LOIRE VALLEY SUMMER TOUR

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	DATES August 15th-21st 2010 7 days/6 nights
	COST PER PERSON 1,645 € fixed £1,495 ( based on £1=1.10 €)

7-day tour of the beautiful Loire Valley with accommodation throughout in a sumptuous 4 star Chateau Hotel.We start with an overnight ferry crossing to St. Malo and travel down to the Loire Valley via Vitre a charming medieval town and the Le Mans motor museum which is next to the Le Mans 24 hours race circuit.We then continue south to the Loire valley where our hotel for the next 6 nights, a stunning four star chateau hotel formerly the home of Prince Tallyrand is based, less than a mile from the river Loire itself.Over the next 6 days we visit impressive historic chateaux churches and abbeys, fascinating museums,beautiful gardens, atmospheric wine caves and other places of interest, driving on scenic backroads in this beautiful region.Our return ferry is via Caen.

Itinerary

Saurday August 14th, overnight ferry with Brittany Ferries at 20.30 from Portsmouth-St Malo

Day 1 - Sunday August 15th,(approx 220 miles)

Arrive in St Malo at 8.15am on overnight ferry from Portsmouth Our route takes the pretty coastal road around Pointe du Grouin to Port Mer an idyllic, secluded bay just north of Cancale where we enjoy breakfast, ( see photos below).

 

 

 

 

 

After breakfast and explanation of road books our scenic route continues eastwards along the bay of Mont St Michel to Pontorson where we turn south and head down to Vitre a charming medieval town and our lunch stop.In the afternoon we head east to Le Mans for coffee and a visit to the famous Auto Museum next to the main entrance of the Le Mans 24 hours circuit.We then leave Le Mans and head south on scenic backroads stopping off to visit an impressive museum of sculptor at Parcay les Pins.We then continue to our sumptuous 4* chateau hotel, Chateau de Rochecotte ( click on words for link to their website),in St. Patrice the Loire valley which will be our base for the next six nights, ( see photos middle and right below).

Day 2 - Monday,August 16th (approx 60 miles)

Our tour of the Loire valley commences with a drive west along the banks of the Loire which we then cross over onto a charming minor road to one of France's prettiest villages, Candes St Martin( see photo below left).Here we walk along its narrow streets to visit the wonderful 13th century church and then we drive up to the amazing panoramic viewpoint on a hill overlooking the village and the confluence of the rivers Loire and Indre.We then leave Candes and head a couple of miles south to nearby Fontevraud,( see photo below right),where we can visit the largest and most remarkably intact medieval abbey in France Founded in the 12th century by a visionary itinerant preacher who established a community of Benedictine monks,nuns,nobles, lepers,repentant prostitutes and vagabonds the eclectic mix of residents must have worked, as under the rule of an abbess, female aristocrats came to live in Fontevraud to escape or to reject a life of materialism.Eleanour de Aquitaine,queen of Henry 11 of England, was one famous female who sought sanctuary here and her remains and those of her son, Richard the Lionheart, rest here.After our visit to Fontevraud we drive on minor roads to our lunch stop the town of Montreuil Bellay where, after lunch we also visit the amazing rennaisance chateau.After Montreuil we drive to nearby Breze where we stop to visit the fascinating troglodyte/cave chateau built underneath the conventional chateau with the deepest dry moat in Europe at 40 metres.Continuing on scenic backroads we drive back to the river Loire via the picturesque," fairy tale" Chateau of Usse,( see photos with red MGF and MGB on bridge below),overlooking water meadows and the river Indre. Its romantic white turrets, pointed towers and chimneys were the inspiration for Charles Perrault's story the Sleeping Beauty. We then continue along the banks of the Indre on a wonderful winding quiet river road to Langeais where we cross the Loire,( see Langeais bridge above left) and drive 5 miles back to our hotel Chateau de Rochecotte in St.Patrice, ( see photos above right and middle).

Day 3 - Tuesday, August 17th (approx 60 miles)

In the morning we drive to Saumur, (see middle photo above),to the "Cadre Noir" the world famous school of equitation where there is a rare public display.We then visit the nearby village of Marson where we enjoy a unique lunch in an amazing troglodyte cave restaurant.After lunch we return to Saumur and visit the wine caves of Bouvet Ladubay a wine producer followed by a visit to .a fascinating "tank museum" housing the world's greatest collection of milatary tanks. After leaving Saumur we stop to visit Turquant, a Troglodyte village where we visit an unusual cave housing a museum "des pommes tapees" where "dried apple slices " are still made in the old fashioned way.After this we return to our hotel in St. Patrice in time to relax by the pool

Day 4-Wenesday,August 18th (approx 120 miles)

 

Today we visit the world famous Chateau Chenonceau,approximately 50 miles to the east .Our route takes us via Azay le Rideau, ( see Chateau above left),along quiet country roads to Chenonceaux where we visit the amazing chateau which is constructed over the river,( see photo above right).After our visit we then drive a few miles north to Amboise where we visit the "royal" Chateau of Amboise and also the nearby Chateau du Clos Luce where Leonardo de Vinci spent the last three years of his life as the king of France's engineer and friend.The chateau houses a museum dedicated to the great man's life and you can also stroll around the peaceful gardens which contain examples of his work.We then cross over the river Loire to the north bank and stop off at the Chateau de Valmer to visit their beautiful gardens.We then drive back to our hotel along the north bank of the river Loire through Vouvray and Tours stopping off at Langeais for a coffee.

"	Rochecotte Hotel: click to visit their site

Day 5 - Thursday, August 19th (approx 80 miles)

We drive a few miles west to Allonnes where we visit Parc Maupassant a wonderful garden belonging to the private Chateau de la Thibaudiere.From here we cross thr river Loire to Saumur where we enjoy the Saturday market,one of the nicest markets in the Loire valley in the old medieval squares.We then travel to Chinon our lunch stop where there is an option to lunch in an award winning sea food restaurant.After lunch we can stroll around the charming streets of this medieval town and visit a nearby "Chinon " wine cave.In the afternoon we, stop off to visit the beautiful gardens of the romantic Chateau Chatonniere, a private chateau nestling in a secretive valley, ( see photo below right).We then return to our hotel.

Day 6 - Friday, August 20th (approx 60 miles)

In the morning we visit a fascinating wine museum housed in a nearby village.We then cross the river at Langeais and continue to the nearby Maurice Dufresne museum which has an amazing collection of mechanical exhibits including tractors, cars, tools, implements, guns and miscellaneous vehicles.We then head to Azay le Rideau where we visit the pretty chateau and enjoy a leisurely lunch in this charming town.After lunch we drive a few miles east on quiet roads to the Chateau of Villandry, the last great Rennaissance chateau built in the Loire Valley.Here we visit the world famous and magnificent gardens.Upon leaving Villandry we return to St.Patrice via Langeais where we stop for a coffee and ice cream at an award winning cafe/patisserie before returning to Chateau de Rochecotte where we can relax by the swimming pool on the final day of our tour.

Day 7 - Saturday, August 21st (approx 200 miles)

We say 'au revoir' to the Loire Valley and head back to Caen for the afternoon ferry via scenic minor roads to La Chartre sur-le-Loir where we stop off at the Hotel de France the headquarters of the Aston Martin, Le Mans racing team in the 1950s and 60s. Over coffee you can browse through the nostalgic pictures of Le Mans legends that line the walls of this famous hotel. After coffee we head north to Alencon and on to Sees our lunch stop where we can visit the twin towered cathedral.. After lunch we continue north to Caen and the port of Ouistreham for our 5.00pm ferry to Portsmouth, (arrives Portsmouth 10.00 pm).

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