Loire Valley Castles Small-group Guided Day Trip From Paris

Our guide Serge was amazing, smart, funny, and organized. Highly recommend Serge, he made the trip worth it!!

With the unfortunate last-minute cancellation of a long-standing Loire Castles tour reservation by another ground operator, we pivoted quickly to FRANCE TOURISM for a replacement. The result was much better than we expected for such short notice. Our driver/tour guide, Tim (I think?), was exceptional. He was very professional, well informed and articulate in three languages. He was very sensitive to my slow walking pace, keeping an eye on my wife and I when we got separated from our group (only 5 people total). While we focused our trip on Paris, this Loire Castles tour brought the perfect “royal” dimension to our 10 days in France. The three castles we visited were all different and unique from the ground up: history, backstory, gardens, out-buildings, exteriors, interiors, furnishings all combined to deliver a memorable perspective to our “bucket list” experience. We would definitely recommend Tim and FRANCE TOURISM for this tour. Michael & Cynthia McDowell, Austin, Texas

We really enjoyed the visit. Great locations, perfect scheduling and a thorough guide. Would recommend it to a friend!

We visited the 3 castles with enough time for each one, and with the included admission it was well worth it.

Serge was engaging, knowledgeable and communicative, not to mention very fluent in 3 (!) languages. Visits were all well timed, though Chambord chateau might be better to see first rather than last because it has much more to see.

I was very disappointed in the tour guide. We all were. He didn’t even bother to learn the six names of the people in his van and kept calling us as a group “lady”. (even though I pointed this out to him several times.). He must be new with the job because he read the information as we arrived at each destination. He knew nothing about the surrounding areas or any of the interesting buildings. Certainly not the quality of my past Viator To make matters worse. A person on the sidewalk wanted to join us and he took her into the Local tourism office where she paid $100 less than we did. Lastly, this tour director doesn’t seem to have the love of the Craft and it showed. No enthusiasm, no smiles no interest in improving himself.

Our guide Tim was Great! We really enjoyed the three different Chateaus and the history of each! Also enjoyed the drive through the Loire Valley

Remy was very nice, enthusiastic and knowledgeable. It was a long time to/from the Loire Valley in the van. We had plenty of time in the castles - each different but very beautiful and worth seeing. Only critique: Remy had to divide his time between 3 segments of our group who all spoke different languages and no common tongue.

Lovely day at the castles! Well organized and Gabriel, our guide, was very informative. My daughter and I enjoyed walking through the castles on our own.

We had a great day. So nice to have all the logistics taken care of and recommendations of where to go, what to eat, and favorite souvenirs. It was great to have the minivan with good AC when it was very very hot.

Everything was ok on the day of. The company had canceled my original slot with less than 24 hours notice and having already been billed because “they didn’t have enough other people going that day.” After rescheduling, day of activity had 6 people total going. So I don’t know what the threshold is for them to cancel so late. I was lucky I had a single other day I was available so I was still able to do the trip. The tour guide was more of just a driver since they didn’t share info about any of the places traveled to. On the actual day of the experience was good. However due to the late cancellation I cannot recommend it.

A prefect day spent discovering these amazing castles. Everything was spot on. The coach was brand new, comfortable and air conditioned. Our guide Remy very knowledgable and polite was introducing the history of the castles before arriving in the coach. We enjoyed being given the freedom to spend our visit as we wished. Everything was well paced, although sometimes a little bit rushed- but of course that's the compromise to make when 3 castles are in the program!

Tim, our driver, was knowledgeable and friendly. We toured three castles and had ample time to explore each one. The castles were beautiful and picturesque with each one having a different flavor.

Great to travel with a small group. Remy was great guide and helped us navigate long line-up during a long weekend. He provide interesting information about the three amazing and quite different chateaux we visited. Wow, the architecture, size of 'hunting lodges' and gardens were great. Thanks Remy

It's a long day but well worth it to see 3 incredible chateaus. Each one is unique and you get a chance to see different types of chateaus.

The day was fine. The guide spoke better Spanish than English. The last and biggest castle (beauty and the beast) was disappointing inside. Very few furnishings and run down.

It was a beautiful trip even on an overcast and rainy day! It’s a lot of walking but worth it to see such beautiful places. My parents (who are in their 80’s) were with us highly benefited from the use of complimentary wheel chairs available at the last castle. My watch said it was a 17,000 step day. The castles are all very different and beautiful. Andreas did a great job driving and sharing information as well as helping ensure my parents were comfortable throughout the day. This would likely not be good for young children.

