Loire Valley.....anyone been there?

There's so much to see in the Loire that you'd best start your research with a good guidebook, preferably one well illustrated with photographs of the various chateaux. The first recommendation that I can offer is to use a rental car to explore the area. Rail service is inconvenient for navigating point-to-point in this area.

Hi Tom....thanks for the reply. We will have a car with us...

Have you been there?

N

When I visited most recently I stayed in Amboise. i liked the town and the Chateau. I enjoyed visiting the Leonardo Davinci House as well. I loved the freedom of my own car to go to see the chateaux. When I had been there before it was as a student and was stuck with buses. ; ) I went to Chino to see where Henry and Eleanor had lived. Then I went on to see Fontevraud Abbey where they are both buried. Richard the Lion Hearted and his wife are also buried there. It's an interesting contrast between the two sites. The Abbey is very much restored whereas the castle in Chinon is not. Still there is a lot to see at both places. Knowing a bit of Plantagenet history helps. You can always rent Lion in Winter! Also, one of Dorothy Dunnett's Lyman Chronicles takes place in the Loire River Valley, or at least a good portion of the story. It was very evocative of the place describing midnight chases through the town and over roof tops back to the Chateau.

Pam

Thanks for the insight, Pam. I know it will be a magical trip and I appreciate any and all your advice

I am also planning a trip to Angers, specifically to see the Apocolypse tapestry. If you are interested in tapestries, definitely check this out.

Yes, Nancy, I have traveled to the Loire Valley, but I am not familiar with the lodgings you have picked. As to what to see... all depends on your personal tastes and how much time you have. If you like grand architecure, visit Chambord. If you like formal gardens, visit, Chenonceaux and Chaumont. If you like... hell, visit them all! Also, after you visit Chenonceaux, be sure to wander around the adjacent village of the same name. If you are there on a Sunday, I particularly enjoyed the market along the river bank in Amboise. Finally, for a real authentic French wine treat (and a surprisingly cheap way to buy wine), stop off at one of the wine caves you'll see along the main road that parallels the south bank of the river.

Thanks Matti and Tom

I've heard about the tapestries. Very interested in the wine regions...and we plan on giving a few bottles some very good homes.

The Granary is part of a complex known as The Seignerie...does that ring any bells out there?

Also....did anyone take a day trip on the Loire or rent a boat. I hear you can do that as well...but not finding much info on where you embark/disembark.

"Also....did anyone take a day trip on the Loire or rent a boat. I hear you can do that as well...but not finding much info on where you embark/disembark." I can't say for a fact that these don't exist, but the Loire is a rather shallow river with many large silt deposits. It looks very difficult to navigate by any water craft larger than a rowboat or canoe.

I don't know about the boats, but one morning at breakfast we looked up to see Balloons rising over the Loire in Amboise. It was a beautiful still day and they floated right past the Chateau!! My pictures show lovely reflections over the river. It looks like you can do this. I googled balloon rides and Loire River and got several hits.

Also, any Horatio Hornblower fan will know that the Loire can be a treacherous river. In "Flying Colors" Hornblower goes down the river in a row boat to Nantes, where he retakes the Witch of Endor and after further adventures triumphs at a court martial hearing. The book includes quite a bit about his trip down the river.

Pam

Thanks again Tom and Pam....I think we're beginning to narrow it down.

Wine is a definite

River trip is iffy

Hot air ballooning would be a trip

Tapestries awesome

and then more WINE....

now all we need is a cheap flight!

Nancy