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General Information
This is a self-guided hotel based cycle tour exploring
not just the valley of the Loire but those of its left bank tributaries
the Cher, the Indre and the Vienne. Unlike most of our self-guided
cycling tours, this is a linear rather than a circular tour, which
has the advantage that you can cover more ground without the need
to take the bikes back to the starting point. There are opportunities
to visit the following chateaux: Amboise, La Bourdaisiere, Chenonceau,
Loches, Villandry (celebrated for its gardens), Sache (former home
of Honore de Balzac), Azay-le-Rideau, Usse (the castle of the Sleeping
Beauty), Chinon and Saumur. It is probably not feasible to plan
to visit them all. Also on the itinerary are Clos Luce (former home
of Leonardo da Vinci), and the Abbey of Fontevraud. Vouvray, Chinon
and Saumur all produce fine wines.
Travel Information
Arrival: The starting point of the tour is at Amboise.
Amboise is reached by direct non-TGV train from Paris Gare d'Austerlitz
(2 hours). We normally provide relevant SNCF train times with the
route notes. Gare d'Austerlitz is reached by RER and metro from Paris
CDG airport. Alternatively, there are direct TGV trains from each
of (a) Paris Montparnasse (1 hour) (b) CDG airport (1hour 45 mins)
and (c) Lille (3 hours) to Tours St Pierre des Corps, from where there
are local train services to Amboise. Seat reservations are obligatory
on TGV trains and a supplementary fare is payable. At Amboise it is
15 minutes walk or (if you are carrying heavy luggage) a taxi ride.
Car parking available in Amboise free of charge, but not guarded.
End of Tour: The tour ends at Saumur
on the morning of day 8. Return by train from Saumur Rive Droite
station (10 minutes walk or short taxi ride across the Loire bridge
from the last hotel). Local train to Angers (30 mins) or Tours (1
hour). There are direct TGV services from both Angers and from Tours
to each of (a) Paris Montparnasse (1.5 hours or 1 hour) for ORY
airport), (b) CDG airport (about 2 hours) and (c) Lille (about 3.5
hours, for Eurostar to London Waterloo). Seat reservations are obligatory
on TGV trains.
The Bikes
10 or 21 speed hybrid (straight handlebar) bikes (generally
Peugoet City 200s and 205s) with saddlebag , pump, toolkit, water
bottle with holder and key lock. The toolkit contains tyre levers,
patches, glue, spare inner tube, spare cable for brakes and gears.
The wheel hubs have quick release meachanism for easy wheel removal.
There is a rear luggage rack with panniers but no front bag. Helmets
are not provided, so you will either have to bring your own or buy
locally in France. The bikes weigh around16kg and frame sizes are
in the range 45 to 60cm. The bikes are deliverd to the first hotel
in Amboise and collected from the final hotel in Saumur. No security
deposit is required.
Time is allowed to visit chateaux
and other sites of interest along the way, but entry fees are not
included in the tour price.
Itinerary
Day 1. Arrive
Amboise, a picturesque town on the south bank of the Loire. Amboise
boasts the still impressive remnants of what was a magnificent chateau
as well as Le Clos Luce, a red-brick manor house which was the home
of the polymath Leonardo da Vinci for 3 years until his death in
1519. Chateau and Le Clos Luce (which incorporates a museum of models
based on da Vinci’s designs) are both open to the public, each visit
requiring approx. 1 hour. There will be time to visit either of
these before departure on the morning of day 2.
Day 2. On the way out of
town stop off to visit Le Clos Luce, where Leonardo da Vinci lived
as the guest of Francois I from 1516 to 1519. Then on to the Chateau
of La Bourdaiserie, built under the orders of Francois I for his
mistress Marie Gauelin.
After following the Loire
valley downstream for a few km, we turn off to visit the Chateau
de la Bordaisiere, before continuing to the small market town
of Blere on the river Cher.
Day 3. We
start today's ride by following the Cher valley upstream to
Chenonceau where you can easily spend two or three hours visiting
one of the very finest of the Loire chateaux, the ‘chateau
shaped by women’,including its early 16th century designer
Catherine Bricennet as well as Diane de Poitiers and Catherine
de Medici, which ‘stretches across the River Cher in a perfect
harmony of water, greenery, gardens and trees in a fine natural
setting’. After the visit and lunch continue over the low
watershed to Loches on the Indre.
Day 4.
Time to visit the chateau of Loches in the morning before
an easy ride down the peaceful Indre valley, stopping en route
at Cormery, where the now ruined abbey stood for 100 years
until 1791. Then on to Montbazon where your destination is
Port-Moulin in the grounds of the Chateau d'Artigny, now converted
to a hotel.
Day 5.
Today there are two alternatives: the first is to follow the
Indre valley from Montbazon to the next night's stop at the
evocatively named Azay-le-Rideau (about 5.5 hours walking).
On the way there is time to visit the former home of the novelist
Balzac in the small chateau at Sache. The other alternative
is to ride from Montbazon to the celebrated gardens at Villandry,
one of the wonders of France. From Villandry it is about 1
hours ride past the confluence of the Rivers Cher and Loire
and along picturesque woodland tracks and quiet roads to Azay
le Rideau. Both Villandry and Azay are awarded the highest
accolade of ‘worth a journey’ by the Michelin Guide. The son
et lumiere display at the Chateau of Azay, set on an island
in the Indre, is highly recommended for a delightful and memorable,
if relatively expensive (70 francs) stroll after dinner.
Day 6.
There is time for a daytime visit to the chateau of Azay,
one of the gems of the Renaissance, before continuing our
ride via the wonderful 'sleeping beauty' (belle au bois dormant)
chateau of Usse and on to Chinon itself, a medieval town on
the north bank of the Vienne dominated by the walls of its
ruined fortress and the centre of a well-known wine-growing
region.
Day 7. After
crossing the river Vienne you ride through the Foret de Fontevraud
to the celebrated abbey of that name, the most extensive set
of monastic buildings in France. The 12th C abbey church houses
the tombs of several Plantagenet royals. The way continues
past vineyards along the steep south bank of the Loire to
Saumur, famous for its wines, its cavalry school, and its
chateau overlooking the Loire.
Day 8. End of Tour
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