Loire Valley: playground of the royalties

If you're interested in the history of French monarchy, then Loire valley is the right place to visit. Strategically located on the frontier between northern and southern france, it became the centre of French court life where royalties and nobility established their strongholds. There are hundreds of chateaux (castles) along the Loire valley, each telling its own tale of court drama.

How to get there:
As we had already rented a car from Reims, we decided to continue driving from Epernay to Amboise. However, the fastest route is to use the highway which will go through Paris. Trust me, you would want to avoid driving through Paris due to the heavy traffic. The estimated journey time was supposed to be 3.5hrs, but we took 4.5hrs due to an hour jam within Paris centre. Hence I would recommended taking the TGV from Paris to Tour, and then rent a car from Tour instead.

We only spent 3D2N at Loire Valley which was barely enough to cover the major sights. The chateaux are rather spread out in distance and it takes 30-60min drive to travel between them. If you are taking the local bus or train it will take even longer to travel.

A map of the chateaux in Loire valley

Where we stayed:
During our stay in Loire Valley, we based ourselves in the town of Amboise which is located at the centre of the chateaux we planned to visit. We stayed in a B&B called le Clos Saint Raphael. It was clean and comfy, though nothing spectacular to rave about. To tell the truth it wasn't our first choice but during the period we were visiting everywhere else was booked more than a month in advance! Therefore, make sure to reserve your accommodation way in advance should you visit Amboise.

Courtyard of the B&B

our room named after Catherine de Medici

view from our room facing the loire river

Pink themed breakfast room

Crossing the river to the town centre. Also, hotair balloon rides over the loire must be booked in advance!

Amboise castles overlooking the town

Where to eat:
Our B&B host recommended Chez Bruno to us on our first day which is located in the city centre of Amboise. Along the way we had to ask a waitress for direction and she assured us that Chez Bruno is the best restaurant in Amboise. Note that reservation is essential! We managed to make one for our second night and the food did not disappoint!

town centre of amboise full of restaurants and tourists

starter: poached egg in delicious red wine sauce

i had a simple steak in pepper sauce that was nicely done, sides were good too.

husband had pork chop with apricot sauce

After the satisfying starter and main course I was a little hesitant about ordering dessert as we were both stuffed. But I looked over to the next table's millefeuille and the lady literally wiped the plate clean! She even scrapped up whatever little raspberry sauce left on the plate and that's when I knew we had to try it.

oh-so-good millifeuille. we cleaned the plate as well.

Where to visit:
1. Castles - combo tickets are available so be sure to plan your itinerary ahead
a) Chambord - biggest and grandest

A separate post for the grandest

b) Blois - scene of court drama and offers a panoramic view of Blois city. During summer, the Blois castle has a daily night illumination show that tells the history of the chateau and the region.

Tip: You can buy tickets for the night show as a package with the day entrance ticket. It is cheaper and you can skip the lengthy ticket queue before the night show.

Summer night illumination show

A panoramic view of Blois from the chateau

c)  Chenonceau - most beautiful and feminine of all chateaux. Another scandalous story that it was built for Henry II's mistress Diane de Poitier and when the king died his wife Catherine de Medici "exchanged" it with Diane. Also, has the often photographed ''arches".

beautiful reflections

d) Chenverny - a well preserved mansion. It was used as a model in Tin Tin comic for the Château de Moulinsart (Marlinspike Hall).

A well preserved and restored mansion

Unfortunately due to time constraint, we only managed to cover these 4, though I found these interesting too if you can afford more time.
e) Villandry - castle with largest garden
f) Azay-le-Rideau - on an island on its own
g) Usse - the walt disney sleeping beauty castle was supposedly inspired by this

2. Historic site - Le Clos Luce (da Vinci) - Residence of Leonardo da Vinci during the last 3 years of his life. Lots of his late designs are displayed. 

Le Clos Luce

View of garden from da Vinci's bedroom

the entire basement had a showcase of some of his late designs with models for explanation

And some of the inventions were transformed to life size models in the garden

Garden of Le clos luce

3. Old towns: Chinon and Lavardin