Loire Valley

Has anyone been to Loire Valley...is it worth the trip while in Paris...

We were thinking of staying at a chateaux overnight?

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It depends on how long you plan on being in Paris and what you%26#39;d like to see. The Paris region has plenty of chateaux to visit nearby... Versailles, Fountainbleau, Rambouillet, Vaux le Vicomte and Chantilly to name a few.

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We did it as a day trip a few years ago with Parisvision. They took us to three chateau and we had a nice lunch. I%26#39;d love to go back and spend a few days. Unfortunately, we never have had the joy of that much time to spare.

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We started off one otherwise Paris-based trip with three nights at the Chateau des Ormeaux: http://www.chateaudesormeaux.fr/promo_en.php

It was a delightful stay; check all the reviews here on TripAdvisor. For the sake of logistics, we flew into CDG, rented a car for the Loire touring days, then returned the car to Orly (closer than CDG) and transferred into Paris for the remainder of our vacation. I think that a day-trip to the Loire is much too short to do it any kind of justice at all, let alone relaxing.

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Our trip also started out with 3 nights at the same chateau that Tellurian stayed in, and after touring the Loire, we spent 5 nights in Paris. Truthfully speaking, I think it%26#39;s a pity to spend just one night in the Loire.

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Thanks to the 4 posted messages for responding...seems like Loire might be worthwhile...

If anyone else has additional info....please advise....

sand74

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Thanks for your feedback....but having never been there....or anywhere else in France for that matter, I%26#39;m wondering what there is to do in Loire ...thanks

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The Loire is basically %26quot;Chateaux-land%26quot;, you spend the days travelling the lovely countryside from one sumptuous palace to another.

Depending on how long you have in Paris, it%26#39;s a toss-up, but the Loire is not a tough 2-3 days. Limit yourself to one or two chateaux per day so you don%26#39;t get chateaud-out.

We stayed about three miles east outside Amboise (allegedly home of Leonardo Da Vinci%26#39;s grave) at the Chateau-de-Pray, a 15th/16th century Chateaux completely renovated with modern bathrooms (mostly because of their dining room - best meal I%26#39;ve had in France!) will DEFINITELY stay there again. We took the TGV from Montparnasse to St. Pierre des Corps outside of Tours, picked up our rental car and drove about 30-45 minutes to Amboise.

The Chateau at Amboise isn%26#39;t much, but the view from the ramparts is nice, and there IS the chapel where Leonardo is allegedly buried....... further up the hill from the Chateau is allegedly Leonardo%26#39;s home, Clos de Luce. Not much to see, except in the gardens they have some models of his inventions - it is lovely though.......

Chenonceaux (imho) is a %26quot;must%26quot; see, the gardens are mini-Tuilleries and the graceful arches across the river (which the chateau sits upon) is beautiful.

We chose to visit Cheverny because most of the Chateau is furnished (many aren%26#39;t) - the original noble family aparently still owns it and we wanted to see the dogs of course.

Chambord is just a big giant middle-ages fortress, but again the architecture is stunning - the %26quot;double-helix%26quot; stairway in the center and replicated on the outside turrets (allegedly designed by Leonardo) are something to behold.

I%26#39;d recommend at least an overnight stay for the Loire, as a daytrip, checkout Parisvision, but that would not be my choice.

Yes! Go see the Loire, it%26#39;s beautiful and the people are warm and welcoming (except at rental car counters).

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Thank you for your glorious description of Loire Valley...after reading what you wrote, I wish I was going this afternoon LOL...

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You need a guidebook. You may need several guidebooks. At a minimum you need one for Paris if you do not yet have one. Then you need one for the Loire valley unless you are taking a one day guided tour (which I would not recommend). And you need one for any other area you are planning to visit.

You NEED a guidebook!

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If you had nothing to offer, you didn%26#39;t have to respond...

DUH!