Long day. No specific time for lunch. Chateaus were spectacular. Well worth the hours getting from and to Paris. Our guide Reneau was excellent. Very knowledgeable and helpful!

Our tour guide Florian was wonderful. He was patient and informative. One thing I would like to note is that this was the first time we chose an English speaking tour but they included multiple other languages on the same tour. We have never experienced that on any other tour and it was a bit disappointing, however that is no reflection on Florian, he did wonderfully, it just made the tour seem very rehearsed.

Fantastic small group experience with more than adequate time at each chateau. Jean Baptiste was a wonderful guide. Highly recommend.

I did a similar tour 20 years ago with my mom and remembered enjoying the experience, so I was excited to share the same chateaus with my husband. Our tour was a slightly beat-up and dirty van with 8 seats (plus a driver). My husband and I were in the front row with a hump in the middle floor. It was a cramped fit. The people in the 2nd and 3rd row looked similarly squished shoulder to shoulder. Given that the trip is 300 miles of travel in a 12-hour day, I expected a more comfortable vehicle. The windshield was bug-spattered so it was hard to see the countryside clearly. As noted in the description, the tour includes entrance fees to the 3 chateaus. The driver doesn't provide any guided tours. I'm sure there are some interesting stories and history to learn, but we were on our own to explore. The tour company didn't organize or plan a lunch stop. The driver suggested a place in a small town we passed through, but it was closed so he just picked another spot at random. The restaurant only offered a veal dish and a beef dish. My husband is vegetarian so we left the group to find something else. Even though the price of lunch is not included in the tour, it would be much better if the company researched an optimum lunch location with options for everyone. The meeting location was easy to find and conveniently located near the Louvre and a metro spot. We returned about 30 minutes late due to excessive city traffic and an odd detour around the Arc de Triomphe. I'm not sure if the return route was intended as a way to show us part of the City or required due to a road closure.

Undoubtedly a long day but beautiful sites with the right amount of time at each. Not rushed and not wasting time until the next one. Tour guide Remy was delightful and helpful. Highly recommended

Great overview tour of the three chateaus. Of course, one could stay for a day or more at each to tour the gardens but this is a great tour of the buildings. Our driver was knowledgeable and spoke at least 3 languages. The van was clean and comfortable.

Efficient, with just enough time at each castle to enjoy. Long day, so bring a pillow to sleep in the minivan. Well worth it.

Beautiful chateaus . The tour guide was really informative and friendly . The day was lovely . It’s a long day - 12 hours so be prepared for a long day - however they stopped for coffee and then there’s also a lunch break .

Philipe was our guide for this tour and did a wonderful job. He was able to get us to all three castles after an unfortunate mechanical issue that occurred early in our trip. He’s very knowledgeable of the area and very informative. He also is very open to questions And generally just a great guy. Thanks Philippe for all you did for us.

This tour was amazing - our tour operator, Nicholas, was very professional, knowledgeable and made the trip very easy for us. Overall, highly recommended.

Our guide Michel planned a wonderful day and shared helpful information for each castle. We enjoyed our time. Going with a small group and meeting others was fun too.

We really enjoyed the day. Our guide was very friendly and d informative and made sure everyone was comfortable throughout the experience.

It's a full day of three remarkable castles. Our chatty guide was loaded with fine details and made the go by easily. Nice to get his take on many issues.

Phillipe was amazing! A tour guide that spoke in three different languages - spectacular. It didn't appear anyone missed anything being said as Phillipe was able to seamlessly describe everything to everyone. It is an early morning, and apparently cafe's do not open in Paris before 7/ 7:30am. The tour did start promptly, which was appreciated. There were several tours leaving at that time. We stopped en route about 1.5 hours in at an en route station that had delicious pastries. Just get two each to start. They are that good. First stop was Chateau de Chevereny. The entire castle was beautiful. The history is interesting. This was a spectacular place to stop. Second stop was Chenonceau. This could have been skipped. The visit to the chateau is very structured, and there were Easter decorations everywhere. Despite the gardeners that were clearly working away, many of the flower beds and kitchen garden seemed overgrown. It would have been nice to spend more time at Chevereny , and the third stop Chambord. Lunch was delicious at a lovely little restaurant as well. Chateau de Chambord's engineering and architecture were a marvel. Upon first approach you don't think you will have enough time to see everything. There is Soo much closed inside and it is largely empty. The histopad was sub par. There were only a few rooms that had a decent depiction of what the room looked like. The best part of touring inside was getting to the floors that had a terrace to overlook the estate. More time spent on the estate would have been valuable. 2 hour drive back to Paris and the day was done. The small group tour was valuable. Definitely worth the extra. A knowledgeable and courteous guide was so appreciated. I would definitely recommend Phillipe! Enjoy the splendor or a very small portion of the Loire Valley with this day trip!

