Châteaux of the Loire

The Renaissance and Enlightenment writ large…

Welcome to the Châteaux of the Loire Valley, a fairytale landscape of fabulous, majestic castles, wonderful gardens, hidden treasures and breathtaking scenery. From ruined medieval castles to Renaissance Palaces, from Nantes in the west to beyond Sully-sur-Loire in the east, and from sparkling Saumur downriver to bone-dry Sancerre upriver, a week of wonder awaits.

Our first two Châteaux of the Loire tours, in May 2022 and May 2024, were undoubted successes, and this, our third tour, will be equally so. We will visit some of the very finest châteaux, some selected for their outstanding architecture, others for their stunning gardens, and a few for both.

We visit a selection of beautiful gardens, enjoy a tutored tasting of Château Valmer’s very drinkable Vouvray wine, take private guided tours of the historic quarters of Loches and Amboise, visit some less well-known attractions, off the beaten track, and, of course, immerse ourselves in the sensory overload of a French market – in this case, the Saturday market at Loches.

If you enjoy being in France, if you like a bit of history, if you like good food and fine wines, we made this tour for you.

D1 Friday, 29 May

Château d'Amboise

Tim will meet you in the morning in Tours, at either of the two main railway stations, Gare de Tours or Gare de St Pierre des Corps, or collect you from your hotel*.

Once we are gathered together, we’ll drive to Amboise for lunch at Maison Bigot before a private guided tour of Château d'Amboise. The château occupies a strategic site 40 metres above the river which, for four hundred years, enjoyed a central role in the nation's history, peaking when Leonardo da Vinci made Amboise his home.

After our guided tour of the château, you will be able to visit its gardens and the Chapel Saint Hubert, the chapel erected by King Charles VIII, where Leonardo da Vinci is buried. There will be time, too, to explore the town before driving to nearby Chenonceaux, to check in to our hotel, Auberge du Bon Laboureur, before drinks and dinner, at our hotel.

Today’s total driving is about 30 miles/50 km

*NB. The historic centre of Tours is difficult to access by minibus. Please talk to us before booking your hotel.

D2 Saturday, 30 May

Chédigny & Royal City of Loches

Our day starts in the village of Chédigny, for the village’s annual Rose Festival. It is hard to believe that this tiny village has become so famous, but we’ll have much of the morning to explore the village, admire the roses and the rose growers, who come from miles around, see the stalls and taste some local produce.

Then onward to the Royal City of Loches, a magnificent town, built on a rocky outcrop and overlooking the Indre. It is market day and, before we go exploring, we’ll have some lunch, which is on the stalls in front of you!

We’ll visit the citadel, one of the best-preserved medieval fortresses in Europe. The Count of Anjou, Fulk the Black, built the 11th-century keep, Richard the Lionheart and Philip Augustus fought here and Joan of Arc met Charles VII here, to persuade him to be crowned in Reims. It’s a great place with much to see and we’ll have all afternoon to discover it.

Dinner is at Fleur de Sel, en route home.

Today’s total driving is about 60 miles/100 km

D3 Sunday, 31 May

Cheverny & Valençay

We are visiting two new châteaux, starting with Château de Cheverny, a grand estate, in the same family for over six centuries and always lived in by each generation. It was one of the first estates to open its doors to the public, which it did in 1922. We’ll have the morning exploring the house and its gardens.

After lunch, we’ll drive south for the afternoon at Château de Valençay, an important estate sitting on an earlier, medieval castle. Valençay already had a long history when Napoleon ordered his foreign minister Charles Maurice de Talleyrand to acquire the property in 1803. This was to be the estate’s golden age and a fascinating period in European history.

We’ll have the whole afternoon to discover more of its rich and fascinating history, and to explore the huge grounds and gardens too.

We will return to our hotel for dinner.

Today’s total driving is about 90 miles/145 km

D4 Monday, 1 June

Valmer & Chaumont-sur-Loire

We start the day at Château de Valmer, to explore its gardens and enjoy a tutored tasting of their delicious Vouvray wine. The château, once belonging to Charles VII, was a 16th-century Renaissance house but burnt down in 1948 (ask about the maid, the iron and the granddaughter) and only its terraces, chapel and 17th-century gatehouse survive.

The gardens, its walls, balustrades and statues, comprise eight individual areas, beautifully terraced, and includes a one-hectare, checkerboard vegetable garden, flower gardens, fruit trees and topiary, all surrounded by the estate's 32-hectare vineyard.

