prior to arriving at our Chinon B&B. Is this doable?
Posted by
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
191 posts
Dorsey,
By deleting threads, you remove the possibility of others who may have similar questions to use them as a resource and then they end up asking the same questions over and over (because that never happens anyway, lol). Before I left, I enjoyed searching and reading the questions that others had asked before me. But that's just my opinion, others may disagree.
Anyway, the Europcar place in Amboise is not terribly convenient, you'll need to take a cab back to wherever you're staying...despite the town being very walkable, the car rental place is out of the way. 3 days is plenty for the Amboise-area chateaux...in a day and a half we saw Chenonceau, Cheverny, Amboise and also had time for some wine things and did not feel rushed in the slightest...3 more in an extra 1.5 days should be very doable...
Posted by
OH, OH, USA
1158 posts
The number of the Chateaux you would like to see it depends how much time you are going to spend in each of them. I did the whole Loire Valley in 3 days, visiting many chateaux, inluding all those you mentioned in your post.
I can't picture where Amboise is, but a map would solve your problem.
Posted by
Columbus, OH, USA
2053 posts
We rented our Avis car in St. Pierre des Corps, a suburban stop just outside Tours. The office is just a few steps outside the station. It was easy and convenient, as this is a small station and there was no hassle getting through city traffic in or out with the car. When we returned the car,we walked a few feet into the station and took the TGV directly to CDG Airport for our flight home the next day, so getting to Paris is a snap. We visited 2 or sometimes 3 chateaux in one day as driving distances were short and with the car it was easy to do. Some caution against seeing too many in one day but we're pretty intense when we travel and it worked out fine for us. Check the opening/closing times as they can vary and schedule accordingly. We loved the Loire Valley area and were surprised to find very few American tourists there; I began to wonder whether we were the only people who knew about this gem.