My husband and I will be in the Loire Valley for 5 nights in May. I am thinking of a day trip to either Chinon or Loches. I understand that Chinon Castle is under quite a bit of renovation. Is this true and is so much of the castle under plastic that it won't be enjoyable? Has anyone been there recently? Also, given a choice, which castle is more worthwhile to see? I am also planning a day trip to Angers to see the castle and tapestry there. Are 2 of these 3 too many medieval chateaux for one trip? Thanks, Jean

I confess that while I've been to both Chinon and Loches, I haven't been to either chateau. (On our trips to the Loire, I've found myself suffering castle burnout after a few days.) Both towns are lovely, and set in beautiful countryside.

Where are you staying? Will you be seeing other chateaus besides the three you mention here?

I believe one of the regulars on this forum, who is in France right now, will be staying in Chinon for a week or so. She will be back in about three weeks and maybe she'll have the latest word on the state of the Chinon chateau.

We spent 4 nights in the Loire Valley in June and visited the chateaux at Amboise, Blois, Chenonceau, Chinon, and Saumur. I think I enjoyed Blois and Chenonceau the most. Initially, Chinon was disappointing because much of it was under reconstruction. However, on walking around, I realized its grandeur from its size, its hill-top location, and the really beautiful valley and medieval village below. It would have been much more enjoyable, though, if the reconstruction was done.

I don't know how often chateaux in France close for reconstruction and I didn't think it happened frequently. However, I wish we had checked the chateau at Saumur before driving for 2 hours to find that it was closed for remodeling! All we could do was to look at its exterior longingly... By the way, if you go to Chenonceau, rent the audio guide. It adds much more to your enjoyment. I actually downloaded it to our mp3 player before leaving the states so we saved some euros for 4 people.

My choice would be Chinon.
Chinon as a whole - the medieval town, the hill, the view of surrounding vineyards, etc. - may be more interesting than the castle.
Chinon is also a great base as it is surrounded by many points of interest: the Ussé castle, villages of Montsoreau and Candes St Martin, Abbaye de Fontevraud, etc.
As for a choie of castle visits, not knowing where else you will be, I would suggest a number of castles offering differing elements of interst. My list of must-see's would be: Chenonceau, Azay le Rideau, Villandry.
O why bother? just shoot me. France just lost.

Thanks for your advice everyone. We are staying in Amboise. My plan was: one day in Angers, one day in either Loches or Chinon, one day on a minibus tour of Azay-le-Rideau, Villandry, Chenonceau, and Chambord, one day (Sunday) in Amboise. Monday we head for Paris. I also was thinking of maybe renting a bike in Saumur and taking in some troglodyte dwellings on either days 1 or 2, so thanks for the info on the reconstruction work there. When we went to Sicily in May 2006, two of the best sites were under plastic and it is very disheartening to get there and then look at plastic sheeting. Does anyone know how long the reconstruction work in Chinon and Saumur will take as we are not going until May?

Flennie: Where did you get a download of the audio guide for Chenonceau?

Jean

Chinon is under renovation for the rest of the year,but will remain open to the public. The only cancellation is the play of the enfants du roi.

At Saumur, the renovation is complete as of june 2007. it was the remparts or alleys around the chateau which were reinforce.

JeanR you have a very nice plan. Amboise is great to be base on,see the marche next tot he chateau, as well as the Leonardo DaVinci house now a museum with some of his creations spread out over a park. I still take Chinon over Loches,tough choice.

I will be in Blois,Chambord, Cheverny,and Beauregard for the first week of November myself if anybody is the area. I live about 2 hrs from there.

I vote for Loches, given all the variables. The Logis Royal, the church, and the old donjon up in the cité médiévale at Loches are impressive, the the town down below is very animated, especially on Saturdays and Wednesdays (market days). Views over the town from the towers of the donjon and the grounds of the Logis Royal are fantastic.

Loches is much closer to Amboise than Chinon is, so for a one-day trip it makes a lot more sense. If you'll have a car, there are three or four other sights to see near Loches: the château de Montpoupon, the Chartreuse du Liget, the medieval farm at La Corroirie, and the village (l'un des plus beaux...), church, and château at Montrésor.

