Loire Valley for 2 nights...where to stay? what to do?

I'd suggest staying in Amboise. It's a relatively short train ride from Paris, and you can connect from there easily to other cities via rail. If you're able to ( and willing ) you can easily bike around the Loire ( and to Chenonceau (sp.) ). That's what I did when I visited the area a couple of years ago, and that's what my wife and I will be doing in May.

Jan

Many of the most popular chateaus are awkward to reach without a car, since they're in the country.

Stay in Tours, Blois or Amboise. Each of these towns has a chateau, and you can reach one or two other chateaux in the immediate areas without too many complications, either via bicycle or public transportation. But as Kent noted, going further afield is difficult without your own car.

Amboise gives you a fairly central location, and it's small enough to find your way easily (RS map in France 2010 good). Da Vinci's home, Clos-Luce, and the large models in the outdoor area are well worth a visit. Can you consider renting a car just for a day in Amboise? If so, you could easily visit 2 or 3 other chateaux, depending on how long you stay at each. If you like dogs, Cheverny and the soupe des chiens is a unique experience and the chateau is gorgeous inside.

Thank you for the ideas, everyone. So, if we rent a car for the time we're in Amboise, we could see the sights, and then drop the car off in Amboise or Tours and take the train to Barcelona. We'll be on the train on a Sunday, so we'd have to drop our car off Saturday night or Sunday morning. Are the car rental places open on Sunday mornings?

Also, is there a vineyard you would recommend in the area for a tour and some nice wine to take home with us?

"Are the car rental places open on Sunday mornings?"

I don't know if anyone here can give you a definite answer on that. In general, it's somewhat more likely that a car rental location in France will be closed Sunday morning. The only way to be sure is to check online, usually hours of operation for a specific location are given online.

Not really a vineyard recommendation, but if you want to visit a wine cave, you´ll see a few on the road between Amboise and Blois.

Last summer we left Paris on a Sunday to go to Amboise. We intended to take the train from Paris to somewhere in the Loire and rent a car there for two days. We could not find a place where we could pick up a car on Sunday, so we ended up renting in Paris and driving down. Probably returning a car on Sunday is easier than picking up, but it might be an issue. We spent three nights and two full days in Amboise and thought we saw a lot!

Since I assume you will be taking the TGV from Paris, you will probably change for Amboise at the suburban Tours TGV station called St. Pierre des Corps. Since this is such a major rail hub, I would think your chances of finding a rental car operator open on Sat-Sunday better at SPdes Corps than if you rented in Amboise, which is a somewhat small town. As for Chateaus, you can't do better than Chenonceau, which would be a short drive from either Tours or Amboise...it is spectacularly beautiful.

We stayed in Amboise last August at Manoir Les Minimes - right on the river. We arrived via train from Paris. The Amboise castle sits right above you. You can easily tour chateaux from there. Note: if they are booked, ask about the small carriage house on the property - a delightful rose covered cottage. We loved it!

I really enjoyed Chinon as a home base. Free parking in the Joan of Arc Square.... Here is the hotel I stayed at they have a staff that was unbelievably helpful: www.hoteldiderot.com
The feeding of the hounds is not to be missed at Chateau de Cheverny. See Rick's Book or http://www.chateau-cheverny.fr/

I took the train to Chinon and then rented from Hertz (ahead of time over the internet) Great deal!

I tried booking at the Hotel Diderot earlier today and it was all booked for my dates. :-(

I was there last summer and agree with the other posters that it's much easier to get to the chateaux with a car, they're not exactly convenient to public transportation. We stayed just outside Amboise at Chateau des Ormeaux which is a wonderful B&B in a restored chateau. The owners, Eric and Emmanuel, were so helpful and friendly, and their dog, Vic, gives a great tour of their vineyard. In addition to being convenient to the chateaux in the area, I would also recommend stopping in at nearby Vouvray which has many opportunities for wine tasting. The market in Amboise was wonderful as well, we picked up some great local souvenirs there.

We stayed at Le Grand Monarque Hotel in the center of Azay-le-Rideau. The chateau is just aound the corner-walking distance. Hotel has a very good restaurant. I agree a car is needed to get to many of the sights in the Loire Valley.

Try the Relais Chenonceaux at info@chenonceaux.com. It is right "down the street" from the Chateau Chenonceaux.

K&P