Loire valley, what are your highlights?

claire21

Going in 10 days by motorhome, so looking for sites and the amount of days needed in each place.

I know I want to go to Saumur and Loches but everywhere looks so interesting, only have 2 weeks inc a drive down from the tunnel.

slinga

Saumur was disappointing for us.
Mind you the Chateau was closed at that time.
We were downstream of Tours and tbh were disappointed in it all.
Anger was OK.

But we'd expected a lot more than we got.

angelil

If you are interested in wine you should definitely visit Savennières. We did an amazing wine tasting there and drank some of the best wine we've ever had in the process. The area is also beautiful and well within reach of several main Loire valley attractions. You could try some of the other castles as well (Azay-le-Rideau, Chenonceau etc) which are more exciting than Saumur. You could also try the mushroom caves for something different to wine and castles!

andygb

angelil wrote: »

If you are interested in wine you should definitely visit Savennières. We did an amazing wine tasting there and drank some of the best wine we've ever had in the process. The area is also beautiful and well within reach of several main Loire valley attractions. You could try some of the other castles as well (Azay-le-Rideau, Chenonceau etc) which are more exciting than Saumur. You could also try the mushroom caves for something different to wine and castles!

A trip to Chinon is always worth it, particularly for the historic link - the Plantagenet kings, Henry 2nd and Richard Couer de Lion.

The_One_Who

Saumur is very, erm, snobby(?) but it is quite pretty. I don't know if you have kids, but I think the Chateau does children-friendly events with knights and such.

I liked Vouvray for the wine.

Tours was a really, really nice city if you are going that way, and can make a good base, although I have no idea about campervan sites. Blois is well worth a visit as well, and can be done in less than a day.

Langeais is a gorgeous town, and its chateau is more of a fort rather than just a big house; they even lower and raise the draw-bridge each day!

Amboise is quite nice too.

For one of the bigger chateau, I'd recommend Chenonceau, especially if the river is reasonably high. Sadly when I went there had been quite a long period of drought so couldn't do the boat ride under the arches.

For something a bit different from castles and wine, you could maybe look in to visiting one of troglodyte villages.

Be warned that pretty much everything shuts on a Monday, at least it does in the off-peak times of year, I'm not totally sure on what things are like during peak season. To be honest, you don't really require more than a day in each place, and most can be done in less than a day.

knightstyle

Go down to Puy Du Fou near Cholet and book a two day pass, you will be amazed. http://www.puydufou.com/en
If you like fishing go down to Pescalis http://www.pescalis.com/index.php?lang=en
Explore the old town at Parthenay, we are near them and find this area much better than the overhyped Loire!

The_One_Who

knightstyle wrote: »

Explore the old town at Parthenay, we are near them and find this area much better than the overhyped Loire!

The old town of Parthenay is nice, but the newer part is looking a bit rundown, sadly. And it is quite out of the way. Poitiers is nice if you're going down that way, the cathedral gets lit up at night and it's really something to see.

client1_2

Tours is actually very nice when you get to know the city (I lived there many moons ago). Like all cities it has its plus and minus points. Place Plumereau is the main centre, and the streets round there are nice and touristy. Out of all the cities I've lived in its the only one I would go back to.
Theres lots to do in and around as well. Angers is also quite nice to visit. Saumur, everyone goes to Saumur for a reason, the chateau, and it is an impressive sight as you drive up (or down) the Loire.
Countrysides nice if you like chateau, vineyards, sunflowers and troglodytes.

signol

I visited the region last month. We stayed in Azay-le-Rideau and enjoyed the town. The chateau is nice, worth a visit for a few hours. Castle and town of Chinon are also nice. Chateau in Chinon is more fortfied castle than stately home of Azay. Tours city is also pleasant, like a miniature Paris. A train connects all 3 places, roughly hourly (but longer gaps during the day).

signol

slinga

Strange isn't it.
We found Tours quite depressing.
We thought it was the worst French town we have been to.
Nantes was quite interesting although I've read many people saying how dull that was.
Horses for courses I suppose.
If we bothered to drive that far again we would try Orlean and Le Mans.

gingin_2

We just got back from a week in Chinon. The castle was lovely but I think you can only squeeze half a day's visit out of it. There is a lovely central square with some really nice restaurants and a good market on I think the thursday. Nice wine tasting caves you can pop into and of course the wine was delicious, some ridiculously tasty patisseries too.

You can canoe down the river and there appeared to be a campsite centrally on the opposite side of the river to town, the position looked amazing.