Loire Valley Royal Castles Guided Small group Day Trip from Paris
Description
Explore Loire Valley Royal Castles Blois & Amboise and Ladies' Castle Chenonceau on a small group (max 7) tour from Paris by Mercedes minivan with guide. All entrance tickets, hotel pick up & wine tasting included. Visit Château Royal de Blois, the political heart of Renaissance France; Royal Château of Amboise, home to Leonardo da Vinci’s tomb; and Château de Chenonceau, known as the “Ladies’ Castle”, spanning the River Cher. Travel in a comfortable Mercedes minivan with adjustable seats and take your time with a live English-speaking guide. Perfect for history lovers, first-time visitors, and small groups. Highlights: Visit 3 Loire Valley castles in one day: Blois, Amboise & Chenonceau All entrance tickets included Travel in a comfortable Mercedes minivan with adjustable seats Small group (max 7 guests) → exclusive experience Hotel pick up from your accommodation → no walking required Live English-speaking guide Loire Valley Wine tasting Free time for lunch in Amboise
Tour Options
Itinerary
07:30 Hotel Pick-up. Departure to Loire Valley. 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 - 15:15 Chateau Royal d"Amboise visit with Guide. Histopad (Interactive Videoguide) will be provided explaining the history of this Castle and of each room. Amboise Castle 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.
15:20 - 16:00 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. 16:40 - 18;10 Chateau Royal de Blois visit. The Royal Château of Blois is located in the center of Blois city. It was a residence of some French Kings, Joan of Arc also went there by 1429 to be blessed by the Archbishop of Reims before departing with her army to battle against the English. The castle comprises several buildings of four different architectural styles. There are 564 rooms in the castle, including 100 bedrooms with a fireplace in each, and 75 staircases. 18:10 Departure to Paris. It takes about 2,5 hours (190 km). 20:30 Coming back to Paris. Drop Off at Your hotel.
16:40 - 18:10 Chateau Royal de Blois visit. The Royal Château of Blois is located in the center of Blois city. It was a residence of some French Kings, Joan of Arc also went there by 1429 to be blessed by the Archbishop of Reims before departing with her army to battle against the English. The castle comprises several buildings of four different architectural styles. There are 564 rooms in the castle, including 100 bedrooms with a fireplace in each, and 75 staircases. 18:10 Departure to Paris. It takes about 2,5 hours (190 km).
20:30 Coming back to Paris. Drop Off at Your hotel.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
Pickup if the option booked is always at the front door of your hotel. Main meeting point for all our experiences in Paris and around is at the Opera Garnier Steps
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(133)
Our guide David was punctuate to pick us up at the hotel. He is very knowledgeable about the Loire Valley and showed us many interesting sites and things. I particularly enjoyed visiting da vinci's residence. We returned on time back to our hotel.
We took the tour for three castles and wine tasting. Sadly, it was a rainy, cold and windy day, but our tour guide was prepared and had umbrellas for anyone who did not have one. It also happened to be a school holiday, so the castles were very crowded. But despite the circumstances, we had a wonderful time. The castles and outdoor gardens were gorgeous. Our guide, David, was very friendly, extremely knowledgeable of the castles’ history and accommodating of our request to spend time exploring the quaint little town of Amboise, where we had lunch. For our small group of 6, two castles were plenty for us to see. So, spending the extra time window shopping in Amboise worked out perfectly. I would highly recommend this tour to anyone interested.
Very interesting. Informative. The drive was nice. Our guide was very knowledgeable. The folks with us were also nice
David was a fantastic guide. We toured Loire Valley for two days. His knowledge of history and art is incredible. We had two full days touring the 6 Chateaus. Mr V is an excellent driver, too.
This Loire Castles guided Tour had positives and negatives. Regarding the strong positives: Beautiful historic Loire Castles definitely worth visiting. Our Guide Ilya shared the history with great skill ( History Major Sorbonne credentials) professionalism and warm personality. Many thanks Ilya and to the expert driver Alex. Now for the strong negatives: Despite listing over 600 pick up locations with our Hotel accepted on booking (also important to me choosing this Operator) they emailed 2 days prior advising no pick up or drop off as we “were outside the zone”. This shows a lack of integrity of the Operator. We were staying in St Germain which is central Paris! However the most negative aspect of the day was that we were very squashed in the vehicle with 6 adult participants. The road journey was most uncomfortable for a 14 hour Tour, with at least 7 hours spent in the vehicle. For passenger comfort and overall experience they should have provided a larger Van. For these reasons I cannot recommend this Tour, unless they have no more than 4 persons in this transport. Shame really as the Castles, Guide and Driver were truly exceptional.
Thank You for participations and positive feedback about Loire Valley Castles, our guide Iliya and driver Alex. Regarding the transportation it was our Mercedes minivan V Klasse 8 seater with comfortable adjustable seats. There were 6 passengers Guide and Driver. We had before You no issues with not enough space in the vehicle. Regarding Pick up. By Small groups we make it from Our pick area because otherwise picking up from all addresses we risk to loose too much time driving around in Paris instead of enjoying the Castles. Your hotel was unfortunately outside. By Private Experiences we pick up travellers from any address in Paris. Thank You again. Have only nice trips in France and Europe !
Our driver, Alex and our tour guide David were absolutely fantastic. David was very knowledgeable and shared so much information about the château’s the history of the region, etc. He was very friendly and personable and we really enjoyed the day with him. We originally booked a group tour, but due to other people canceling we decided to do a private tour. It was one of our best days in Paris. We highly recommend this tour if you want to enjoy the history and beauty of the Loire Valley.
Daniel was a knowledgeable, friendly and courteous guide, and Aslan a diligent and effective driver. The day was full, interesting, offered much for those with a variety of interests.
A full day. Up to 14 hours from first pick up to last drop off. All 3 castles interesting and different. Our guide, Valentine, was very knowledgeable.
This day trip to Loire Valley was well done, and VALENTIN, our guide for the day, was EXCELLENT! He was knowledgeable about everything we saw, told us unique stories (not just Wikipedia info), and paced our day well. The family run winery visit was fun, informative, and we were able to go into their cave like place where the barrels of wine are stored. The van was very comfortable too. I highly recommend this tour. We are very glad we did it.
Great trip. Olga told us a lot about the history of the three castles. The only comment was that in the back seat with the ac on we could not hear all of what she was saying
