Loire

In my opinion, the best way to do it is train from Paris to Tours, then a small group (or private) tour to a couple of the chateaux. It's about an hour by train and a lot of the chateaux tours leave right from the train station in Tours. Yes, I think a day trip to the Loire is definitely worth it, at least to me. Best site in my opinion is Chenonceau, lovely chateau on the river Cher - built right over the river. Beautiful gardens, beautiful building, good art collection. Another option is to just take the train to Amboise (about 1-1/2 hrs) and spend the day there. You can see the chateau (which I really enjoyed) and also Clos Luce, the house where Leonardo da Vinci was living when he died. The town itself is lovely.

I prefer driving - the area is very beautiful and not much traffic on country roads. not hard to navigate and most towns are not crowded so parking is not a problem. I was able to visit most of the castles I picked out earlier from reading about the area, and also sample a couple of smaller places I accidently run into, which were also surprisingly good.

If you drive you will also be able to detour when see a "Degustation" sign! You should be able to squeeze at least one tasting in.

Great point, Christi! Of course, be VERY VERY careful about drunk driving. :-)

I always suggest taking the trip from Paris to Tours and stay the night. You can arrive, take a tour from the train station (there are a few stands there offering different tours), and then come back and enjoy the beautiful night life at Place Plumereau in Tours. Rick doesn't like Tours, but I love it.