Our guide for the Loire Valley was Nicholaus, who was excellent. He was both the driver and guide. It was a small group of 8 people in a passenger van which was very comfortable. Nicholaus was very knowledgeable but I was disappointed he didn’t enter any of the castles with us. He tried to tell us what was important before we entered, but it would have been so much better with him. The 2 smaller castles were lovely and we had time to walk the grounds which was enjoyable. The 3rd and largest castle was a bit of a disappointment because it has 500 rooms and is basically empty. Although the architecture was impressive, I could have just looked at it from the outside and been just as impressed. There’s barely time to walk through it, and no time for the grounds. I think I would rather just do the 2 castles with more time for them and drop the 3rd from the tour. You would also probably get back to the city sooner. All in all, still a good day and tour.

Good trip. Great chateaux. It was a long day with more driving than touring but that is due to distance from Paris. Stopped for a nice lunch at a building that was 1000 years old.

10/10 would recommend to anyone visiting Paris. A beautiful day trip to see the gorgeous Loire valley and three stunning castles. Our driver, Roland, was so nice, knowledgeable and fun to spend the day with…a perfect day in France! Thank you!

Overall a great excursion. Good amount of time at Chenonceau. Could have skipped Cheverny to have more time at Chambord.

Gus was super kind. Easy activity for all ages. He provided us with beautiful photos and knowledge of history.

Great self-guided tour. Fabulous driver with great advice at each stop. Would recommend to others - about a 3 hour ride but very comfortable van

Harry was an excellent guide. He made the places come alive with his knowledge of the history and details of each castle. He even gave commentary throughout the drive. We loved our time with Harry and would 100% recommend him as a guide.

The views atop Chambord were breathtaking. It was an overall great experience. If you are allergic to pollen/dust be sure to take meds beforehand. If you have asthma bring rescue meds

Great tour guide, great opportunity to see multiple historic sites in one day. Am considering doing other tours with this company

Serge made an already incredible trip absolutely spectacular. He is kind, knowledgeable and entertaining and we were impressed with his ability to seamlessly speak three different languages fluently. The trip is not to be missed, and France Tourisme offers the most value for the money. We were a group of 8 people in a mini van, and Serge is an excellent driver.

We booked what was billed as a minivan tour of no more than 8 people with City Wonder. It actually was a large bus with 40 people. When asked we were told that if more than 8 people booked then the bus would be larger. At & AM in the pouring rain we relented. It was a mistake,,, we were rushed through each stop with hardly any time to see each Chateau. Another couple told us they were also misled as to the size of the tour and the timing. Not worth it.

All was perfect, specially our amazing guide Jean Pierre and the visit to the Castles it self. I didn't rate excellent because: 1) the interior of the car wasn't clean and 2) the time for visiting each castle is a little tight (understandable because of the distances but...) All the rest was perfect, including the price of 125€ for this tour if you book directly at the website of France Tourism (you're welcome). ¡Enjoy your visit!

The visit to the Loire valley was one of the highlights of my Paris visit. The 3 castles were absolutely wonderful and I enjoyed it very much. Unfortunately the tour guide Michael was not a guide, but only our driver. He couldn't speak proper English and didn't undertand when one asked him a question. He only spoke to the one tourist next to him.

Absolutely wonderful! Very interesting. Our guide, Serge, was very informative, polite, patient and entertaining. This trip was only enhanced with his wit and personality.

When you book with France Tourism, know that you are booking a driver who will drive you to the sites. There was no dialogue, no information. This was like a high priced taxi.

We loved the castles and had a great time! The guide was very pleasant

Everything was as agreed. Excellent guide

The guide was excellent, but visiting three castles is a lot for a single day, since you don't manage to appreciate everything due to the limited time, it would be better to visit only two.