Riverloire

The ultimate travel agency in the Loire Valley

Loire Valley Day tour

Chateau of Amboise in the Loire Valley

Highlights: 2 or 3 castles, wine tasting, private boat ride, cooking lesson with a private chef, visit of a goat farm, etc.... in fact everything you want !
Date: All year along
Transportation: Fully chauffeured private luxury car with your guide
Accommodation: N/A
 

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Overview

You don’t have much time, but there is this one castle you have always wanted to see, this wine you have heard so much about, this market/church/restaurant you just need to check while in France…You don't have to worry, we will organise it for you :

We will pick you up at 9:15am in a luxury Audi or Mercedes, directly at your hotel or guest house so that you don't have  wait for others to join before departing, (Yes , we know, many visitors complains about the "small group" tours, where you must follow the pace and spend the day waiting for the others passengers, crowed in a mini van... but this is NOT the idea of a private tour with Riverloire :).

 

Here are some great ideas of the day tours of the Loire Valley we organize :

 

The icons of the Loire Valley tour :

Visit the Chateau of Chambord and Chenonce and why not add a wine tasting in a private cellar, the visit of a goat farm or a private boat ride on the river with a glass of Vouvray ?

The craddle of the Renaissance tour :

The Royal castle of Amboise and Clos lucé, the last residence of Leonardo da VInci. Our friendly guide will walk with you in the charling litlle town of Amboise for a a true discovery of the Loire Valley culture and history.

Medieval times, costumes and wines of the Loire Valley :

The castle of Villandry and its beautiful gardens, Langeais and a tour int he wine country of Chinon and Bourgueil, some of the best wines of the Loire Valley !

A one day private cruise aboard a traditionnal boat privatized for you

The bargeman and the captain will be happy to welcome you onboard. You will discover the charm of the manual locks and you will have the opportunity to actually pass under the arches of the prestigious Chenonceau castle.

A private cooking Class with one of the best Chef of the Loire Valley. 

Yes, a Michelin star chef is a friend of us, and will share with you some of his secrets in the kitchen of a private manor ! While your "chef d'oeuvre" are baking, follow the landlord in his personnal and taste some great wine of the Loire Valley.Tell us about your secret dream and we will arrange a special day tour just for you, to make your Loire Valley dream comes true.

 

And many others  great sites of the Loire Valley, like Chateau de Blois, Chaumont, Cheverny or Azay le Rideau, or explore the wine areas of Vouvray, Montlouis, or Sancerre, or discover the Loire Valley from above with a hot air balloon ride or onboard an helicopter.

 

Tell us your dream, what you like and don't like. Claire, Josepha or Thierry will make you great suggestions for you memorable day tour in the Loire Valley. Challenge us !

 

 

 

Chenonceau - Amboise - vin.jpg


Itinerary

This day tour is one of our guest favorites, as it gives an overall view of the region, but once again, all our tours are custom made and we will be happy to craft a special itinerary just for you.

 

Willing to discover some of the greatest Loire Valley Chateaux and learn more about the French Renaissance? Then this tour is designed for you!

 

Morning:

A RiverLoire member will pick you up at Saint Pierre des Corps train station/ or your hotel and a short drive will lead you along the Cher River. You will start the day with a privately guided visit of the icon of the Loire Valley: the Chateau of Chenonceau.

Chenonceau is a supreme example of Renaissance architecture, set on its arches of stone, withstands the challenges of time. Inside, you will discover magnificent furniture. You will then appreciate the two lovely gardens, designed by Diane de Poitiers and Catherine de’ Medici.

 

 

Lunch:

 

Have lunch in Amboise at the foot of the castle and take a short walk in the pedestrian streets of this renaissance town.

Afternoon:

you will enjoy the private guided tour of the Royal Castle of Amboise. Built in the 15th and 16th centuries, this truly royal castle introduced Italian style and taste into the Loire Valley.

Then your guide will walk you to the Clos Lucé, Leonardo da Vinci’s last residence, located at 10 minutes’ walk from the castle of Amboise. The gardens and grounds display his inventions, a beautiful tribute to a genius.

Finally a short drive across the vineyards will lead us to Vouvray for a visit of a troglodyte wine cellar and a wine tasting, to beautifully finish the day !

Clos Lucé - vin.jpg


Price & inclusions

Each day tour is different with its own compenent, but the price of a typical day tour will start at € 190,00 per person on a basis of 4 persons.

 

It includes:

  • Welcome and pick-up at the train station or at your hotel by your private guide (remember, with Riverloire you don't have to go to a point of collect nor wait for other people)
  • All transportation in a deluxe vehicle
  • All the entrance fees
  • The gourmet lunch with drinks included
  • Wine tasting, as per the intinerary
  • Fees and taxes

Testimonials

If you’ve just returned from this “Loire Valley Day tour” tour we’d love to hear from you...

We were thrilled with our tour of Chambord and Chenonceau with RiverLoire. Our guide, Mathieu, was engaging, knowledgeable, entertaining and willing to accommodate our specific requests. He picked us up at our cottage and delivered us back, tired but content. The lunch was perhaps our best meal in our two-week trip to France. We would recommend RiverLoire to make your visit to the Loire even more memorable.

