The short version
- The châteaux stand 15 to 20 kilometers apart along the river between Tours and Blois. Two in a day is the honest count, and the two most people want, Chambord and Chenonceau, are on different train lines with no bus between them.
- Our Loire Valley Day Trip meets you at the Tours tourist office, two minutes from the station: Chenonceau in the morning, lunch with Loire wines at the Château de Villesavin, Chambord in the afternoon, admissions included, and back at Tours for the evening TGV, $330 per person.
- Chambord costs €21 for EU residents and €31 for everyone else since January 2026, open 9:00 to 17:00 in winter and to 18:00 in season. Four rooms are closed for now, and the François I wing has been shut since 2019 for works that run to 2032. Chenonceau is €19 and open every day of the year.
- From Tours, the train reaches Chenonceau, 400 meters from its station, Amboise and the Clos Lucé, Blois, and Chambord by way of the bus from Blois station, 35 minutes, €3.40, twice a day. Villandry and Cheverny have no useful bus.
- Tours station is under works until January 2027, and some trains stop only at Saint-Pierre-des-Corps, five minutes away by shuttle train or bus.
- Chambord shows Calder’s stabiles in its gardens from October 15, 2026 to August 29, 2027, and dresses for Christmas from November 28. Villandry’s château closes from November 12 to 27, 2026; its gardens stay open.
What to see
Chambord is the biggest: François I’s hunting palace begun in 1519, with the double-helix staircase and a roofline of towers and chimneys, inside a walled estate of 5,440 hectares. Until November 1 the horse show runs twice a day, and from November 28 the château is decorated for Christmas.
Chenonceau is the one built across the river, the château of Diane de Poitiers and Catherine de Médicis, with its gallery on five arches over the Cher. It opens 9:00 to 18:00 or 19:00 in season and 9:30 to 16:30 in the depths of winter, €19.
Villandry, the last of the Renaissance châteaux, built in 1532, is visited for its gardens, laid out again from 1906: the ornamental kitchen garden, the love garden and the water garden, open every day but Christmas, around €14 with the château. Tickets are sold at the gate, or online without a time slot. Azay-le-Rideau sits on an island in the Indre, €16 in season and €13 last winter, closed January 1, May 1 and December 25.
Amboise has the royal château above the town, €17.30, with Leonardo da Vinci’s tomb in its chapel, and the Clos Lucé, the manor where he spent his last three years, €20, a 10-minute walk away. From November 2 to mid-December and in January the château closes at lunchtime.
Blois, 8 minutes from its station, has four wings from four centuries, €16, and a sound-and-light show on summer evenings. Cheverny, the model for Tintin’s Marlinspike Hall, is open 365 days a year, €15.50, tickets at the door only.
Getting there and around
TGVs from Paris Montparnasse reach Saint-Pierre-des-Corps, the Tours TGV station, in 1 hour 4 minutes, with direct trains at 5:59 and 7:30 and 24 a day in all. Tours centre station is five minutes further. From Austerlitz, a regional train runs direct to Blois in 1 hour 23 at 7:37, and a few go direct to Amboise.
From Tours by train: Chenonceaux in 25 minutes, 10 trains a day with a gap from 6:54 to 12:05; Amboise in 20 minutes, 21 a day; Azay-le-Rideau in 35 to 48 minutes and then a 2-kilometer walk. For Chambord, take the train to Blois, about 45 minutes, and Rémi bus 2 from the bus station across the road, leaving at 9:20 and 12:20 and returning at 13:10 and 17:00, €3.40 each way; the bus ticket cuts Chambord’s entry to €18.50. Villandry’s only bus leaves from the south of Tours and gets there at 13:03 at the earliest, with none on Saturday; a taxi takes 20 minutes. Cheverny has one bus a day each way from Blois.
The last direct TGV from Tours leaves at 18:57, in Paris at 20:16, and the last train with a change at 20:29. From Blois the last direct regional train to Austerlitz is at 17:56, and from Amboise at 18:54.
Our day tours all start at the Tours tourist office. Besides the Chambord and Chenonceau day, there is Villandry and Azay-le-Rideau with a Vouvray tasting on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, $260, and a wine-and-castle day that pairs Chenonceau and Chambord with the Amboise cellars, $255. To stay, the two-night tour sleeps in Amboise and adds Villandry, Langeais and Ussé, $1,050.
When to go
April to October is the season: every château open with long hours, the gardens at Villandry and Chenonceau in flower, Blois lit up at night, and the garden festival at Chaumont from April 22 to November 1. Our day tours run from April, or February for Villandry and the wine day, through October, with winter dates by arrangement.
In winter Chenonceau, Cheverny, Blois and the Clos Lucé stay open every day, and Chambord opens 9:00 to 17:00 but closes on Mondays from January to late March outside the school holidays. Villandry’s château shuts from January 5 to February 6 and from November 12 to 27, Ussé from November 2 to mid-February, and the Blois shuttle to Cheverny stops on November 1.
Expect mild weather and rain in any month. The gardens are the reason to come between April and September; the interiors work all year.
Sunday trains are fewer and slower, so confirm the times with us before you buy a ticket for a Sunday tour.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Loire châteaux can you reach by train?
From Tours: Chenonceau, 400 meters from its station; Amboise and the Clos Lucé, a 10-minute walk; Blois, 8 minutes from the station; and Azay-le-Rideau after a 2-kilometer walk. Chambord takes the bus from Blois station, twice a day. Villandry, Cheverny and Villesavin have no train and no useful bus.
Can you see Chambord and Chenonceau in one day without a car?
No. They are on different train lines, the Chambord bus leaves Blois at 9:20 and 12:20 and comes back at 13:10 and 17:00, and the Chenonceaux trains from Tours have a gap from 6:54 to 12:05. Our day trip does both, with lunch between them, and drops you at Tours for the evening TGV.
How much is Chambord?
€21 for EU nationals and residents with proof, €31 for everyone else, since January 14, 2026, and free under 18 and for EU residents under 26. Arriving by train and bus the same day brings it to €18.50. Our tours include it.
What should I eat in the Loire?
Rillettes and rillons, the pork of Tours, with a Sainte-Maure goat cheese, and tarte Tatin, which comes from Lamotte-Beuvron at the end of the Chambord bus line. Drink Vouvray or Montlouis, still or sparkling, and Chinon for red. The Amboise market runs Friday and Sunday mornings on the riverbank.
Is there a tour from Paris?
Yes. Our Loire Valley Day Trip meets at the Tours tourist office for Chenonceau, lunch with wines at the Château de Villesavin and Chambord, admissions and lunch included, $330 or $490 with second-class rail, eight guests at most, Tuesday to Sunday from April 1 to October 31.
