We my wife and I will be spending 4 days in the Loire Valley in early October and will have a car. We are more interested in settling in and enjoying a town than in mad touring from chateau to chateau so we will probably restrict our chateau visits to one a day. But they include Chinon and Chambord, which are at opposite ends of "Le Grand Tour." My question to you who are experienced with the Valley is, would you spend all 4 nights in the same town or would you split it between east and west? Also, while you're advocating, which town would you select? The choices we favor are Chinon, Amboise or Chenonceau/Montrichard. Thanks!
Posted by
Adelaide, SA, Australia
977 posts
Amboise is a good choice.
Posted by
Gig Harbor, Washington, USA
1819 posts
We really enjoyed staying at La Roserie in Chenonceux. It fit our image of a charming French country hotel, the restaurant had excellent food, and you can walk to the chateau. Since it is a small town, it is easy to drive off to other sites. Besides the fancy chateaux, we also enjoyed the ruined castles in Loches and Chinon..........As an English teacher, I can't resist adding a book recommendation: Ina Caro's The Road from the Past, a very readable history/ travel book about many of the chateaux.
Posted by
OP
los angeles, california, usa
77 posts
Cynthia, I am reading Caro's book right now. It is wonderful enough that about every four or five paragraphs, I want to change our schedule and leave right now. It's just the best.
Posted by
OP
los angeles, california, usa
77 posts
Bets and Judy: thanks. May I ask why Amboise over Chinon or Chenonceau? I'm speaking here not of the chateaux but the towns. Our idea here is to spend a couple of hours a day rambling about the countryside with maybe a visit to one chateau per day, and the rest of the time spent in our "home" town. I have the feeling that any of our choices will be more than satisfactory. But maybe Amboise is a little better than the other two?
Posted by
Lake Oswego, Oregon
1315 posts
Mike - We stayed in Chinon and loved the town. Also loved the Hotel Diderot in Chinon. Haven't stayed in Amboise so I can't compare the two.
Posted by
Los Angeles, California
1986 posts
Chenanceau would be a great place, you are in the country right on the doorstep of one of the two prettiest chateux (the other is Azay-Le-Rideau). We highly recommend Hotel Le Bon Labourier. (sp). Chinon and Amboise are larger towns. There re also a number of hotels in the countryside away from the river which we have enjoyed. Away from the hustle in the towns
Posted by
Mentor on the Lake, OH, USA
251 posts
We spent 3 nights at Ambroise. It is lovely town by the river. It has a chateau and the house that Leonardo Di Vinci spent his last years. L'Alliance restaurant is excellent. We love our hotel, Le Manoir St Thomas. It is a lovely restored priory, with a wonderful breakfast and very welcoming staff. The bathtub in our room was perfect for soaking in after a long day fof walking!
Posted by
Ypsilanti, MI, USA
233 posts
I spent three nights in Amboise in June 2009. While it was VERY convenient for touring chateaux by public transportation and bike (I visited four over the three days), the town was a bit too sleepy for me (not enough to see/do, not enough cheap restaurant variety).
Posted by
OP
los angeles, california, usa
77 posts
After much thought, much back and forth discussion, and consideration of all your advice, we've decided to "split the baby" and spend two nights in Chinon and two in Chenonceaux. Thanks so much for your help.