Travel
Information
Season: March to late October. Departure days:
Wednesday, Friday and Sunday (other days on request).
Arrival: Between 4pm and 7pm on first day at the first hotel in
Amboise. Amboise is reached by direct non-TGV train from Paris Gare
d'Austerlitz (2 hours). These rail tickets are included in the Air
Travel package. You will receive up-to-date train times for your date of
travel, or alternatively you can visit Rail Europe's website at
www.sncf.com.
At
Amboise it is 15 minutes walk or a short taxi ride to the hotel (not
included). There is a public phone close to the station.
Car parking available in Amboise.
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 ORLY airport), (b) CDG airport
(about 2 hours) and (c) Paris (for Eurostar to London St Pancras, about
5 hours). Seat reservations are obligatory on TGV trains and a
supplementary fare is payable for this.
Level of Difficulty
Grade: We grade this tour as easy to moderate; the region is hilly
but there are no prolonged ascents or descents and few steep gradients.
Several of the days are however fairly long and prospective customers
should bear this fact in mind. See distances in daily itinerary below.
Fitness: This
walk should present no difficulties for anyone in reasonable condition
and accustomed to walking around 20km (12miles) on generally good trails.
Day stages: In
the region of 15km to 27km per day with little altitude gain, 5 to 7
hours walking per day.
Waymarks: The
trail follows in the main well-established paths, many of them with the
distinctive white/red/white GR waymarks, and presents no special
difficulties in normal conditions. Some of the forest trails can be
muddy after rain.
General Information
Hotels:
The hotels described are our usual choice of accommodation, however if
these are not available then alternatives are used and if these are of a
different standard you will be informed at the time of booking.
Baths/showers: Many rooms with ensuite/private
facilities have a shower rather than a bath, usually because of limited
space. Some hotels/guesthouses may however have a separate room in the
house where a bath is available to guests.
Breakfast:
In countries such as France is usually coffee and toast/bread/croissant,
if you want more for breakfast then we would suggest you purchase some
food the night before.
Special
Dietary Requirements: It is
important for you to tell us if you have any dietary requirements when
you book your holiday so that we can inform everyone that you are
staying with.
Single
Supplements: are payable on most of
our tours. The single
supplement guarantees the privacy of your own room, however, rooms can
at times be small and in some places may not enjoy the same facilities
as double/twin rooms.
Solo
Traveller Supplements: are payable
when the cost per bag of moving luggage increases.
Language:
When
travelling in less frequented areas you will not necessarily come
across people speaking English. Remember you are experiencing a
different culture, buy a phrase book and try to learn a little of the
local language!
Luggage:
When staying in hotels, sometimes
your luggage will have been taken to you room awaiting your arrival.
However don’t be surprised if your luggage is waiting for you to take
it up to your room. Please politely ask someone if you need assistance.
Route
Notes: Please note that one set of
route notes per room booked is included in the cost of the holiday. If
you require more sets of notes then there is a charge of £25 per set
ordered.
Route notes are not issued to clients booking escorted departures.
Insurance:
All clients must have appropriate cover for the activities included for
the duration of our trip.
|
Accommodation & Meals
Accommodation
is on a half board basis on 5 evenings in country inns (several of them
2* & 3* Logis de France
approved) with one night in a well-appointed annex of one of the Relais
et Chateaux chain of hotels. On two nights bed and breakfast only are
included; on these nights an evening meal can be obtained close by.
Picnic lunches are not included in the tour cost but are
available from hotels at a cost of approx10 Euros; alternatively picnic
materials can be bought at each of the towns and villages along the
route. We indicate in the route notes where there are suitable
restaurants or cafes for lunch stops, or recommend you carry food if
there are none convenient to the trail.
An
upgrade to a 3* hotel is possible in Chenonceau. Supplement 38 Euros per person/per night in a double room. This charming hotel, where
your hosts will kindly welcome you, is located 150 metres away from the
Chateau de Chenonceau. Celebrities such as Eleanor Roosevelt,
Harry Truman, Churchill, Rockefeller and many others stayed under this
very roof. You will enjoy the swimming pool in a peaceful garden
and taste all the local delights at the restaurant.
q
Night 1: A fine
provincial wood beamed 2* Logis de France hotel at the heart of the
historic town of Amboise, a short walk from Le Clos Luce, Leonardo da
Vinci's last residence which contains a museum of models based on his
designs. This was where he unenthusiastically sold his beloved Mona Lisa
painting to the King of France. Half board (dinner at nearby
restaurant).
q
Night 2: A
comfortable 2* Logis de France hotel in Chenonceau, with wonderful
exposed beams and a magnificent fireplace in the dining room. The
cuisine here is famed for its quality. Half board.
q
Night 3: A
well-appointed riverside annex of the Chateau d'Artigny, one of the
famous 'Relais et Chateaux' group of hotels. Dinner and breakfast in the
chateau itself, which is situated on a bluff with a fine view over the
river Indre. The dinner has to be seen to be believed: an amazing
assault on the senses! Shirt and tie are seriously recommended, as is a
good penchant for wines.
q
Night 4:
Azay-le-Rideau. The hotel is set in a semi pedestrian street in
the heart of this charming village and just 50 metres from the elegant
chateau. You will find here, the charm of the past combined with
the comfort of today. The 18th century house was built in a style
typical of the Tours area. One of the features of the hotel is the
19th century school, situated across the flower decked patio and which,
like the rest of the hotel, has been tastefully transformed into
delightful accommodation. Bed and breakfast only included; there is a
choice of places to take your evening meal.
q
Night 5: Chinon.