Chinon is great but is on the other side of the city of Tours from Amboise. It's a trek. The château at Chinon is in ruins to start with, and if it's also under construction right now you'll do a lot better with Loches. Chinon and Loches are comparable towns in terms of history, population, and countryside.

I have a lot of photos and descriptions of Loches on my blog, because it's close to Saint-Aignan, where I live. I also have some material on Chinon on the blog. Use the search feature or index to find it.

Pedmar, I'm going to miss you when you come to Blois etc.: I leave for three weeks in the U.S. on Oct. 28. Ken

I haven't been to Loches, but Shannon and I went to Chinon one day in September, and we both really liked the town. The streets were narrow and quiet, and it had a good 'feel' to it.

We went up to the castle, and while there wasn't much to see of it during the reconstruction, we enjoyed walking on the ramparts and the stunning views. The tower has a interesting museum dedicated to Jean d'Arc, and again, some great views from the top.

Like Chris, we were suffering chateaux-fatigue after visiting Chenonceau, Chaumont, and Chambord, so we didn't mind there not being much to tour through at Chinon.

I agree that Chinon is a trek from Amboise, though. It was a pretty drive through extensive forests and small villages, but still a lot of time in the car.

Here is the link to Chenonceau's audio guide download. It costs 3e, but you can copy to any number of mp3 players. We also stayed near Amboise on our trip. It was definitely a long drive to Saumur from there, which made the castle's closure more disappointing. If I knew how long the drive was, I would have chosen another more close by castle. The scenery was nice, but I preferred to spend 2 hrs of my time in France inside a castle than on the road. One redeeming part of that trip was that we stopped near Turquant to gaze at troglodyte dwellings, which was quite interesting. The ruins at Chinon was not exactly what I expected in a castle, but we stopped there on the way back as I was determined to see a "medieval" castle, which I missed at Saumur. You can easily get burned out from "castle-hopping" in the Loire Valley as there are so many of them. I had the urge to go to as many as I could, but my 2 teenagers and husband (wisely) stopped us from doing so. I think you will enjoy your trip in the Loire Valley with a variety of activities (castles, vineyards, troglodyte dwellings, markets). But whatever you do, you'll have a great time there.

Thanks so much for your all your input. I have been told before that you can burn out from too many chateau. I have read in Fodors that Turpuant was very interesting but as I am relying on public transportation, that may take more time to get there and back to Amboise than it is worth. I guess I have some thinking to do for that day. Thanks again, Jean.

Ah. You won't have a car. That does complicate things. How were you going to get to Chinon or Loches? Are there buses?

I think you could have a splendid day in Loches, if that is convenient transportation-wise. I remember a day we went for lunch at the Hotel George Sand in Loches, then just walked around exploring, never making it to the chateau at the top of town. It's a very pleasant town, and I highly recommend the George Sand for lunch.

Tours, Blois, or Chartres would also be worth a day, if transportation is convenient. There's an amazing crafts guild museum in Tours, the Musee du Compagnonnage.

According to the SNCF.com web site, it takes about the same amount of time to go from Amboise to Loches or to Chinon -- that is, 90 mins. to two hours, depending on the train and connections. Either way, you have to go through Tours (or St-Pierre-des-Corps, which is the TGV station in the suburbs of Tours). There are trains out of Amboise between 8 and 9 a.m. to either Loches or Chinon, and trains that get you back to Amboise between 7 and 9 p.m.

Driving, Loches is closer. By train, it's about the same to Loches or Chinon. That probably makes the decision harder...

By the way, the Amboise train station is not in the town but on the other side of the river, a ways north of town. There must be buses to get you there, or taxis.

Ken: Thank you so much for your link to your blog. It is most interesting. Everyone has given me a lot more to think about. Jean R.

quote:

Pedmar, I'm going to miss you when you come to Blois etc.: I leave for three weeks in the U.S. on Oct. 28. Ken

We are scribbling enough in the area, it will be one of these days Ken. Will be a pleasure.

Have a great trip to the US, I was there in July. Back again in 2008 for the summer.