Phillip (USA), a tripadvisor review (5 stars) - September 2018

Spent a wonderful morning making four “finger foods” with one star Michelin Chef Maignant. He and his wife had everything organized so the preparation went very smoothly. We were able to get hands on experience and even learned some knife skills. The recipes are things I will definitely make at home. Several can be made ahead and frozen to allow for last minute entertaining. When the two hour class was finished Thierry gave us a tour, tasting and talk about the Loire wine region. A perfectly planned morning from the moment we were picked up to drop off at our apartment in Amboise.

Tenna (USA), a tripadvisor review (5 stars) - September 2018

We booked a private tour with RiverLoire only a week before we arrived, based on their amazing website. They offered multiple 1-day or 2-day tours of the Loire Valley. We chose a 1-day tour which included the Chateau de Villandry, the Chateau of Azay-le-Rideau, and the Chateau of Langeais. Audrey was our tour guide and she picked us up at our hotel. Audrey was an excellent guide! Very friendly! Great personality! She shared her knowledge of the 3 chateaus - their history, their architecture, their furnishings.
We wish we could have spent more time in the Loire Valley. We highly recommend RiverLoire! We hope to visit the Loire Valley again and we'll definitely book another tour with RiverLoire!

Kathy and Matt (USA), a review from TripAdvisor (5 stars) - October 2017

The tour exceeded our expectations and our guide Audrey was excellent in all respects, knowledge, personality, energy, English, driving, punctuality and love of France!

Beth, Michael, Nicolas & Bethany (USA) - March 2017

Dear Claire
I want to thank you for the tour of Château Chambord and Château Chenonceau. Especially I want to thank Florence. She has made the tour so enriching for me and my wife. she is knowledgable, patient, thoughtful and polite. My thanks to Florence fo being such a great tour guide for us !

Tom and Fung Fung (Singapore) - May 2016

The one day tour with Mathieu was fantastic, our children especially enjoyed the sword fighting ! Thank you !

Claire (Australia) - December 2015

My husband and I booked a private day tour that allowed us to explore the Chateaux of Chambord and Chenonceau. From the time I contacted Claire at Riverloire to inquire about our day trip to the very end of our day tour when Manon ensured we got to the correct train, our experience with Riverloire was first class.

On the planning end we received the best customer service from Claire who was friendly, prompt in responding to our emails and was more than accommodating in booking our lunch reservations at Domaine des Hautes de Loire as my husband and I are big foodies and wanted to experience this Michelin 2 Star restaurant during our brief time in the Loire Valley.

The day of our tour Manon met us at the door step of our train cart and from there the day was just perfect. Manon was friendly, professional and extremely knowledgeable about the region as she is a resident of Amboise. She is a true educator as she provided my husband and I an extensive history of what the era was like as well as interesting facts about the owners of each of the châteaux’s we visited. Manon was also kind enough to take photos of my husband at each of the chateaux which was greatly appreciated.

Another thing worth mentioning is we were not chauffeured around in minivan or bus but rather a stylish Audi allroad. My husband and I will not think twice about booking tours with Riverloire in the future as they know how to provide a first class experience from beginning to end and all for a reasonable cost.

Brandie (USA) - July 2015

Hello Claire,
I am sorry it has taken me a little while to write this email but I would be remiss if I did not tell you how happy we were with our Wine and Chateau Tour.
It was the highlight of your trip. Everything was handled professionally and efficiently and once we arrived at the train station it was great not to have to worry about another thing but enjoying the day.
The tour was perfect. Both chateau were exceptional and the lunch at L'Orangerie was our best meal of the trip!
Now to talk about Matilda. She was superb. She is a lovely, sweet, knowledgeable professional and made our day. She is also a very good driver. What we experienced in the Loire Valley was wonderful but made so much better by this personable young woman. Kudos to her and to your company for hiring her!
Thank you again for the wonderful service and the wonderful tour and tell Matilda I said hello. Remind her that we are the group that gave her the Tootsie Roll Pops !

Joelle (USA) - October 2014

I had one and a half days to visit the castles in the Loire Valley. I took the train from Paris on Friday night and returned on Sunday afternoon. I arranged a private car and driver through Riverloire agency.
All the arrangements were handled very efficiently and smoothly.
We visited Chambord the oldest of the castles. Menon had lots of interesting information to share about the history of the castle. We also went to Chevrny. Probably the best preserved castle. Chenonceau was of course the highlight of the tour. It is a beautiful castle than spans the River Cher.
Menon again had lots of interesting information that you might not otherwise have learned including the role Chenonceau played during World War II helping refugees escape the Nazis. As a side note, I asked Menon to join me for lunch both days. She was a great lunch companion as I was alone on this tour. We both love French food and were able to discuss the cuisine. Overall I would say hiring a private car and driver was well worth it if you have limited time.
Riverloire does an excellent job and will tailor the itinerary to your needs. I would highly recommend Amboise as your port of call. It is central in the Loire Valley. Easy to get to on a direct train from Paris. Lots of shopping, restaurants and the beautiful Amboise Castle which is worth seeing along with Leonardo da Vinci's home.

Claire (USA) - July 2014

I would like to say visiting your beautiful Loire Valley was the high-light of our trip.
We have never taken a private tour and very excited to experience a first class tour with a knowledgeable guide and without the stress of driving and line-ups.
Manon, our guide, was a lovely girl who made our day interesting and most enjoyable. She was passionate about the history and when she realized we wanted to know everything, she was willing and eager to share her detailed knowledge. We loved to listen to her stories, we loved to imagine what it was like to live back in those days. I appreciated her genuine interest and the passion she displayed during our tour.

Sarah (USA) - May 2014

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