The hotel has the charm of an authentic dwelling-place built in the
fifteenth century and modified in the eighteenth century. It is
just a few hundred metres from the town centre, the medieval quarter and
the chateau. Half board.
q
Night 6:
Fontevraud. The estate is a charming country house built with
luminous limestone of the Loire Valley. The oldest part as well as
the tithe barn date from the 13th century. This agricultural
estate was owned by the same family from the beginning of the 18th
century. After being entirely renovated, they now receive guests
in a fine, elegant and comfortable atmosphere. Half board.
q
Night 7: A
small hotel (2* Logis) in the centre of the historic town of Saumur on
the banks of the Loire, close to the old town and the chateau. Bed and breakfast is included; there is a wide choice of
restaurants nearby for that final dinner.
Outline Itinerary
The
following itinerary is included as a working guide only and may be
subject to variation depending on the weather and other factors. Time is
allowed to visit chateaux and other sites of interest along the way, but
entry fees are not included
in the tour price.
q
Day 1: Travel
to Amboise. The old town boasts the still impressive remnants of what
was a magnificent chateau as well as Le Clos Luce, a redbrick manor
house that was the home of the great inventor 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.
Overnight in Amboise, a picturesque town on the south bank of the
Loire.
q
Day 2: Walking
through the Foret d’Amboise to Chenonceau where you can have lunch and
then spend the rest of the day visiting one of the very finest of the
Loire chateaux, the ‘chateau shaped by women’ which ‘stretches
across the River Cher in a perfect harmony of water, greenery, gardens
and trees in a fine natural setting’. A visit takes up to 2 hours.
About 4 hours walking to Chenonceau.
q
Day 3: From
Chenonceau we start with a short drive (included in tour price) through
farmland from the valley of the Cher to that of the Indre and the
village of Reignac. The route then follows the GR46 along the valley,
through fields of sunflowers to the village of Montbazon on the edge of
the city of Tours. A highlight of the day is the ancient Gallo-Roman
bridge, which carries the GR41 (here a narrow mule path through a
forest), across a tributary of the Indre. The last part of the day from
Veigne to Montbazon is rather suburban and can be avoided by taking a
short taxi ride from Veigne. About 6.5 hours walking, 26km (16.25miles)
can be shortened to 20.5km (12.8 miles) - 5 hours by taking taxi from
Veigne on to Montbazon.
q
Day 4: Today
there are two alternatives: the first is to follow the GR3
(long-distance trail extending the entire length of the Loire valley)
from Montbazon along the banks of the Indre 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. 26.5km (16.6 miles) - 6 hours.
The other alternative is to hire a taxi (about 35 Euros) to take
you from Montbazon to the celebrated gardens at Villandry, one of the
wonders of France. From Villandry it is about 3.5 hours walk past the
confluence of the Rivers Cher and Loire and along picturesque woodland
paths and quiet roads to Azay le Rideau. 14.5km (9.1 miles) - 3.5hours. 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 is
highly recommended for a delightful and memorable, if relatively
expensive, stroll after dinner. Overnight at Azay-le-Rideau.
q
Day 5: There is
time for a brief daytime visit to the chateau of Azay, one of the gems
of the Renaissance, before continuing our walk by way of the tiny
village of St Benoit-la-Foret set in the midst of the vast forest of
Chinon and on to Chinon itself, a mediaeval town dominated by the
walls of its ruined castle and the centre of a well-known wine-growing
region. At 27 km (17 miles) this is the longest day of the tour,
requiring at least 7 hours over undulating terrain. Overnight at Chinon.
q
Day 6: After
visiting the chateau and its Jeanne d'Arc museum (1 to 2 hours) you
cross the river Vienne and follow its left bank downstream for a few
km before striking off across 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. Overnight near Fontevraud. 16km (10 miles) - 4 hours approx.
q
Day 7: We
continue our walk to Montsoreau, at the confluence of the Vienne and the
Loire, where the caves in the river cliffs are used for mushroom
cultivation. From Montsoreau we continue through vineyards along the
steep south bank of the Loire to Saumur, famous for its wines, its cavalry
school, and its chateau overlooking the Loire. 20.5km (12.8 miles) - 5
hours. Overnight at Saumur. Bed and breakfast only.
q
Day
8:
End of tour. Return by train from Saumur to Paris via Tours or Angers.
On the way, if you have time, take the opportunity to break your journey
and visit one of the historic cities of Angers, Tours or Blois.
Escorted Departure 2012
EJLV21:
Saturday 21 April - Saturday 28 April
EJLV08:
Saturday 8 September - Saturday 15 September |
