Rick Steves - Rick Steves’ Snapshot Loire Valley

SNAPSHOT

This Snapshot guide, excerpted from my guidebook Rick Steves France, is all about the Loire Valley. What was once the preserve of French aristocracy is now a playground for commoners like us. Exquisite chteaux dot the lush landscape of the Loire Valley like jewels in a crownI cover 15 of my favorites. Chenonceau delights with its dramatic setting atop a river, while the kings hunting lodge at Chambord astonishes with 440 roomsand almost as many chimneys. The best gardens are at Villandry, while Cheverny has the most impressive furnishingsand a fun daily feeding of its hunting hounds. When you need a break, rise above it all in a hot-air balloon or get a feel for the countryside by renting a bike. A visit to the garden of France confirms why the Loire Valley was royaltys number-one getaway.

To help you have the best trip possible, Ive included the following topics in this book:

Planning Your Time, with advice on how to make the most of your limited time

Orientation, including tourist information (abbreviated as TI), tips on public transportation, local tour options, and helpful hints

Sights with ratings:

Dont miss

Try hard to see

Worthwhile if you can make it

No ratingWorth knowing about

Sleeping and Eating, with good-value recommendations in every price range

Connections, with tips on trains, buses, and driving

Practicalities, near the end of this book, has information on money, phoning, hotel reservations, transportation, and more, plus French survival phrases.

To travel smartly, read this little book in its entirety before you go. Its my hope that this guide will make your trip more meaningful and rewarding. Traveling like a temporary local, youll get the absolute most out of every mile, minute, and dollar.

Bon voyage!

Rick Steves

Amboise Chinon Beaucoup de Chteaux

As it glides gently east to west, officially separating northern from southern France, the Loire River has come to define this popular tourist region. The importance of this river and the valleys prime location, in the center of the country just south of Paris, have made the Loire a strategic hot potato for more than a thousand years. The Loire was the high-water mark for the Moors as they pushed into Europe from Morocco. (Loire means impassable in Arabic.) Today, this region is still the dividing line for the countryfor example, weather forecasters say, north of the Loire...and south of the Loire...

Because of its history, this region is home to more than a thousand castles and palaces of all shapes and sizes. When a valley address became a must-have among 16th-century huntingcrazy royalty, rich Renaissance palaces replaced outdated medieval castles.

Hundreds of these castles and palaces are open to visitors, and its castles that youre here to see (youll find better villages and cities elsewhere). Old-time aristocratic chteau-owners, struggling with the cost of upkeep, enjoy financial assistance from the government if they open their mansions to the public.

Todays Loire Valley is carpeted with fertile fields, crisscrossed by rivers, and laced with rolling hills. Its one of Frances most important agricultural regions. Its also under some development pressure, thanks to TGV bullet trains that link it to Paris in an hour, and cheap flights to England that make it a prime second-home spot for many Brits, including Sir Mick Jagger.

This is a big, unwieldy region for travelers, so Ive divided it into two halves, each centered around a good, manageable town to use as a base: Amboise and Chinon. Chteaux-holics and gardeners can stay longer and sleep in both towns. Amboise is east of the big city of Tours, and Chinon lies to Tours west. The drive from Amboise to Chinon takes over an hour; if you sleep on one side of Tours and intend to visit castles on the other side, youre looking at a long round-trip drivecertainly doable, but not my idea of good travel. Instead, sleep in or near the town nearest the castles you plan to visit, and avoid crossing the traffic-laden city of Tours. The A-85 autoroute is the quickest way to link Amboise with chteaux near Chinon. Thanks to this uncrowded freeway, sleepy Azay-le-Rideau is another good base for destinations west of Tours, and also works as a base for sights on both sides of Tours.

Amboise is the best home base for first-timers to this area, as it offers handy access to these important chteaux: Chenonceau, Blois, Chambord, Cheverny, Fougres-sur-Bivre, Chaumont-sur-Loire, Loches, and Valenay. Amboise also has better train connections from Paris and better public transportation options to nearby sights, making it the preferable choice if you dont want to rent a car or bike.

Chinon, Azay-le-Rideau, and their nearby chteaux dont feel as touristy, and appeal to gardeners and road-less-traveled types. The key sights in this area include the chteaux of Chinon, Azay-le-Rideau, Langeais, Villandry, Chatonnire, Rivau, Uss, and the Abbaye Royale de Fontevraud. Chinon and Azay-le-Rideau are good for cyclists, with convenient rental shops, decent access to bike paths, and interesting destinations within pedaling distance.

Loches is a more remote home-base option for drivers wanting to sleep away from the tourist fray.

Chteau Hotels: If ever you wanted to sleep in a castle surrounded by a forest, the Loire Valley is the placeyou have several choices in all price ranges. However, youll need a car to get to most of these places. Most of my castle hotel recommendations are within 15 minutes of Amboise.

With frequent, convenient trains to Paris and a few direct runs to Charles de Gaulle Airport, the Loire can be a good first or last stop on your French odyssey (more than 20 trains/day between Paris Gare Montparnasse or Gare dAusterlitz and Amboise, 1.5-2 hours; some trains from Gare dAusterlitz require an easy transfer in Orlans, and all trains from Montparnasse require a change in St-Pierre-des-Corps; 5 trains/day between Charles de Gaulle Airport and St-Pierre-des-Corps, 2 hours; easy car rental at St-Pierre-des-Corps Station, 15 minutes from Amboise).

A day and a half is sufficient to sample the best chteaux. Dont go overboard. Two chteaux, possibly three (if youre a big person), make up the recommended daily dosage. Famous chteaux are least crowded early and late in the day. Most open at about 9:00 and close between 18:00 and 19:00. During the off-season, some close at 17:00 and midday from 12:00 to 14:00. The Festival of Gardens at Chaumont runs May to mid-October from 10:00 to 20:00.