Loire Valley Day Tour

The Tourist Office of Tours, heart of the Loire Valley, and LinkParis.com offer two itineraries designed to entrall you with the best of the Chateaux country. Each one will take you to many of the highlights of the Loire Valley.

Itinerary #1

Click here for Itinerary #2

7:20 am

Departure from the Paris Montparnasse train station and travel to St Pierre des Corps via high speed rail, 2nd class (1st class add $67). Upon arrival transfer to a shuttle train to Tours. Total travel time approximately one hour ten minutes.

9:00 am

Meeting at Tours Tourist office located in front of the train station (3 minute walk). 9:15 am departure in a luxurious and air climatised minibus for a day trip visit which will includes the following sites:

AZAY-LE-RIDEAU,

Visit of the CHÂTEAU D'AZAY-LE-RIDEAU.

Built from 1518 to 1527, is one of the earliest French Renaissance chateaux. Built on an island in the Indre River, its foundations rise straight out of the river. The long low proportions and the sculptural decorations of Azay are Italianate, in the new antique taste, but the bastion corners capped by pointed cones, the vertical stacks of grouped windows separated by emphatic horizontal string courses, and the high sloped slate roof are unmistakably French. The playful fortifications and the medieval donjon towers gave an air of traditional nobility to the king's newly-ennobled treasurer. The sculptural details at Azay are particularly remarkable. On the ground floor, fluted pilasters on high bases support the salamander and the ermine, emblems of Francois I and Claude de France.

Then, VILLANDRY,

Visit of the famous JARDINS DE VILLANDRY which surround one of the last castle built on the Loire river edge during the Renaissance period (1536).
The mere mention of the name Villandry evokes splendor and perfection in the art of gardens.This space, a contemporary creation, is unique in Europe. It is inspired by the gardens of the 16th and 18th centuries.8 gardeners work full time in the gardens of Villandry, and plant about 60,000 vegetables and 45,000 plants in its gardens each year.
A small valley, with a stream running though it, descends from the plateau south of the chateau. Its slope makes it possible to have three levels of gardens on terraces.

- The highest level, surrounded by lindens, has a large pool, where the water needed for the moat is collected.

- The middle level, at the level of the chateau, is in three parts: "the garden of love", "the music garden" and "the herb garden".

- Finally, at the level of the outbuildings, is the most original of the three gardens: the ornamental vegetable garden that covers 12,500 square meters, that is renewed twice per year.

12:30 pm

Return to Tours and lunch near the Tourist Office

1:30 pm

Departure in air-conditioned minibus for the second half of the trip to:

CHENONCEAU

Visit of the CHATEAU DE CHENONCEAU.

Built in the XVIth c., it is one of the purest Early French Renaissance style works. The square dwellings, built in the riverbed itself on the piles of a fortified mill, the square building is the original chateau. On the bridge built by Diane, rises The two-level gallery completed by Catherine de Medicis. . You will discover the guardroom, the chapel, a superb 60 metres long gallery above the Cher river, Diane de Poitier and François 1st rooms. In the upper levels, you will admire the bedrooms of Gabrielle d'Estrees, Catherine de Medicis and Louise of Lorraine… Settled inside the two piles of the former mill anchored in the Cher river bed, the kitchens will reveal the art and ingenuity of the Renaissance builders. Not far from the gardens of Diane de Poitiers and Catherine de Medicis, stands "La Galerie des Dames de Chenonceau" settled in the former Royal stables. Here are told the dreams, ambitions, the great projects and the destinies of those women who made the history of the place. A walk in the French style gardens will provide a pleasant end to your tour.

Then, AMBOISE

Visit of the CHATEAU D’AMBOISE.

Built in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries by Charles VIII, Louis XII and François 1er, the chateau is one of the first royal residences and a splendid example for gothic and renaissance architecture. Still nowadays it shelters an exceptionally well-preserved collection of furniture.
Leonardo da Vinci lived there his last years of life. He is buried in the St Hubert chapel, built in high gothic style of the fifteenth century. Overhanging the city of Amboise, you will discover from the gardens of the chateau one of the most famous panoramas in the Loire-Valley.

Visit of the LEONARDO DA VINCI PARC at Château du CLOS LUCE in Amboise :

A marvel of the Renaissance art, in red bricks and tuff, pure happiness accentuated by the playful game of red brick with white stone, was the residence of Leonardo Da Vinci during the last years of his life.
THE CHÂTEAU where you will enter Leonardo intimacy (visit of his bedroom, workshop, kitchen and beautiful rooms of red brick and white stone) and discover his 40 marvelous inventions;Fascinating exhibit of models of his inventions.
THE ENVIRONMENTAL TRAVERSES where you will carry out an initiatory trip with Leonardo and his disciple. You will activate 12 gigantic and spectacular machines, will listen through 8 sonorous points to listen Leonardo' reflections and will admire 32 translucence canvass.THE HALL where the world of Leonardo will be explained to you thanks to the technologies of today: a gigantic spectacle pictures, the flying machine, a big video film screen and 5 thematic kiosks.

 

6:45 pm

Return in air-conditioned minibus to the Tourist Office for transfer back to the Saint Pierre des Corps rail station for a 7:24pm train back to Paris. .

Price Includes: - Transportation in minibus luxury air-conditioned for the trip (9:30 am – 6:45 pm) - Entrance fees for the castles of Azay-le-Rideau, Chenonceau, Amboise, Villandry gardens, and Leonardo Da Vinci Parc at Clos Luce - Lunch in Tours (drinks not included)

Not included: - The drinks at lunch - Round trip transfers from the hotel in Paris to the Montparnasse train station - Guided visit in the castles - Personal expenditures. - Rail

 

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