The Loire Valley

The Loire Valley: Which Châteaux to Visit and Which to Skip

The Loire Valley contains over 300 châteaux, which is both the region’s appeal and its problem. You cannot see them all and most guidebooks don’t tell you which ones to sacrifice. The honest answer is that the most famous châteaux are not always the most interesting, and some mid-tier ones that draw smaller crowds are worth the detour.

The region holds nine separate AOC wine appellations, which is the other argument for renting a car and staying three days rather than day-tripping from Paris. The combination of a Vouvray tasting at a cellar door and a Loire Chenin Blanc from the producer at €10 a bottle and 15 minutes later finding a 16th-century château with better interiors than Versailles and a tenth of the visitors, that combination is genuinely hard to find anywhere else in France.

Chambord: Worth It, Despite Crowds

Chambord is the largest château in the valley at 440 rooms and is technically royal hunting architecture rather than a residence. Francis I spent exactly 72 nights here across his entire reign. The exterior, with its 365 chimneys and the famous double-helix staircase at the centre, is the reason to go. The staircase, possibly designed with Leonardo da Vinci’s involvement, allows two people to ascend and descend simultaneously without ever meeting. Entry is €14.50. The grounds are free and worth walking regardless. Avoid July and August when tour buses crowd the central courtyard.

Chenonceau: The Better Château for Most Visitors

Chenonceau spans the Cher River on a series of arches and was occupied, expanded, and contested by a succession of powerful women across two centuries. The gardens on either side of the bridge are maintained as they were in the 16th and 17th centuries. Entry is €17. The visit is self-guided, takes 2 hours comfortably, and the combination of architecture and water is genuinely spectacular.

The château employs its own gardening staff and the flower arrangements inside the building are redone weekly from what the gardens produce. This sounds like a minor point; inside the building it creates an atmosphere that most châteaux entirely lack.

Amboise

The town of Amboise has a royal château on the cliff above it (entry €16) and the Clos Lucé, the manor where Leonardo da Vinci spent his last three years at the invitation of Francis I and died in 1519 (entry €18). The Clos Lucé has models of Leonardo’s machines built from his notebooks; whether you find this compelling depends on your tolerance for what is essentially a science museum dressed in Renaissance clothing. The château above has good views and a decent collection; the town itself is one of the more pleasant bases in the valley.

The Loire à Vélo

The cycling route following the Loire River for 280km from Cuffy near Nevers to Saint-Brevin at the Atlantic coast is genuinely excellent and largely flat. Day sections between towns run 25-50km. Bike rental is available in every town; guided cycling tours with luggage transport are offered by several operators at €80-120 per person per day including accommodation.

Villandry

Villandry is the château to skip if time is short; the building is not the draw and the gardens, while extensive and carefully maintained in Renaissance French style, require significant interest in kitchen garden history to justify the €12.50 entry.

Food and Wine

The Loire produces nine AOC wine appellations. Vouvray (off-dry to sweet Chenin Blanc), Sancerre (crisp Sauvignon Blanc), and Chinon (light Cabernet Franc) are the most significant. Most domaines do direct cellar-door tastings at no charge; a bottle of Vouvray tendre from the producer costs €8-15. The local chèvre (goat cheese), particularly Sainte-Maure de Touraine (the log-shaped variety with a straw through the centre), is excellent and pairs correctly with the white wines.

Tours, the main city, has a Saturday morning market at Les Halles that covers all the regional products in one place and is the correct Saturday activity.

Where to Stay

Amboise and Chinon are the most useful bases by car; Tours for those arriving by train. Chambres d’hôtes (B&Bs) in converted farm buildings around the châteaux region run €70-120 per double including breakfast. Several actual châteaux operate as hotels from €180-400 per night; Château de Pray near Amboise is the reliable mid-range option among these.