Guided Day Tours

A friend and I are in Paris from August 23 through August 30. I%26#39;ve seen that there are tour buses/minibuses from Paris for day trips to several of the chateaux. However, I was considering taking the train to Orleans and then renting a car or hiring a car with a guide. (Orleans as opposed to Tours as the travel time is the same and the non-TGV tickets are less expensive.) Does anyone have any recommendations as to companies to contact?

|||

Take the train to Amboise rather than Orleans. There are more Chateaux nearby than Orleans.

e.g Amboise, Clos Luce and Chenonceau.

|||

You can also take the train to Blois (the first one leaves Paris at around 7:30 in the morning from Gare d%26#39;Austerlitz and reaches Blois around 9:00 am.) From Blois station you can take a bus that covers Blois, Chambord and Cheverny chateaux, doing the round trip several times a day (you can hop on and off whenever you want.)

Here%26#39;s the schedule: www.tlcinfo.net/index.php…

You can get discount tickets at the castles by showing them your bus ticket. The last bus brings you back to the train station just in time to get the last train to Paris.

I took this bus last May, and the driver was a pleasure, she made many comments during the trip and showed us places.

You would be seeing three very different castles, and I think that would give you a taste of what the Loire valley is about.

|||

Several points to consider:

1. Tours is the geographical center of the Loire Valley Chateaux, going to Orleans only means that you%26#39;ll spend more time driving than necessary. If you must take the TER, Blois is a better choice.

2. TGV tickets are not necessarily more expense. Book in advance to save money, if you%26#39;ll be spending only one day, taking the TGV is strongly advised. Purchase tickets here up to 90 days in advance and look for PREM fares:

www.voyages-sncf.com

3. Before you decide upon a one day car rental, understand the cost involved:

http://www.avis.com/

http://www.citer.com/

http://www.europcar.com/

http://www.ttcar.com/fr/index.php

http://www.hertz.com/

http://www.sixt.com/

http://www.ada.fr/

http://www.citycars.fr/

Quotes do not often include total costs. Plan on train station pickup and road tax fees - approx 50€ extra.

___________

In the interest of time and making the effort worthwhile, I recommend you take the TGV to Tours and either:

1. Take a tour from there. Information here:

http://www.ligeris.com/

2. Hire a car from there:

http://www.leisure-tours.com/

______________

The primary chateaux north/northeast of Tours one should not miss are:

1. Chenonceau

2. Chateau de Chambord

3. Blois

4. Cheverney - if you have time. This is one of the only chateau with a furnished interior.

|||

-:- Message from TripAdvisor staff -:-

This topic was inactive for 6 months and has been closed to new posts. We hope you'll join the conversation by posting to an open topic or starting a new one.

To review the TripAdvisor Forums Posting Guidelines, please follow this link: http://www.tripadvisor.com/pages/forums_posting_guidelines.html

We remove posts that do not follow our posting guidelines, and we reserve the right to remove any post for any reason.

Removed on: 7:24 am, October 08, 2009