We are in the process of planning a trip to Paris for the Saints game in October. We have decided to go up early and spend a few days in the Loire Valley.
Does anyone have recommendations for hotels, restaurants, castles and wineries?
And even the town to stay in.

Tours seems to be the most centrally located and the best transportation hub.
Orleans is the biggest city, and I can trace my ancestry to the early 1700s from records in a church there.
Blois looks nice.
Amboise has come highly recommended to us by friends. Amboise is the leader in the clubhouse right now.

Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks.

P.S.
On the list of things not to do, don't bother saying "Skip the Saints game".

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Posted by tigeroarz1

Winston-Salem, NC

Member since Oct 2013

3864 posts

Posted on 2/11/26 at 1:59 pm to geauxpurple

We stayed at Chateau le Prieure which is a small hotel sitting right on the Loire River. We had an amazing view of the river and valley from our room. It’s about 4 hrs from Paris. LINK

There is a Michelin star restaurant at the hotel. Make sure you make reservations when booking. LINK

We arrived late to the hotel and the restaurant couldn’t take us so they recommended we go to a local restaurant. It turned out to be one of the coolest parts of our trip. The restaurant was deep inside of a limestone cave that was once used as a limestone mine.
They grew their own mushrooms there and served a local dish that was similar to a calzone cooked on a wood fire.
LINK

We visited two famous chateaus:
Chateau/Le Jardins de Villandry. Known for its massive gardens. Think Alice in Wonderland stuff. It was amazing.
LINK

Chateau de Chenonceau. Built over water and half of it looks like a bridge. Looks cool as it reflects into the water.
LINK

We planned it out so that it was nice loop back to Paris. The Loire Valley is beautiful. Probably saw more sunflower fields than vineyards.

This post was edited on 2/11/26 at 6:35 pm

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Posted by geauxpurple

New Orleans

Member since Jul 2014

16945 posts

Posted on 2/11/26 at 2:19 pm to tigeroarz1

Thanks. Great info.
That last castle you mentioned is one of the famous ones and is definitely on our list.
We will rent a car but our plan is to fly in to Paris and take the train to the Loire Valley, stay for a few days, then take the train back to Paris. We would like to stay in one hotel in the Loire and not have to change hotels.

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