Valley of the Chateaux

For 200 years, the kings of France outdid one another as they built palaces along the Loire Valley. Bicycle to Amboise, Chenonceau (where gay Henri III held drag parties), and Azay-le-Rideau.

Highlights

• Visit the elegant chateau of Chaumont, towering on cliffs above the Loire River.
• Picnic with the black swans of Chenonceau chateau, once home to Catherine de Medici, perched on stone pillars over the river Cher.
• Stroll the celebrated 3-tiered terraced gardens at Villandry.
• Ride through a troglodyte village near the riverfront town of Azay-le-Rideau.
• Cool off in one of our secret swimming spots.
• Pause and dream on the edge of Chinon Forest at Usse, the storybook castle that inspired the legend of Sleeping Beauty.
• Bike past sunflowers, vineyards, and a solitary windmill, to the pastoral abbey at Fontevraud, Eleanor of Aquitaine’s final resting place.
• Roam the historic ruins of Chinon, once a Roman stronghold, later the chateau-fort where Joan of Arc changed the course of French history.

Bicycle to France’s better homes and gardens — and a millennium of French history

For two centuries, the kings of France outdid one another as they built palaces and chateaus along the Loire Valley. Our bicycling week begins in Blois, at a chateau constructed over four distinct and romantic periods of French history. We’ll enjoy a festive French dinner, and those with extra energy can explore the regional nightlife.

Then we begin bicycling. Each day you’ll discover the distinct personality of a new chateau, from the grandeur of Amboise to the elegance of Chenonceau (where gay Henri III held drag parties — a fact omitted from most guidebooks!) and the enchantment of Azay-le-Rideau. Between castles, you’ll realize why bicycling is such a perfect way to travel on a vacation in France. Pullover with ease for a quick swim in a solitary woods, or at a café on a cobblestoned street, in a whitewashed village where time seems to have stopped.