Chateaux and VineyardsEurope : FranceTour name: Chateaux and VineyardsThe Loire Valley is famed for pretty rivers and dazzling châteaux built by Frances Royalty. The area to the west of Tours boasts several of the region’s most famous châteaux.Duration: 7 Days Grading: Easy Max Group Size: 8 Type: Self-Guided Trips Prices from: £725Tour Summary:
Tour name: Chateaux and Vineyards
Prices from: £725 Duration: 7 Days Kind points from: 54 N&K Reference: NKT0001589 (Type this into the "Jump to" form at www.NatureAndKind.com to find this tour again) Type: Self-Guided Trips Grading: Easy Suitable for: Romantic Escapes, Honeymoons, Groups Experiences: Active & Adventure Environments: Countryside & Villages, River Activities: Walking & Trekking Max Group Size: 8
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Tour Overview
West of Tours, the Loire and its many tributaries meander through the Loire-Anjou-Touraine Regional Park, an area of vineyards, rolling farmland, hunting forests and limestone cliffs into which curious troglodytic dwellings have been carved. Crowning these picturesque landscapes are some of the Loire’s most splendid châteaux, from elegant Renaissance palaces such as that of Azay-le-Rideau to sturdy fortresses like that of Chinon. As the walking, accessible to all, is relaxed and leisurely, you have time to visit both these châteaux on this holiday, as well as the château at Ussé, the abbey at Fontevraud and other places of interest such as vineyards and mushroom caves (pay locally in all cases).
LocationGuiding and support
We provide full route notes and maps. They are so detailed that you don’t need a guide –they are your guide. Just as a guide would tell you about the places you pass, our notes include information on any monuments, historic villages or other places of interest along the way, and if it is worth making a detour to a fantastic viewpoint, we point this out too. We even make suggestions for good picnic spots. If back up is required, your hosts are on hand to help out, or you can call our 24-hour emergency line.
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The Loire-Anjou-Touraine Regional Park - Hunting forests and limestone cliffs - Château at Ussé - Abbey at Fontevraud - Vineyards and mushroom caves
ItineraryDay 1 Spend your day in Azay-le-Rideau visiting the splendid 16th-century château, one of the most important Renaissance buildings in France, and exploring the streets of this charming town. If you have time in the afternoon, it is worth strolling across farmland and through woodland to Goupillières, where a series of cave dwellings have been set up as they would have been when they were inhabited in the Middle Ages. (6.5km, 2hrs)
Accommodation: Le Grand Monarque, as above.
Day 2 From Azay you are taken by taxi to the start of the walk near a small château whose formal gardens are well worth a visit. You then set out through open fields, orchards and the occasional vineyard. You walk alongside a poplar-lined small river for a kilometre or so, then join a levee, looking out for herons and other water birds. As you approach your destination you are rewarded with lovely views of Ussé's fairy-tale château. (15km, 4.5hrs)
Accommodation: Le Clos d’Ussé (2*), Ussé. Though the rooms are rather simple, the welcome here from the Duchemin family is warm and genuine, and there is a pleasant, relaxed atmosphere.
Day 3 we recommend that you start the day by visiting Ussé’s beautifully furnished and very romantic château, thought to have been the inspiration for Perrault’s tale of Sleeping Beauty. Your walk begins with a gentle ascent away from the River Indre on which Ussé is located, after which you follow good tracks through a centuries-old hunting forest towards Chinon. The last section is along an ancient trail along the escarpment above the River Vienne that formed the main approach to Chinon in the Middle Ages and is dotted with troglodytic dwellings. (18km, 5hrs)
Accommodation: Hotel le Chinon (3*), Chinon. This modern hotel, complete with a pool, is well located across the river from the main part of the town and enjoys excellent views of the château, spectacular when illuminated at night.
Day 4 as on the previous day, we suggest you take time before leaving Chinon to visit the château, which is more fortress-like and therefore markedly different to the other châteaux along the route. There is also an interesting wine museum in the town. From Chinon, you walk along the willow-lined banks of the River Vienne for a few kilometres, then cross rolling pastureland and woodland to Fontevraud. (14.5km, 5hrs)
Accommodation: La Croix Blanche (2*), Fontevraud. A friendly former coaching inn close to the village’s famous abbey.
Day 5 As the walk to Turquant is very short, you have plenty of time in the morning to visit Fontevraud’s magnificent abbey which houses the tombs of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Richard the Lionheart. Your route heads north across rolling countryside, with frequent views over the Loire Valley. At the confluence of the Vienne and the Loire, you pass through the charming village of Candes-St-Martin with its cobbled streets, limestone houses and fortified church, then cross a vine-covered plateau to your last hotel. (9km, 3hrs)
Accommodation: Demeure de la Vignole (3*), Turquant. Lovingly converted from an 18th-century mansion by a cliff into which some rooms have been built, this is an unusual – and stylish – place to stay. There are fine views over the Loire Valley from the front of the hotel, and a terrace and garden in which to relax
Day 6 you can spend your last day in a variety of ways. You can walk to Montsoreau to visit the château overlooking the Loire and call in for tastings at some of the village’s wine producers; you can visit an extensive mushroom cave near Turquant; or you can choose to do more walking – a 9-kilometre walk leads through the vineyards.
Accommodation: Demeure de la Vignole, as above.
