Villandry

Anyway, I don't want to give potential competitors my preferred itinerary but, to make it simple for now,

if we visit the Loire Valley for two days, on top of Chambord, we can visit the following chateaux:

And, if you add one more day (please do!), on the third day, we can visit the Chateau of Valencay:

And we can have another wine tasting at Sancerre:

And, most important of all, we will visit the Bourges cathedral (which comes second in my heart after the Chartres Cathedral) which I don't visit as often as I'd like to because it's a bit far away from Paris (150 miles) and it's therefore difficult to include it in a one or two-days excursion and this is such a shame (just to keep you informed).

Please click on each link (or picture) to have a good summary of each place mentionned!

The map here below should help you locate the area (which consists of 310 sq mi inside the red rectangle):

And the other map here below will make you understand a very important thing:

"Too many chateaux, too little time!"

Even though the one-day version of the Loire Valley totally works (if you only have one day to spare to see what's outside Paris and you settle for two or three of the most representative chateaux), it's a rather long day (12 hours) with quite a bit of (pleasant) driving (2h30 to get there and the same to get back). The idea, if we spend two or three days in the Loire Valley, is that we can split the long drives from (and back) to Paris on two different days instead of one (that means less driving every day and a lot more exquisite places to visit) but also, last but far from being least, that gives you the possibility to spend the night in a real chateau!

Indeed, I'll give you amazing options and you'll make the booking yourself according to what suits you best.

And that will give us time for at least one gastronomical dinner in a unique setting at an excellent price/value!

But choices will have to be made... and part of my job is to help you make those choices.

On Day 1, we have two options: start with Chambord (because it's the closest one).

Or we could keep it for the end if you have the good taste to go to Chartres on the way to the Loire Valley.

I also like the idea to keep Chambord for the end because it's gigantic and I like to keep it as the "final blow":

We can also include a wine cellar visit (with tastings included of course!).

The Loire Valley wines are young and fruity. More about them on my "Vine immersion" page.

Chenonceau

Clos-Lucé (House of Leonardo da Vinci)

Azay-le-Rideau

And, most important of all, we will visit the Bourges cathedral (which comes second in my heart after the Chartres Cathedral) which I don't visit as often as I'd like to because it's a bit far away from Paris (150 miles) and it's therefore difficult to include it in a one or two-days excursion and this is such a shame (just to keep you informed).

Then we'll inevitably have a 2h30 drive back to Paris, but my little finger tells me that you'll need time to digest all this and that you'll love to just look outside the window, look at the sceneries and just savour the fact that you're there (well, that's the idea anyway!).