From Valmer we drive along the Loire for lunch and the rest of the day at Château Chaumont-sur-Loire. The site of a medieval fortress, razed to the ground by Louis XI in 1465, it was rebuilt as a Renaissance Château by Charles I d'Amboise and acquired by Catherine de Medici in 1550; it was here that she entertained Nostradamus. In 1750, Jacques-Donatien Le Ray, a "Father of the American Revolution", bought Chaumont, only to have it seized in 1789 by French Revolutionaries!

We have the afternoon to explore the house, its grounds and 32 gardens, recreated each year as a part of an International Garden Festival.

We will return to our hotel for dinner.

Today’s total driving is about 60 miles/100 km

D5 Tuesday, 2 June

Chenonceaux

We spend the day on our doorstep, in and around the village of Chenonceaux, starting the day with a stroll through the village to visit Château de Chenonceau for as much of the day as you wish.

Francis I brought Chenonceau into the Crown Estate and his son, Henry II, gave it to his mistress, Diane de Poitiers, until, on his death in 1559, his widow, Catherine de’ Medici, promptly turfed Diane out, and Catherine moved in. From here she ruled France in the name of her five-year-old son, Francis II.

In the 18th century, Chenonceau became home to Louise Dupin, a woman famous for her 'literary salons', who turned Chenonceau into a centre of the Enlightenment, welcoming the greatest and brightest scholars, philosophers and academicians of the day. Famous for drafting a Code of Women’s Rights, she also saved the château from the ravages of the Revolution by claiming that, as it was the only bridge for miles around, trade would be badly harmed!

It was a hospital during WW1 and an escape route in WW2.

There is plenty to do once you have left the château, including a lovely circular walk along the banks of the Cher, or sitting by the pool sipping something refreshing or putting your feet up and reading a book.

Dinner at the hotel.

D6 Wednesday, 3 June

Chambord & Plessis Sasnières

We start the day at Château de Chambord, perhaps the most majestic of them all. Built as a royal hunting lodge by Francis I, it has had a chequered history. Work started in 1519, took almost 30 years to build and, even then, was neither finished nor habitable. Heating the huge rooms, all with unglazed windows, was quite impractical and, because of its remoteness, everything, including all the furnishings, had to be brought to Chambord.

Unfurnished, unloved and a logistical nightmare Chambord was abandoned until 1639 when Louis XIII gave it to Gaston d'Orléans, who carried out much-needed restoration work. Louis XIV added the stables but abandoned the château in 1685, and so it continued. Ownership passed from kings to Napoleon, to the Duke of Bordeaux, to the Dukes of Parma until, finally, it passed to the French state.

From Chambord, we drive north, for an afternoon’s visit to Jardin du Plessis Sasnières, an English garden created in 1960 by Rosamée Henrion, who had inherited an abandoned family property. In her lifetime she restored the property and created this wonderful garden.

Dinner at Les Closeaux, en route home.

Today's total driving is about 115 miles/185 km

D7 Thursday, 4 June

d'Azay-le-Rideau & Villandry

Our day starts at Château d'Azay-le-Rideau, one of the finest examples of early Renaissance architecture. The original 12th-century fortress was burnt to the ground by an angry, future Charles VII and remained in ruins until 1518, when Gilles Berthelot, the Treasurer-General, started work on the château we see today.

Sold to Marquis de Biencourt, who almost burnt it down again! It passed to the state in 1905.

We have lunch at d'Azay, before visiting its near neighbour, Château de Villandry. Built in 1532 by Jean Le Breton, Minister of Finance to François I, Villandry was the last of the great châteaux of the Loire. Le Breton laid out the original gardens and the Marquis of Castellane, who bought Villandry in 1760, enlarged them and relaid them in the latest fashion. It wasn't until the early 20th century, when Joachim Carvallo and his wife, Ann Coleman, bought Villandry that they changed the gardens yet again. Joachim and Ann made Villandry their life's work and Henri Carvallo, their great-grandson, continues to develop the garden, adding a herb garden in the 1970s and a sun garden in 2008.

We spend all day at these two châteaux, returning to our hotel for dinner.

Today's total driving is about 60 miles/100 km

D8 Friday, 5 June

Caves des Roches

You will have to trust us with this one, but our final visit of the tour is underground at the Caves des Roches, manmade excavations, quarried for stone since Roman times, where the conditions are perfect for mushroom cultivation. And that’s what we’re going to see! We have a tour of the caves, including some surprises, and an explanation of the mushroom cultivation, and the obligatory tasting.

It’s only for an hour or so, and we will return to the hotel to load the minibus and depart for Tours, where the tour ends.

As with the first day, our plans will become clearer, once we know everyone's travel arrangements.

If you are staying in France, and don't need (or wish) to return to Tours, then please let us know your onward travel plans, so that we may assist you in getting to your next destination.

Today's driving is about 50 miles/80 km