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Between the 13th and the 16th Centuries, French royalty built an amazing collection of beautiful renaissance chateaux.
On the Loire Valley cycling tour we visit Chateau Chambord, the largest of the Loire chateaux, built by Francois I as a hunting lodge and containing a Catherine de Medici, who then went on to build the iconic ballroom across the River Cher.
The Chateaux are stunning, and we’ve put together a great itinerary of visits. But of course, we have got great food, interesting wines, and the path less trodden.
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A downloadable version of the itinery is available from the Dossiers Tab
Itineraries
Day 1
Arrival
We arrive at our hotel in Chinon in the afternoon. We stay at the Hotel de France in the heart of this beautiful medieval city, overlooking the beautiful Place du Général de Gaulle where you can relax in any of the many pavement bars and cafes.
In the 12th Century Chinon was effectively the English capital as successive Kings made their home in the château. It is much older than most Loire château, and its military purpose is obvious from its commanding position along the ridge that overlooks the medieval town of Chinon.
Day 2
The Royal Abbey of Fontevraud, and beautiful vineyards (38 kms)
We leave Chinon along the banks of the River Vienne and make our way to the Royal Abbey at Fontevraud. This huge Abbey was traditionally the home of many French Queens but is most famous as the resting place of Henry II, his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine and their son Richard the Lionheart. King John I’s wife, Isabelle of Angouleme, also lies with them, but she's a bit less famous, poor love.
From Fontevraud it's downhill to Montsoreau where the Vienne enters the River Loire. We’ll cross the Vienne, and cycle along the opposite bank back into Chinon.
Day 3
Sleeping Beauty Woz 'Ere (52 kms)
We start today with a tour of the castle of Chinon. As well as home to English Kings, the castle contains the tower where Joan of Arc ‘heard the voices’ telling her she would be granted an army to relieve the siege of Orléans.
We leave the Vienne and continue our cycling tour back towards the Indre and the Loire.
Overlooking the Indre is the first of the big-league château, Château Ussé, the inspiration for Charles Perrault’s Sleeping Beauty.
Next on our hit-list is Villandry, an unexceptional château, but with gardens that Michelin rate as a 3*** attraction - 'worth a journey in their own right'. There are three gardens - a vegetable garden, a flower garden and a water garden.
Each year the gardening team choose a theme and tell a story in flowers. Villandry is really something, and not to be missed.
Finally today we cycle the 11 km or so to Azay-le-Rideau, another member of the Premier League of Loire Châteaux. Azay-le-Rideau is surrounded on three sides by the River Indre, which has been carefully landscaped to provide a beautiful reflective setting for this ornate château.
There was no military purpose to Azay-le-Rideau, it was just designed to be beautiful, and it is.
Tonight we stay at the Hotel des Chateaux, on the outskirts of Azay-le-Rideau a short stroll from the town.
Day 4
A Tale of two Châteaux (57 kms)
We start the day with a visit to the purely decorative château of Azay-le-Rideau on the river Indre, and boy is it decorative, and finish in the medieval Cité Royale of Loches, on the Indre, where sits the Donjon of Loches.
A donjon is a fortress and this place is very obviously built for function rather than form.
In between we cycle over the beautiful rolling farmland of the river Indre, acclaimed as the most beautiful landscape of all the rivers of the Loire Valley.
Depending on timing and inclination, we may be able to visit the Donjon in Loches on our arrival in town, or, if you prefer, a stroll around the royal residence, home of many French Kings, not to mention their wives and mistresses. There will also be more opportunity for these visits tomorrow morning as both are just a stroll (okay, a steep stroll) away from tonight’s hotel, the George Sands.
Day 5
Chateau Chenonceau (42 kms)
Before leaving Loches, we will attempt to fill any gaps left in your knowledge of its medieval royal buildings (possibly caused by indulging in an extra beer or two on the delightful terrace of the Georges Sands yesterday afternoon.) after which we will head back across country to the most visited of all Loire Châteaux, Chenonceau.
Built as a bridge over the Cher and surrounded by ornamental gardens and man-made moats, this château manages to live up to the usual French hyperbole of its website. It truly is unforgettable.
Most of the rooms are open, and this is a chance to see original floors, tapestries and furniture. In general French Châteaux don't have all the furnishings and interior detail that we often see in British castles. Chenonceau is a pleasant exception, and Louise of Lorraine's room, painted entirely in black with silver motifs of tears and crowns of thorns to mourn her dead husband, is especially memorable.
The ballroom, built by Catherine de Medici, spans the Cher in spectacular fashion, and although the Château had no military value it took on a gloomy historical role in the 20th century. First, it served as an army hospital in the First World War. Then, In the Second World War, the Cher was the boundary between Nazi-occupied France and Vichy France. Château Chenonceau was a border post, each end of the ballroom opening into a different country.
Leaving Chenonceau, we’ll cycle the 10 miles or so to the fabulous Royal Chateau of Amboise. Amboise is a lively, thriving little town with a medieval centre – you may think we’ve earned a cold drink in the square below the imposing Chateau, before we make our way to the Hotel Vinci.
Day 6
Upstream to Blois (41 kms)
From Amboise we follow delightful backroads to the Chateau of Chaumont. This is the Chateau that King Henry II’s mistress, Diane of Poitiers, was given as a consolation prize in exchange for Chenonceau.
It’s quite a consolation prize! The grounds are beautiful, the trees as good as an arboretum. The Chateau is lovely, too, with a fabulous stable block, but these days Chaumont is best-known for its garden festival.
From Chaumont we’ll cross over to the North bank of the river Loire for the first time, and cycle a lovely, flat leisurely 15 miles or so into the centre of Blois.
