Flavors of the Loire Valley - French Side Travel

Flavors of the Loire Valley

6 Days | Wine & Food

Discover the very best of Loire Valley's cuisine

Premium | From $3,620 pp

With this five-day trip to the Loire Valley, you'll experience the best of the region with a mix of sightseeing, wine tastings, and unique experiences. A special highlight of this tour is a full-day private tour to visit the Fontevraud Abbey and Château de Villandry with a stop for lunch on the Loire River aboard a boat with a wine tasting.

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Day 1: Chambord

 Arrival at your Accommodation

After the check-in, you will have the rest of the day to visit the surroundings.

Overnight stay and breakfast at a beautiful 4* hotel with a view of the castle of Chambord.

Day 2: Muides Sur Loire - Chambord

Private Car and Licensed Driver-Guide at your Disposal for the Day

Your licensed driver-guide will pick you up at your hotel, drive you to your destinations, and guide you around the Châteaux. This day is about you and whatever you’d like to see and do!

Pick up & Drop off at your hotel in Loire Valley

Private Guided Visit and Wine Tasting

The farm you will be visiting is located between the Loire and the Château de Chambord. It has been run by a family of independent winemakers since 1794.

This mixed farm is made up of vineyards, a dairy farm, and cultures. It is divided into 280 hectares of cultures (silage corn, cereals and meadow for the cows) and 10 hectares of vineyards with the controlled designation ‘Cheverny.’ Part of the vineyards is near the south of the river.

The controlled designation Cheverny represents 550 hectares in production, extending to the left bank of the river. The varieties of grapes are numerous, their blends give way to the signature Cheverny style.

Entrance Ticket to the Château de Chambord

The Château de Chambord is a huge and exceptional masterpiece of architecture from the Renaissance time, a World Heritage site by UNESCO since 1965. This majestic castle acts as a gateway to the Loire Valley. Château de Chambord was dreamed up by King François I and is the biggest and most prestigious of all the French Renaissance Castles.

No one knows the architect, but this masterpiece seems to have been inspired by sketches by the Italian master, Leonardo da Vinci, particularly the famous double-helix staircase. This staircase takes you up to the terraces, from where you get a wonderful view of the roofs and their towers, chimney stacks, and dormer windows, as well as an unobstructed view of the estate, which is as big as the city of Paris.

Discover the estate on foot or by bike and enjoy the peace and quiet of nature in the 1,000 hectares of forestland open to the public. Animals roam free around the grounds and look-out areas have been set up for you to observe them. Visits can also be made on horseback, in a horse-drawn carriage or in a 4×4.

All year long there are numerous concerts, performances, and exhibitions held at the château.

Overnight stay and breakfast at a beautiful 4* hotel with a view of the castle of Chambord

Day 3: Amboise - Tours

Full-Day Private Guided Tour of the Three Famous Loire Valley Wine Appellations – Vouvray, Saint-Nicolas de Bourguet, Chinon

Your guide will meet you at your hotel and get to visit three of the wineries from the famous Loire Valley wine appellations – Vouvray, Saint-Nicolas de Bourguet, Chinon.

Throughout the day, your guide will tell you about the history of winemaking. Learn everything about the Loire Valley vineyards and wines. Visit the three famous wineries of the Loire Valley and learn about the winemaking process from scratch to the final product. More than the winemaking process, enjoy the visit to unique underground cellars and share a delightful apéritif along with your wine tasting.

Overnight stay and breakfast in a stylish 4-Star hotel in Tours

Day 4: Tours

Private Guided Visit of Tours and its Market Followed by a Picnic

Your licensed driver-guide will pick up you at your hotel in a Mercedes Class V or Renault Espace Initiale.

Your guide and host for the day will invite you to spend a day learning the art of living (and eating) in the Loire Valley. Your tour begins with a morning visit to the medieval center of Tours. You will discover a local covered market where you will taste and shop for the best seasonal products (cheese, charcuterie, and wine, to name but a few).

After the market, drive to Chenonceau for a picnic on the bank of the Cher River and finish the day visiting the magnificent Château de Chenonceau.

Your licensed driver-guide will pick you up from your hotel and will drop you off at the hotel after the tour.

Overnight stay and breakfast in a stylish 4-Star hotel in Tours

Day 5: Tours

Private Full-Day Guided Tour of the Fontevraud Abbey and a Boat Ride on the Loire River

Your licensed driver-guide will pick up you at your hotel in a Mercedes Class V or Renault Espace Initiale.

This morning, enjoy a visit to the royal Fontevraud Abbey. The lives of Eleanor of Aquitaine, her husband Henry II Plantagenet, and their son Richard the Lionheart are on display in the abbey church. Learn about the abbey’s glorious past.

While walking along the cloister and visiting the chapter house or the kitchens of the Royal Abbey, you can discover what daily life was like for the nuns that used to call the Fontevraud Abbey their home.

After the visit, relax on a boat ride on the Loire with wine tasting and lunch aboard.

On the way back, you will visit the Château Villandry, one of the last castles built during the Renaissance period, where you will discover the finest example of Renaissance garden design in all of France.

Your licensed driver-guide will drop you back at the hotel after the tour.

Overnight stay and breakfast in a stylish 4-Star hotel in Tours

Day 6: End of Our Service

Your journey with us has come to an end. We hope to see you soon!

Map

About this Trip

    • Enjoy 24/7 English-spoken telephone assistance while traveling
    • This itinerary includes transport, activities, guides, accommodations with breakfasts, and other listed services
    • Price is in USD per person, assuming double occupancy. Note that prices and availability are subject to change.

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