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Season
March
to October, departure days: Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday (other
day on request).
Level of Difficulty
Grade
A (generally easy cycling, some hills). Day stages 37 to 45km. The
terrain is relatively flat, with short climbs of 200 feet or so out of
the river valleys onto the intervening level plateau areas. This makes
cycling easy and enjoyable.
The Bikes
On
this tour bike hire is included in the tour price and no security
deposit is required.
The
bikes are 21-speed hybrid bikes equipped with saddlebags, pump, repair
kit, water bottle and key lock and map support,
helmets. The repair kit contains patches, glue, tyre levers, spare inner
tube, and spare cable for brakes/gears.
The
bikes weigh around15kg and frame sizes are in the range 45cm to 60cm
V-brakes. Wheels can be removed without tools. The bikes are delivered
to the first hotel in Amboise and collected from the final hotel in
Saumur. Before travelling, we will need to be advised your height and
inside leg measurements, so that we can organize for the correct bikes
to be available for your arrival.
Maps & Route Notes
We
provide a set of 1:100,000
(1cm = 1km) road maps (6 A4 sheets) with our cycling route marked on
them, and for a more general overview, the Michelin 1:250,000 road map
(1cm to 2.5km). We also provide specially researched route descriptions.
General Information
Baths:
it is not normal for your room to have a bath, the main reason being
that it takes up a lot of space, some hotels/guesthouses may have a
separate room in the house where a bath is available to guests, but in
the main it is showers.
Breakfast:
in countries such as France/Italy/Spain/Greece etc are usually coffee
and toast/croissant, if you want more for breakfast then we would
suggest you purchase some food the night before. It is important for you
to tell us if you have any dietary requirements when you book your
holiday so that we can inform everyone that you are staying with.
Single
Supplements:
are payable on most of our tours. 1) The single supplement
guarantees the privacy of your own room, however, rooms can at times be
small and in some places may not enjoy the same facilities as
double/twin rooms.
Luggage:
When staying in hotels, sometimes your luggage will have been taken
to you room awaiting your arrival. However don’t be surprised if your
luggage is waiting for you to take it up to your room.
Accommodation & Meals
Hotels
normally with en suite shower and WC. Half board on 5 nights, B&B
only on 2 nights. Picnic lunches are not included in the tour price but
are available from hotels or local shops. We indicate in the route notes
where there are suitable restaurants or cafes for lunch stops, or
recommend you carry food if there are none convenient to the route.
An
upgrade to a 3* hotel is possible in Chenonceaux. Supplement 31
Euros per person/per night in a double room. This charming hotel, where
your hosts will kindly welcome you, is located 150 metres away from the
Chateau de Chenonceaux. Celebrities such as Eleanor Roosevelt,
Harry Truman, Churchill, Rockefeller and many others stayed under this
very roof. You will enjoy the swimming pool in a peaceful garden
and taste all the local delights at the restaurant.
q
Night 1. Amboise. A fine provincial wood beamed 2*
Logis de France hotel at the heart of the historic town of Amboise, a
short walk from Le Clos Luce, Leonardo da Vinci's last residence, which
contains a museum of models based on his designs. Half board (dinner at
restaurant nearby).
q
Night 2. Chenonceaux. Our 2 star Logis de France
accommodation has a magnificent fire place and exposed beams. Half
board.
q
Night 3. Loches. From the centre of a quiet
landscaped park, overlooking the historic town, this hotel offers an
exceptional panoramic view. It has also a large terrace and a
swimming pool. Half board.
q
Night 4. Montbazon. A well-appointed riverside
annex of the Chateau d'Artigny, one of the famous 'Relais et Chateaux'
group of hotels. Dinner and breakfast in the chateau itself, which is
situated on a bluff with a fine view over the river Indre. The dinner
has to be seen to be believed: an amazing assault on the senses! Shirt
and tie are seriously recommended. Breakfast is generous with a wide
choice. Half board.
q
Night 5. Azay-le-Rideau. The hotel is set in a
semi pedestrian street in the heart of this charming village and just 50
metres from the elegant chateau. You will find here, the charm of
the past combined with the comfort of today. The 18th century
house was built in a style typical of the Tours area. One of the
features of the hotel is the 19th century school, situated across the
flower decked patio and which, like the rest of the hotel, has been
tastefully transformed into delightful accommodation. Bed and
breakfast only included; there is a choice of places to take your
evening meal. .
q
Night 6. Chinon.
The hotel has the charm of an authentic dwelling-place built in the
fifteenth century and modified in the eighteenth century. It is
just a few hundred metres from the town centre, the medieval quarter and
the chateau. Half board.
q
Night 7. Saumur.
A small hotel in the centre of this fashionable town on the banks of
the Loire, close to the old town and the chateau. Bed and breakfast is
only included; there is a wide choice of restaurants nearby for that
final dinner.
Arrival
The
starting point of the tour is at Amboise. Amboise is reached by direct
non-TGV train from Paris Gare d'Austerlitz (2 hours). Gare d'Austerlitz
is reached by RER and metro from Paris CDG airport. These rail tickets
are included in the Air and Rail Travel package for UK-based
full-package customers. You will receive up-to-date train times for your
date of travel, or alternatively you can visit Rail Europe's website at
www.sncf.fr. At Amboise it
is 15 minutes walk or (if you are carrying heavy luggage) a taxi ride.
Car parking is available in Amboise free of charge, but not guarded.
Alternatively,
there are direct TGV trains from each of (a) Paris Montparnasse (1 hour)
(b) Paris CDG airport (1hour 45 mins) to
Tours St Pierre des Corps, from where there are local train services to
Amboise. Seat reservations
are obligatory on TGV trains and a supplementary fare is payable.
