Loire Valley Castles Day Trip from Paris with Complementary Wine
Description
Step out of Paris and into the storybook landscapes of the Loire Valley, traveling in air-conditioned comfort through one of France’s most historic regions. Discover two iconic châteaux Chambord and Chenonceau with included entry, enjoy free time in the charming town of Blois, and savor a complimentary local wine experience at Chenonceau Castle. Along the way, your expert English-speaking tour leader brings the journey to life with stories of French royalty, Renaissance architecture, and the countryside that inspired them.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Marvel at the Loire Valley's opulent Castles and taste its famous locally-made wine during this full-day tour from Paris.
From Paris, you’ll head first to Chambord Castle. Disney fans will find this castle’s turrets familiar; it was the inspiration for the castle in ‘Beauty and the Beast’. Though originally conceived as a royal hunting lodge, it was built to a scale that must be seen to be believed. You’ll learn all about the castle’s captivating history from your guide, before getting your own chance to explore. Climb a staircase supposedly designed by Da Vinci; enjoy spectacular turret-framed rooftop views; glimpse wild deer around the grounds; and work up an appetite for the next stop.
Arriving in Blois, pass by the impressive Château Royal de Blois, a former royal residence that showcases four distinct architectural styles. Your guide will point out its highlights and share insights into its role in French royal history.
Having worked up an appetite, we'll get back on the bus and on to our next stop - the quaint town of Blois, where you’ll get some free time to enjoy lunch in one of the restaurants located around the beautiful and vibrant Square Louis XII.
Last but not least is a visit to the elegant Chenonceau Castle. Your visit starts with a complementary wine tasting in the castle’s vaulted wine cellar. Then, carry on with a self-guided visit of the chapel, bedrooms and magnificent vaulted kitchens which are still furnished and decorated from times gone by, showing off the castle’s many sweeping stone carvings. Don’t miss the impressive main hall, which spans the river Cher, or the gardens cultivated by Diane de Poitiers and Catherine de Medici – two of the famous owners that earned Chenonceau the nickname ‘the Ladies’ Castle
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- We strongly recommend that clients traveling with young children aged 2 or above to bring their own child seat. Infants under 2 years old should travel on a parent’s lap. It is the responsibility of the parent or guardian to ensure the safety of their child.
- Infants and children, no matter how young, must have a tour purchased for them in order to join the visit.
Reviews(4,417)
I’m so glad we were able to experience seeing these castles and towns up close. We had ample time at each stop. Usually, tours feel rushed and you are left feeling like you do not have enough time to do anything, but that definitely wasn’t the case. Our tour guide gave us some really good historical information on the way to the stops. It was entertaining and interesting and he didn’t drone on. Because it was such a big group, it did feel a little bit impersonal and not that it’s the company‘s fault, but the people on the bus weren’t very friendly. There were even issues with seating and people got into arguments over who’s sitting where. It was quite childish. Overall, I recommend taking this tour because the spots visited were wonderful.
Great trip. Lovely area and beautiful castles. Throw in some wine. Doesn’t get any better than this. Guide Thelma was very good.
Beautiful chateaus. Nice lunch in Blois but stores were closed when we stopped for lunch so we couldn’t explore the shops.
Excellent day trip from Paris. Thelma was a super host-so cheerful and funny. AC blowout on bus was unfortunate but driver fixed it after a brutal 30 minutes The heat wave made it worse, of course
This trip was so much fun. Our guide, Thelma, kept us entertained while teaching us history of the chateaus in Loire Valley in a memorable way. The only complaint is the bus air-conditioning broke during a heat wave and the ride back was uncomfortable. It did not help that the sites are not sure conditioned. Thelma was mindful of the guest experience and did everything possible to make the experience amazing. The difficulty with the bus seems (hopefully) like an outlier as the next tour we did with City Wonders had no problems and was comfortable.
Very good guide and nice trip to include the best of French Renaissance châteaux.
The tour was good. My complaint is about the organisation. We booked for last Saturday, the bus should leave at 7:30. We tried to reach their team in advance to say we would arrive just on time. But you would get only an AI response. We indeed arrived at the meeting place at 7:30 and no one was there. We ran around and we found no one nearby with any identification flag. We lost the tour and payed 50 euros to rebook. Today we arrived in advance. And we noticed that by 7:20 the guide was already on the bus with the travellers. No one was at the meeting point. Only at the end of the tour, the guide noticed that 2 other people who had booked were missing. Also, the visit is not really guided. The guide only speaks while we’re on the bus, and then when we arrive on site we are left alone for the entire visit. The time they leave us to explore the places is too short, everything has to be done in a hurry. And do not go to the restaurant Mamie Annie in Blois, the food there is really not good.
Dear lamedelavie, Thank you for your feedback. We are sorry to hear about the difficulties you experienced with your original booking and understand how frustrating this must have been. Our guides begin boarding guests before departure to ensure the tour leaves on time, as the schedule must be respected for all participants. We also regret that you found the time at each stop too limited. As outlined in the tour description, this experience combines guided commentary during the journey with free time to explore each château independently. We appreciate you taking the time to share your comments, which will be shared with our team as we continue to improve our guests' experience.
Gorn was a great host! He kept everyone engaged with fun facts and was funny! I will recommend this trip with Gorn to my family and friends traveling to Paris this year. Stephan was a great driver, I felt safe.
Fantastic day out, very well organised tour. The castles are lovely, and stopping in medieval Blois for lunch was a great break. Bus was air conditioned which was fantastic during the heat wave. Goran was a great guide.
Goran was a great guide! Both castles and wine tasting were amazing.
