CASTLES AND GARDENS IN THE LOIRE VALLEY

5 days/4 nights
The perfect stay to take your time to discover as many Loire castles as you can and enjoy all the riches that the Loire Valley has to offer. With Tours as your starting point, you will be ideally placed for all of your visits, while enjoying the city’s way of life.

DAY 1
Arrival at Tours in the morning. Settle into the hotel in Tours city centre.
MORNING
Unaccompanied tour of the MUSÉE DU COMPAGNONNAGE in Tours, the only one of its kind in the world. It retraces the history, customs and techniques of these craftsmen training and support associations.
Unaccompanied lunch.
Departure with your vehicle for Chenonceaux.
AFTERNOON
Unaccompanied visit to CHÂTEAU DE CHENONCEAU. Built in the 16th century, directly on the river bed, and constituting a pure masterpiece of the French Renaissance.
Return to Tours via Vouvray and visit to the CAVE DES PRODUCTEURS which today comprises 50 wine producers attached to their land, tradition and quality. Guided tour and tasting.
Dinner in a restaurant in Tours city centre close to the hotel. Hotel accommodation.
 
DAY 2
Breakfast at the hotel.
Free morning for shopping, guided tour or visits to museums in Tours.
Unaccompanied lunch in Tours.
Departure with your vehicle for Amboise.
AFTERNOON
Unaccompanied visit to CHÂTEAU D’AMBOISE. Built in the 15th and 16th centuries on the orders of French kings Charles VIII, Louis XII and Francis, it was one of the first truly “royal” residences.
Unaccompanied visit to CHÂTEAU DU CLOS LUCÉ - PARC LEONARDO DA VINCI at Amboise. Leonardo da Vinci lived there in the last years of his life.
Return to Tours.
Dinner in a restaurant in Tours city centre close to the hotel. Hotel accommodation.
 
DAY 3
Breakfast at the hotel.
Departure with your vehicle for Azay-le-Rideau.
MORNING
Unaccompanied visit to CHÂTEAU D’AZAY-LE-RIDEAU.
Built on an island in the middle of the River Indre, in green oasis, this castle was built in the 16th century and is a marvel of Renaissance architecture. Continue with your vehicle to Villandry.
AFTERNOON
Visit to CHÂTEAU DE VILLANDRY AND ITS GARDENS. Remarkable in the harmony of its architecture and its gardens, it is the last of the great Renaissance castles built on the banks of the Loire.
Dinner in a restaurant in Tours city centre close to the hotel. Hotel accommodation

DAY 4
Breakfast at the hotel. Departure with your vehicle for Chambord.
MORNING
Unaccompanied visit to CHATEAU OF CHAMBORD. More than four centuries after its construction, Chambord still defies the imagination.
AFTERNOON
Then, unaccompanied visit to the CHATEAU OF CHEVERNY. This chateau, which became the model for Marlinspike Hall in Hergé’s Adventures of Tintin will surprise you with the richness and diversity of its furniture, and the authentic charm and refined decoration of its rooms.
Dinner in a restaurant in Tours city centre close to the hotel. Hotel accommodation.

DAY 5
Breakfast at the hotel. Departure with your vehicle for Ussé.
MORNING
Unaccompanied visit to the CHATEAU OF USSE. The "Sleeping Beauty’s Chateau" located in the green valley of the Indre river. It inspired Perrault to write his famous stories and it remains a symbol of the medieval fairytale castle.
AFTERNOON
Unaccompanied visit to the CHATEAU OF LANGEAIS. Built in the early 15th century, this chateau provides a perfect example of a late medieval castle, with a parapet walk and a drawbridge. In 1491, it was the site of the marriage between Louis XI’son, Charles VIII, and the young Duchess Anne of Brittany.