Loire Valley Castles Chenonceau Amboise & Da Vinci Small Group
Description
Discover the highlights of the Loire Valley Castles on a small group day tour from Paris, limited to just 7 guests. Travel by Mercedes minivan with hotel pick up, all entrance tickets and a wine tasting included. Visit three of the region’s most iconic sites: the elegant Château de Chenonceau, famously spanning the River Cher; the Royal Château of Amboise, once home to French kings and Leonardo da Vinci’s tomb; and Clos Lucé, the final residence of Leonardo da Vinci, where he spent the last three years of his life. Enjoy the insights of a live English-speaking guide throughout the day. The experience also includes a guided Loire Valley wine tasting at a local winery and free time for lunch in the charming town of Amboise. All entrance tickets are included, making this an easy, stress-free day trip from Paris—perfect for history lovers, first-time visitors, couples, and families seeking a truly small group experience.
Tour Options
Itinerary
07:30 Pick-up from Your hotel. There are 3 hours drive (240 km) on highway by our comfortable air conditioned Mercedes minivan to our first Castle Château de Chenonceau. One stop at a rest area will be made. The Guide will give You general Information about the French history connected to the Loire Valley Castles.
11:00 - 12:30 Chateau de Chenonceau and its Gardens visit with Guide explaining the history of the Castle and its construction. You will get as well the brochure with explanations of each room. Chenonceau nicknamed the "ladies’ castle" is remarkable for its feminine history of famous women of France such as Catherine de Medici as well as for its stunning architecture as well as unique aches over the River Cher. The Renaissance-style Gardens of Chenonceau with their more than 130,000 flowerings plants will impress You as well. 12:30 Departure to Amboise city. It takes about 20 minutes.
13:00 -14:00 Lunch break in Amboise city where You'll find many restaurants and cafes. We can as well recommend You or make a table reservation at a good restaurant.
14:00 - 15:30 Chateau Royal d’Amboise visit with Guide. Histopad (Interactive Videoguide) will be provided explaining the history of this Castle and of each room. Amboise is the grand 15th-century residence of King Charles VIII and an example of the transition of Gothic to Renaissance architecture. Learn the history of the castle Amboise which is known as birth place of princes, the reign of Kings. You will visit as well the grave of Leonardo Da Vinci who is buried in the Saint Hubert Chapel of the castle.
15:40 - 16:20 Wine Tasting of 7 wines at a local family vinery existing since many centuries. You will learn how wines have been making for centuries and have afterwords the wine tasting of local wines with explanations.
16:30 - 18:00 Chateau of Leonardo da Vinci Clos Luce visit with Guide. The Château du Clos Lucé is a castle located close to Château Royal d'Amboise to which it is connected by an underground passageway. Built by Hugues d'Amboise in 1471, the palace belonged once to the French king Charles VIII and afterwards to Leonardo da Vinci who lived there at the invitation of Francis I from 1516 until his death on 2 May 1519. Today it is a museum about Leonardo da Vinci's life, work and memory. Clos Luce is one of top 100 extraordinary destinations to explore 2021 by Time magazine. 18:00 Departure to Paris. It takes about 3 hours (230 km)
21:00 Coming back to Paris full of impressions of a full Day Trip to Loire Valley and its Castles. Drop Off at Your hotel.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
Our guide will contact You the day before the travel date. We pick You up from your hotel main entrance.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- This tour only accommodates a maximum of 2 children and 2 youth.
Reviews(17)
What a relaxing day trip from Paris to Loire Valley!! We had an amazing tour guide David who provided us with excellent history and information of the castles, timed the entries and other activities perfectly. Our driver, Alex kept the van in excellent and super comfortable conditions. We highly recommend this small group tour.
Our tour guide David was very kind and knowledgeable and made the experience even better. And our driver Alex was also very nice. It was a very scenic tour and well planned.
This was a great experience! We were very fortunate to have had a private tour as it was SO hot and busy!! Our guides and driver were absolutely amazing and supportive!!! I HIGHLY recommend this tour- especially if you are a small group!! Thank you for such a wonderful day!!
The Good- we appreciated the pick up/drop off service. Our Guide also provided a lot of insight into French customs. The Bad- When we arrived at the Chateaus our driver would spend 20-30 minutes explaining the history of the place...and then say- "ok you have 20 minutes to explore...get to the van...we have another reservation! The Ugly- at one stop other tour members were in line at a Starbucks- and the driver pulled them out of line to get to the next place. The rushing and urgency was very disappointing. We had to rush our lunch to meet him which was rather unpleasant because we were in a lovely little Town.
Very strange review containing false and contradicting informations. You had Guide and Driver. So You stopped at the Castles and the Guide who "also provided a lot of insight into French customs" was for some undescribed reasons silent about half an hour watching the driver talking to You within "20-30 minutes explaining the history of the place...and then say- "ok you have 20 minutes to explore...get to the van...we have another reservation! " Are You sure that any Guide would have allowed it ? About Which another reservation could the driver have been taking ? We serve only one group from Paris to Paris. Nobody joins us on the way or leaves the Minivan. What happened to our Guide meanwhile as all these strange things were happening ? Maybe the Guide was driving a bus or checking up the engine ?:) Who are You ? What is Your name ? What was the Guide's name ? Very strange review containing false and contradicting informations.
What a perfect day! Our group of 6 adults had a fantastic time with Olga on our tour. We stayed in Paris and wanted to see more of France during our visit. This tour was exactly what we wanted. The sites we visited were amazing and Olga was the perfect guide! She is so knowledgeable about each site and France in general. She gave us a great overview of each site on the way and then pointed out unique details on the visits. The stop at a local winery was perfect as well. We loved this tour and would highly recommend it to anyone!
Our guide and driver Cyrus G. was excellent. Very knowledgeable about the castles, drove smoothly, and very communicative about instructions. Our only complaint was that we didn’t have enough time at the Chambord castle. It is massive. We could have spent a whole day at just the castle and another exploring the grounds. I have two recommendations 1. either eat at Paul’s next to Chateau d’Amboise and go to that castle or eat at Chateau Chambord. That way you have more time to explore the last castle on your trip 2. If you are not really a wine drinker and are going to Chateau Chambord, skipping the wine tasting would give you more time at the enormous castle.
I've visited the Loire Valley on several trips to Paris. This experience is number three which I shared with my son. I always enjoy visiting the Loire Valley. It is such a beautiful region in France. This trip I added a visit to Leonardo di Vinci's home. Lovely experience. If you are a history buff and/or an engineer, you may enjoy a visit to Di Vinci's home to see his engineering ideas and genius come to life.
My wife and I were sign up for the Loire Valley Tour and the guide never showed up, ruining our last day in Paris!! Never again!!!!
All confirmed travellers are travelling with us. Check up Your confirmation, date, local supplier. By the way we contact in the evening before the travel date all our travellers because we make pick up at 07:30 so we adjust according to the location who is the first etc
This tour was a great way to experience 3 castles in the Loire Valley and learn about some of the history surrounding them. Helen was our guide for this tour and she did an excellent job as our guide. She has an exceptional knowledge and understanding of history. Her ability to tell stories and details about these locations helped to bring the places to life. While this made a full day, it was well worth it!
We really loved this tour, showed some glorious highlights and the castles were exceptional. Plenty of time to eat lunch too, which is always appreciated.
