France - Loire Valley- 2 day trips from Paris, or stay overnight?

Thinking about heading over with my wife and seeing the Loire Valley Chateauxs and maybe some wine tasting.

We'll likely be staying at the Concorde Montparnasse, so access to the train is easy. Question is, do we do two separate trips or say in Tours overnight?

Another issue- my wife isn't as "mobile" as I am. I like to be on the move, she'd rather have a fair amount of time to rest. Any recommendations for tours that would be appropriate?

And finally- the wine tasting thing. We are not, er, experienced. Between us we probably have 10 (max) drinks/year. However, I was on a tour in France a few years back (cycling tour following the Tour de France) with someone who knew something (ok, quite a bit) about wine, and it was pretty interesting learning about the different types & tastes & textures & pairings etc. Any recommendations for wine tasting/food pairings for mid-50s newbies?

Thanks!

Area is well worth staying at least overnight

Area is well worth staying at least overnightEven without a rental car? Any tours that you'd recommend?

I visited the Loire valley last year without a car. Stayed in Blois. From there it is really easy to visit some castles.

From Blois (in front of train station) there is a bus going to Chambord and Cheverny. You can visit them the same day.

Amboise is only a few train station from Blois (about 30 minutes) and Chenonceau is also not too far but you have to change train in Tours. The train is very reliable.

I would suggest that you spend the night because this area is really beautiful!

I visited the Loire valley last year without a car. Stayed in Blois. From there it is really easy to visit some castles.

From Blois (in front of train station) there is a bus going to Chambord and Cheverny. You can visit them the same day.

Amboise is only a few train station from Blois (about 30 minutes) and Chenonceau is also not too far but you have to change train in Tours. The train is very reliable.

I would suggest that you spend the night because this area is really beautiful!Would you recommend doing things on your own or booking a tour?

Depends on what you prefer. Pay and do not have to think about every details or spend less but looking at transportation schedule. For me, organizing my travel is part of the pleasure. And there is nobody to tell me what we are doing at every hour.

You can Look at train schedule on Voyages-snfc.com. Trains between cities are called Intercités. You do not need to buy ticket in advance. In rural France, taking the train is like taking the subway.

For bus from Blois just google "navette chateaux TLC".

Or I know there is organized visits from Tours. Maybe you can spend a few days there. Look at loirevalleybreaks.com.

If you have questions do not hesitate.

Depends on what you prefer. Pay and do not have to think about every details or spend less but looking at transportation schedule. For me, organizing my travel is part of the pleasure. And there is nobody to tell me what we are doing at every hour.

You can Look at train schedule on Voyages-snfc.com. Trains between cities are called Intercités. You do not need to buy ticket in advance. In rural France, taking the train is like taking the subway.

For bus from Blois just google "navette chateaux TLC".

Or I know there is organized visits from Tours. Maybe you can spend a few days there. Look at loirevalleybreaks.com.

If you have questions do not hesitate.For most things, my preference is to plan things out on my own. It's so easy to do in France; transportation is far more, er, evolved than here in the US. My favorite site for train schedules is bahn.de; I find what I need there, and then buy the tickets on SNCF.com. The issue is more complicated than appears though. If I do all the planning myself, then when things don't go the way my wife would prefer, guess who gets the blame? ;)

For the Loire Valley, doing it on our own seems reasonable. But for the Normandy Beaches, I'm looking at Overlord Tours.

Hmm. For the Loire Valley, it just might be that renting a car makes sense. Hate that. Would much rather not rent a car, but it might be the most-practical way to get around for a day. Rent a car in Tours and go from there.

Thanks for the help!

Tours is quite a big city. It does not have charm like Blois or Amboise (except its Place Plumereau,the old city) I really don't think that Tours is a must. Why don't you stay in a picturesque little village instead? Just a suggestion. In Blois we stayed at Cote Loire Auberge Ligerienne (very small hotel) where all the rooms have beautiful view of the river Loire. I bet your wife would love it.

Tours is quite a big city. It does not have charm like Blois or Amboise (except its Place Plumereau,the old city) I really don't think that Tours is a must. Why don't you stay in a picturesque little village instead? Just a suggestion. In Blois we stayed at Cote Loire Auberge Ligerienne (very small hotel) where all the rooms have beautiful view of the river Loire. I bet your wife would love it.Great suggestion! But of course that cute little hotel, which is very reasonably-priced, has no availability for the time we'll be in the area. Regarding Tours, that would be nothing more than a place to stay while we explore the surroundings, not Tours itself. At least that's my thinking anyway.

Thanks-

For most things, my preference is to plan things out on my own. It's so easy to do in France; transportation is far more, er, evolved than here in the US. My favorite site for train schedules is bahn.de; I find what I need there, and then buy the tickets on SNCF.com. The issue is more complicated than appears though. If I do all the planning myself, then when things don't go the way my wife would prefer, guess who gets the blame? ;)

For the Loire Valley, doing it on our own seems reasonable. But for the Normandy Beaches, I'm looking at Overlord Tours.

Hmm. For the Loire Valley, it just might be that renting a car makes sense. Hate that. Would much rather not rent a car, but it might be the most-practical way to get around for a day. Rent a car in Tours and go from there.

Thanks for the help!

Renting a car allows you to stop wherever you want whenever you want. Considering your wife isn't terribly mobile this would be optimal I'd think. Driving in France is not difficult from my experiences. With a GPS it makes everything a snap.

Bobette

Renting a car allows you to stop wherever you want whenever you want. Considering your wife isn't terribly mobile this would be optimal I'd think. Driving in France is not difficult from my experiences. With a GPS it makes everything a snap.

BobetteI have no problems driving in France, I'd just rather not deal with a rental car and the stress of wondering if they're going to uncover some hidden damage that was there all along. There are only two things you need to get used to when driving in France- the limit lines being well before the actual intersection (loads of fun when you drive past the stop light so you don't know when it turns green!) and realizing that making eye contact in a roundabout means you're yielding to the other driver. I've got an iPhone with GPS if I get lost (which is rarely an issue for me; it's not like I don't know how France is laid out, having done bicycle trips 11 or 12 times).

It's also pretty expensive; about $115 for one day, $130 for two. But, again, might be the most-practical way to go about it. I'm leaning towards a two-day gig in the Loire Valley (with car), and a same-day out & back to Caen for the D-Day stuff. Mont St. Michel may be on the chopping block, due to the amount of stair climbing involved.

Thanks for helping me hash this stuff out! Sorry that you have to deal with my stream-of-consciousness approach to things. :D

If getting a car, I can highly recommend Chateau du Portail in the Loire Valley. We were just there in May/June, and it was terrific. Close Proximity to Blois, Amboise, Chenonceau. (We also did Chambord on the way back to Paris, via Chartres.) Claude is a marvelous host.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g2017829-d1546085-Reviews-Chateau_du_Portail-Monteaux_Loir_et_Cher_Centre.html

As to the Normandy/D-Day area, we stayed in Bayeux, which was a great base of operations. There, we stayed at Chateau de Bellefontaine, which I can again recommend highly.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g187181-d243839-Reviews-Hotel_Chateau_de_Bellefontaine-Bayeux_Calvados_Basse_Normandie_Normandy.html

Can't help on tours. We traveled around ourselves (4 of us) in our rental car. Also saw Mont St. Michel, which my wife has always wanted to see. But it does involve a huge amount of walking/stair climbing.

Feel free to PM if you have questions that I might be able to answer.