1. Château de Chambord — The King’s Masterpiece

Chambord is the largest and most spectacular château in the Loire Valley — a Renaissance fantasy with 440 rooms, 365 fireplaces, and a famous double-helix staircase that may have been designed by Leonardo da Vinci. Built by François I as a hunting lodge (if you can call 440 rooms a lodge), it’s surrounded by a 5,440-hectare forest, the largest enclosed park in Europe.

Location: 45 minutes east of Tours, near Blois.

Highlights:

• The double-helix staircase — two spirals that never meet, an architectural marvel
• The rooftop terrace — forest views and a forest of chimneys and turrets
• The vast park — deer, wild boar, and 32 km of cycling and walking trails
• French gardens restored to their Renaissance design
• Sound and light shows on summer evenings

2. Château de Chenonceau — The Ladies’ Castle

Chenonceau is the most elegant and romantic of all the Loire châteaux. Built over the Cher River on a series of graceful arches, it’s known as the “Ladies’ Castle” because it was shaped by a succession of remarkable women — Diane de Poitiers and Catherine de’ Medici being the most famous. The gallery stretching across the river is one of the most iconic rooms in French architecture.

Location: 30 minutes east of Tours, near the village of Chenonceaux.

Highlights:

• The Grand Gallery — a 60-metre ballroom built directly over the Cher River
• The flower gardens — Catherine’s garden and Diane’s garden, both exquisitely maintained
• The kitchens — vast 16th-century preparation rooms open for exploration
• The Renaissance furniture, tapestries, and artworks inside
• Candlelit evening visits in summer with classical music performances

3. The Loire Valley Wine Route

The Loire is one of France’s most diverse wine regions, producing everything from crisp Sancerre and Vouvray to rosé d’Anjou and powerful Chinon. The wine route winds through vineyards, past caves (wine cellars), and through charming villages where you can taste directly with the winemakers.

Key regions:

• Sancerre & Pouilly-Fumé — world-famous Sauvignon Blancs on the eastern Loire
• Vouvray — Chenin Blanc in all its forms (dry, sweet, sparkling) near Tours
• Chinon & Bourgueil — elegant Cabernet Francs from the Touraine region
• Anjou-Saumur — exceptional rosés and the sweet Coteaux du Layon
• Muscadet — crisp, mineral whites from the western Loire near Nantes

4. Cycling La Loire à Vélo

The 900 km Loire à Vélo cycle route is one of Europe’s most beautiful long-distance cycling trails. It follows the Loire River from Cuffy to Saint-Brevin-les-Pins, passing through vineyards, châteaux, and charming villages. The terrain is mostly flat, making it accessible to casual cyclists and families.

Key sections:

• Tours to Saumur (90 km) — the most popular section, past Chenonceau and wine country
• Blois to Tours (65 km) — Chambord, Amboise, and Leonardo da Vinci’s final home
• Saumur to Angers (60 km) — troglodyte dwellings, mushroom caves, and Coteaux du Layon wines
• Orléans to Blois (65 km) — quiet flat sections through forest and farmland

5. Château de Villandry & Its Gardens

Villandry is famous not for its château (which is lovely but modest) but for its gardens — the most spectacular and meticulously maintained Renaissance gardens in France. Six distinct gardens on three levels: the ornamental flower garden, the kitchen garden, the water garden, and the herb garden, among others.

Location: 15 minutes west of Tours.

Highlights:

• The ornamental gardens — box hedges shaped in symbolic patterns of love, music, and geometry
• The potager (kitchen garden) — a beautiful grid of vegetables and flowers in perfect symmetry
• The garden of simples — traditional medicinal and aromatic herbs
• The belvedere — the elevated viewpoint where the entire garden layout is visible
• The labyrinth and water garden for a more relaxed wander

6. Le Clos Lucé — Leonardo da Vinci’s Final Home

Leonardo da Vinci spent the last three years of his life at Le Clos Lucé in Amboise, invited by King François I. The manor house contains 40 scale models of his inventions built from his drawings, and the park houses full-size reconstructions of his most famous machines — the flying machine, the tank, the paddle boat, and more. Leonardo’s bedroom is preserved exactly as it was.

Location: Amboise, 25 minutes east of Tours.

Highlights:

• Leonardo’s preserved bedroom — simple and moving, with views over the valley
• 40 interactive models of his inventions — the tank, the helicopter, the bicycle
• The underground passage to Château d’Amboise (where Leonardo is buried)
• The park with full-size working reconstructions of his machines
• The multimedia exhibitions explaining his creative process

7. Tours & Chartres — Two Cathedral Cities

Tours is the perfect base for exploring the Loire Valley — a vibrant university city with a beautiful old town, one of France’s best food markets, and excellent train connections. Chartres, a short detour north of the valley, has the finest Gothic cathedral in France — its 12th-century stained glass windows are among the greatest artistic achievements of the Middle Ages.

Highlights of Tours:

• Vieux Tours — half-timbered medieval streets around Place Plumereau
• Marché des Halles — covered market open every morning, spectacular cheese selection
• St-Martin’s Basilica — an important pilgrimage site since the 4th century

Highlights of Chartres:

• Chartres Cathedral — 176 stunning stained glass windows, the world’s finest Gothic ensemble
• The labyrinth in the cathedral floor — walk the same path as medieval pilgrims
• Chartres en Lumières — the cathedral is illuminated with light shows from April to October

8. Troglodyte Dwellings & Mushroom Caves

The limestone cliffs of the Loire Valley are honeycombed with troglodyte dwellings — homes carved directly into the rock. Some are still lived in, some have been turned into restaurants or hotels, and many are used as mushroom caves (champignonnières). It’s a fascinating underground world that few visitors discover.

Best places to explore:

• Rochecorbon — a hillside village of troglodyte homes near Tours, with wine cellars carved into the cliff
• Les Goupillières — a network of ancient troglodyte dwellings open to the public near Tours
• Saumur mushroom caves — thousands of square metres of caves dedicated to growing button mushrooms
• Troglodyte restaurants in Turquant — dine in a cave carved into the cliff above the Loire
• Doué-la-Fontaine — the “underground city” with a troglodyte zoo and rose garden