This afternoon we’ll visit the Chateau of Blois, in the centre of town. This is one of the largest and most magnificent of all the Loire Chateau, with 100 bedrooms and over 500 rooms ( I think only Chambord is bigger).
The Chateau was built, and added to, over a period of 400 years by various Kings, Queens and heirs. But the additions and extra wings were done with money and taste – not desperate repairs by impoverished minor royals! A really memorable building
Day 7
Chambord – The World’s Grandest Hunting Lodge (48 kms)
We leave Blois following the River Loire upstream, on a combination of small roads and cycle paths. But before we do, Saturday is market day in Blois. It boasts a particularly thriving local cheese selection. We cross the Loire at Muides-sur-Loire, and cycle through forests full of deer and wild boar on our way to the grandest Loire chateaux of them all, Chambord.
Chambord was built as a hunting lodge by Francois 1, King of France. The chateau itself is beautiful, the largest of all the Loire Chateau, featuring 365 chimneys. As well as exploring the chateau, we can access the roof by the amazing double-helix staircase, once thought to have been designed by Leonardo da Vinci. Two people can enter the staircase from opposite sides and descend to the ground floor without ever meeting.
Chambord sits within Europe’s longest wall, 34 Km long, enclosing the royal hunting grounds. Although we’ll see evidence of wild boar everywhere, they’re so shy that it’s difficult to see them. Dusk is the best option, and there are ‘hides’ dotted throughout the forest, but sadly we won’t be here at dusk!
We’ll leave Chambord, still cycling through hunting forest, as we make our way back along the River Cosson, and cross back into Blois and our hotel.
Day 8
Homeward bound
We're about a 45-minute drive from the TGV station at St Pierre des Corps, and a gentle departure time of 10.30 am from Saint Pierre allows for a decent breakfast and gets us back into Paris for late morning.
- 7 nights hotel accommodation
- Breakfast
- All evening meals
- Luggage transfers
- Route notes and maps
- Tour guide that accompanies the group
- Bike hire, with panniers, water bottle, helmet, etc.
- Details of all hotels and restaurants
- All routes available in GPS form
- Set transfer on arrival day from Saumur to the first hotel
- Set transfer on departure day from last hotel to Amboise train station
Not included:
E-bike rental: €190
We use Trek 7300 FX Hybrid 24 speed touring bike with aluminium frame and Shimano gear system.
You can rent an e-bike for a supplement of 190 euro.
One this tour the guide cycles with you, however each person has their own route details. There is no “sag” wagon as such but we can arrange to collect the weary!!
The maximum group size on these tours is fifteen people and one, sometimes two guides.
Comfortable cycling clothing – padded cycling shorts and cycling gloves are invaluable.
Training shoes are fine for cycling.
Hat, sunglasses, suntan lotion, swimwear.
Casual clothes for evening. You may be grateful for something warm with long sleeves.
Helmets, though not obligatory in France, are highly recommended. To be sure of comfort we suggest you bring your own helmet, however, in the event that you need a helmet, they are provided
Just to let you know that we had a really great holiday.
The hotels, accommodation and meals were all top rate. The bikes (all new) and other equipment- panniers etc were excellent.
We have been raving about our Loire tour since we came home and we are definitely looking forward to doing another next year.
Máire & Ger Buckley
Our tour was everything I expected! Pete McGee, the lead guide, was fun, personable, helpful, knowledgeable, and an all-around great guide. The Trek bikes in good condition,
All our hotels were quite comfortable, the evening meals were exquisite, the tour routes were picturesque and safe with minimal to no traffic.
Barbara Koppenhafer
We really enjoyed our bike trek. The region was really nice and the weather couldn’t have been better. All our accommodations were great and the staff at each one were very nice. The restaurants, were also very good and we really enjoyed all menus offered.
Elena Vazquez
We had a wonderful time on our tour. The Loire Valley is incredibly beautiful, with a fantastic combination of gorgeous chateaux, amazing history, lovely towns, charming people, stunning scenery, and of course, delicious wine.
Nancy Burns
I had a wonderful time on the Loire Valley Cycling Tour. I couldn't fault any part of it at all! The cycling program was fabulous, the bikes were almost new and in excellent condition. The accommodation and food were also excellent. Our guide was also excellent and the other cyclists were great company, too!
Hoping to do another cycling holiday next year.
Tess Maclaughlin
2025 GROUP TOUR
€2080 per person sharing
+€455 single room supplement
(if travelling on your own, we will endeavour to find a roommate for you)
Self Guided Tour Information
Self guided tour not available at the moment
How to get to the start point for Self guided:
We suggest flying to Paris and then take our set transfer from the train station (see below)
You will be met at Saumur at 18:40 by a tour representative who will be easily identifiable and brought by minibus to the starting point at Montreuil Bellay. Our transfer aims to leave Saumur station by 18:45.
For guided group tour : Transfers will be arranged from Angers train station
At the end of the week you will be brought to the train station Amboise for the departure to Paris Charles de Gaulle / Montparnasse and London (via Lille) at 11:01
For guided group tour : Transfers will be arranged from St Pierre des Corps train station
*Both transfers are included in the tour price.
Note: On the group tour the times shown are the only transfers we arrange , on self Guided tours you can arrive at any time at our designated train stations.
For more details please have a look at the tour dossier.
As always please contact us in the office for more information (info@cyclingsafaris.com).
Montreuil Bellay
Day 1: Relais du Bellay
Chinon
Day 2: Hotel de France
Azay-le-Rideau
Day 3: Hotel Des Chateaux
Loches
Day 4: Hotel Le George
Montrichard
Day 5: Hotel Bellevue
Chambord
Day 6: Hotel Saint Florent in Mont Pres Chambord
Amboise
Day 7: Best Weste Hotel la Vinci