Budapest, Prague and the Loire Valley trip planning

MomtheGray
Mon, 25 Jan 2016 00:55:46 +0000

Seeing this thread makes me think about fields of sunflowers instead of 2 ft of snow! We spent a couple of days in Loire Valley in ‘13 on family trip. We rented car and drove from CDG. If you want an automatic, I’d suggest renting early as numbers are limited and the get more expensive during peak travel times.

We stopped at Guedelon Castle on the way – fascinating historical/ archeological project of building a 13th century castle with 13th century technology. Can see it and arrive in Loire in one day if that is of interest.

I think Chenonceaux and Villandry should definitely be on a list but our absolute favorite was Chaumont-sur-Loire. The grounds and many of the rooms in the chateaux are an art gallery – beautiful, evocative installations. The gardens are huge, varied and host an international garden festival. We would have missed it if not for the recommendation of the owner of the gite we stayed in.

Would also suggest exploring ‘gites-de-france’ for accommodations. They vary in refinement but we stayed in a lovely one near Loche, which is a small medieval-walled city worth exploring.