Also Eurostar train from London Saint Pancras to
Paris Nord and train from Paris Austerlitz to Ambois (about 5 hours).
Relevant
French National Railway timetables can be obtained from the Internet,
either at www.sncf.com (text in French or English), or at www.bahn.de
(text in German or English). Alternatively
you can check out the links from our website at www.sherpaexpeditions.com |
Itinerary
Guide
Time
is allowed to visit chateaux and other sites of interest along the way,
but entry fees are not included in the tour price. You will
probably not have time or energy to visit them all! Fans of Leonardo da
Vinci’s s futuristic gadgetry will not want to miss Le Clos Luce. The
more feminine attractions of the Chateau de Chenonceau, built on a
bridge over the River Cher, are definitely not to be missed. The gardens
at Villandry are incomparable (I never knew cabbages could be so
colourful); and (even if you don’t usually go in for that sort of
thing) the “promenade avec son-et-lumiere” at Azay le Rideau is a
unique experience.
q
Day 1. Arrive
Amboise, a picturesque town on the south bank of the Loire. Amboise
boasts the still impressive remnants of what was a magnificent chateau
as well as Le Clos Luce, a redbrick manor house that was the home of the
polymath Leonardo da Vinci for 3 years until his death in 1519. Chateau
and Le Clos Luce (which incorporates a museum of models based on da
Vinci’s designs) are both open to the public, each visit requiring
approx. 1 hour. There will be time to visit either of these before
departure on the morning of day 2. Entry fees: Chateau d’Amboise
approx. 6 Euros; Le Clos Luce approx. 6 Euros.
q
Day 2. Before
leaving town try to find time to visit Le Clos Luce, where Leonardo da
Vinci lived as the guest of Francois I from 1516 to 1519. Then on to the
Chateau of La Bourdaisiere, built under the orders of Francois I for his
mistress Marie Gauelin.
After
following the Loire valley downstream for a few km, we turn off to visit
the Chateau de la Bordaisiere, before continuing following the Cher
Valley upstream to Chenonceau and our overnight stop. You could visit
this famous chateau today, but we would recommend going tomorrow after
breakfast (see below), before the tourist hoards arrive. Entry fees:
Le Clos Luce approx. 6 Euros; La Bourdaisiere approx. 5 Euros.
q
Day 3. At
Chenonceau, where you can easily spend two or three hours visiting one
of the very finest of the Loire chateaux, the ‘chateau shaped by
women’, including its early 16th century designer Catherine Bricennet
as well as Diane de Poitiers and Catherine de Medici, which ‘stretches
across the River Cher in a perfect harmony of water, greenery, gardens
and trees in a fine natural setting’. After the visit and maybe lunch
continue over the low hilly watershed to Loches on the River Indre.
Entry fee: Chateau de Chenonceau approx 7 Euros.
q
Day 4. Time to visit the chateau of Loches in the
morning before an easy ride down the peaceful Indre valley, stopping en
route at Cormery, where the now ruined abbey stood for 100 years until
1791. Then on to Montbazon where your destination is Port-Moulin in the
grounds of the Chateau d'Artigny, now converted to a hotel. Entry fee:
Chateau de Loches: approx. 5 Euros.
q
Day 5. Today we ride from Montbazon to the
celebrated gardens at Villandry, one of the wonders of France with the
opportunity to visit the former home of the novelist Balzac in the small
chateau at Sache. From Villandry it is about 1 hour’s ride past the
confluence of the Rivers Cher and Loire and along picturesque woodland
tracks and quiet roads to Azay le Rideau. Both Villandry and Azay are
awarded the highest accolade of ‘worth a journey’ by the Michelin
Guide. The son et lumiere display at the Chateau of Azay, set on an
island in the Indre, is highly recommended for a delightful and
memorable, if relatively expensive (11 Euros) stroll after dinner. Entry
fees: Villandry gardens approx. 5 Euros; Chateau d’Azay le Rideau
(daytime) approx. 5 Euros, Son-et-Lumiere approx. 10 Euros.
q
Day 6. There is time for a daytime visit to the
chateau of Azay, one of the gems of the Renaissance, before continuing
our ride via the wonderful 'sleeping beauty' (la belle au bois dormant)
chateau of Usse and on to Chinon itself, a medieval town on the north
bank of the Vienne dominated by the walls of its ruined mediaeval
fortress and the centre of a well-known wine-growing region. Within the
fortress is a museum illustrating the career of the Maid of Orleans
(otherwise known as Joan of Arc). Entry fees:
Chateau d’Ussy approx 10 Euros; Chateau de Chinon approx 5
Euros.
q
Day 7. After
crossing the river Vienne you ride through the Foret de Fontevraud to
the celebrated abbey of that name, the most extensive set of monastic
buildings in France. The 12th C abbey church houses the tombs of several
Plantagenet royals (Kings and Queens of England in the 14th
and 15th centuries). The way continues past vineyards along
the steep south bank of the Loire to Saumur, famous for its white wines,
its cavalry school, and its chateau overlooking the Loire. Entry fees:
Chateau de Saumur and Museum of Decorative Arts approx. 6 Euros.
End of Tour
The
tour ends at Saumur on the morning of day 8. The bikes will be collected
from your hotel in Saumur. Return by train from Saumur Rive Droite
station (10 minutes walk or short taxi ride across the Loire bridge from
the last hotel). Local train to Angers (30 mins) or Tours (1 hour).
There are direct TGV services from both Angers and from Tours to each of
(a) Paris Montparnasse (1.5 hours or 1 hour) for ORY airport), (b) CDG
airport (about 2 hours). Also train to Paris for Eurostar to London St
Pancras (about 5 hours). Seat reservations are obligatory on TGV trains. There
is also a non-TGV service from Tours to Paris Austerlitz. Check times on
the Internet and locally before travelling. |