Accepted Payment Types
Nature & Kind FactorOur Trusted Partner's Responsible and Sustainable Travel Policy
RESPONSIBLE TOURISM
We recognise that we have social, cultural and environmental responsibilities to the people that live in the regions our holidays visit. We wish to respect and preserve both their environment and their way of life. We are a member of AITO (the Association of Independent Tour Operators), which has always been at the forefront of the promotion of responsible tourism in Britain. It is now a condition of membership that firms sign up to its responsible tourism guidelines: - Protect the environment - its flora, fauna and landscapes - Respect local cultures - traditions, religions and built heritage - Benefit local communities - both economically and socially - Conserve natural resources - from office to destination - Minimise pollution - noise, waste and congestion To recognise those companies which have taken these guidelines further and implemented their own comprehensive responsible tourism policy, AITO has established a 2- and 3-star responsible tourism award system. Inntravel is one of only a handful of members to have been awarded 3-star status. Protecting the regions our holidays visit Our holidays are, by their very nature, 'responsible': - Many of our holidays take place in remote, rural parts of Europe where depopulation has been a feature for decades. We help to bring employment and regeneration to these areas. Furthermore, the walking routes featured in our Walking and More programme help to keep open traditional drovers' roads and other paths. - We benefit the local economy of the regions we offer holidays to because, almost without exception, the hotels and taxi companies with which we work are local, family-run businesses. The fact that our holidays are for individuals rather than groups means that we can offer hotels and guesthouses with as few as two or three rooms. - Luggage transfers on walking and cycling holidays are combined wherever possible - if several Inntravel customers are moving on to the same hotel, their suitcases will be transported together, or, where a luggage transfer is operated by a taxi firm, they often transport the suitcases at the same time as carrying passengers. - Travel between the destination airport and the hotel is always by rail whenever possible, with taxis used only for the journey between the station and the hotel. We also offer options by Eurostar for those holidays that can easily be reached by rail from London, and encourage customers to offset the carbon emissions produced by their holiday flight. - We help to increase our customers' understanding of the region they are visiting by providing information on the region's culture, history, traditions and gastronomy in our documentation. - A large number of our chosen hotels already feature local produce in their menus, and some also have an environmental policy relating to laundry, lighting and energy conservation etc. We encourage those who have not yet taken such steps to adopt an environmental policy. - Similarly, we include information about responsible tourism in our customer documentation, thus helping to spread the message. The information includes tips on how customers can help while on holiday, from turning down the heating in the bedroom to restricting souvenir purchases to locally produced goods. THE NATIONAL TRUST As well as helping to protect the regions we offer holidays to, Inntravel also works with The National Trust to offer a programme of walking, cycling and self-catering holidays for National Trust members and supporters. Inntravel makes a financial contribution for each booking made through these programmes so as to help fund the work of The National Trust here in the UK, preserving our own countryside and heritage. OUR OFFICE ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY We cannot ask hoteliers to act responsibly if we do not do so ourselves in our office. - Our offices, sympathetically converted from a disused farm building specifically for Inntravel, are very well insulated and use energy-saving lighting. - We will soon be switching electricity suppliers so that we get our electricity from a company which generates a considerable proportion of its power from renewable energy sources. - We use paper from sustainably-managed forests, and the envelopes for mailing our brochures are made from recycled polythene and are themselves fully recyclable. - We recycle all paper used within the office, as well as the glass, plastic, steel and cardboard packaging from the food staff bring in for their lunches - the cardboard is used for horse bedding. We give all printer cartridges to a charity which refills them. - We buy Fair Trade tea and coffee for the staff kitchen. - Although the secluded location of our office unfortunately means it is not served by public transport, many staff car share. - We offset all our business air travel emissions with a financial contribution to Climate Care. - Each year we donate part of our profits to a number of charitable organisations, namely Plantlife, which works to preserve the natural habitat of endangered species in Eastern Europe, VSO and the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, which helps to fund the management of nature reserves in the county. About our Trusted Partner
Whether you love walking, cycling, skiing, horse riding or touring, our award-winning holidays for individuals are all about taking the time to get to know a region. Inspirational scenery, welcoming hotels of character, and delicious regional cuisine are key ingredients of all holidays, and you explore entirely at your own pace – our holiday notes are so detailed that you don’t need a guide – safe in the knowledge that our friendly, expert staff have looked after every detail of your holiday. Enjoy the views : Chateaux and Vineyards at www.NatureandKind.com (THE.NATURAL.CHOICE)Enjoy the views
Laze by the river : Chateaux and Vineyards at www.NatureandKind.com (THE.NATURAL.CHOICE)Laze by the river
Château Debloi : Chateaux and Vineyards at www.NatureandKind.com (THE.NATURAL.CHOICE)Château Debloi
Loire : Chateaux and Vineyards at www.NatureandKind.com (THE.NATURAL.CHOICE)Loire
Gentle walking country : Chateaux and Vineyards at www.NatureandKind.com (THE.NATURAL.CHOICE)Gentle walking country
Gental, relaxing walks round Lorie : Chateaux and Vineyards at www.NatureandKind.com (THE.NATURAL.CHOICE)Gental, relaxing walks round Lorie
Loire Valley : Chateaux and Vineyards at www.NatureandKind.com (THE.NATURAL.CHOICE)Loire Valley
country side views : Chateaux and Vineyards at www.NatureandKind.com (THE.NATURAL.CHOICE)country side views
admire the widelife in Loire : Chateaux and Vineyards at www.NatureandKind.com (THE.NATURAL.CHOICE)admire the widelife in Loire
Harvesting local grapes for wine : Chateaux and Vineyards at www.NatureandKind.com (THE.NATURAL.CHOICE)Harvesting local grapes for wine
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Tour Summary:
Tour name: Chateaux and Vineyards
Prices from: £725 Duration: 7 Days Kind points from: 54 N&K Reference: NKT0001589 (Type this into the "Jump to" form at www.NatureAndKind.com to find this tour again) Type: Self-Guided Trips Grading: Easy Suitable for: Romantic Escapes, Honeymoons, Groups Experiences: Active & Adventure Environments: Countryside & Villages, River Activities: Walking & Trekking Max Group Size: 8
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