The Loire Valley Châteaux in 5 Days: Amboise, Chambord and Chenonceau

That is what it is built for. It starts and ends at Saint-Pierre-des-Corps station, an hour by TGV from Paris, so it slots in after a few days in the capital. Coming from Normandy or Mont-Saint-Michel, we replace the TGV with a train via Caen or Rennes, or with a private transfer of around three hours. And on the way out, the same station has direct trains to Bordeaux.

That is your call, and you make it right on this page. With the rental-car formula, the car is picked up and returned at Saint-Pierre-des-Corps station, the drives are short (twenty to fifty minutes between visits), and fuel and parking are on you. With the private-driver formula, a local driver takes you on the days that need one, fuel and parking included. The price shown adjusts to the formula you select.

Yes, on both counts. Based on 4 travellers, count €1,430 per person with the rental car and €1,870 per person with the private driver. Based on 2, it comes to €1,600 and €2,460 per person, the gap coming from the driver, who is shared between fewer people; based on 6, €1,390 and €1,650. Three or five travellers works perfectly well, and we adjust the quote. These prices are per adult, and the "from" price shown corresponds to the rental-car formula based on 4.

A private guide takes you round Chambord for two hours at opening time, and that visit is in the price: it is the château where a guide changes the most. Elsewhere you visit at your own pace, with the admissions booked in your name, and the HistoPad is included at Amboise. We add a guide wherever you want one, for a château or for a whole day.

Because they do not repeat each other: the royal fortress of Amboise, the Renaissance dream of Chambord, a family home at Cheverny, the château on the water at Chenonceau, the gardens of Villandry and the jewel of Azay-le-Rideau. Seven visits in four days leaves time to enjoy them. Langeais, Ussé, Chaumont-sur-Loire and Fontevraud are available as options, on the last morning or with an extra night.

Breakfast is included on all four nights, along with the tasting in Vouvray and a dinner at the château hotel’s restaurant on the third evening, with the wine pairing. Lunches and the other dinners are on you, and that is deliberate: between the bistros of Amboise and the tables of old Tours, it is better to keep the choice. Tell us which meals you want booked: we choose the tables with you and book in your name.

April to October: the gardens of Villandry and Chenonceau are at their best from May to September, and the long evenings leave time for dinner in Tours. In December, Chenonceau, Chambord and Amboise put up their Christmas decorations, and the trip still works with shorter days. We confirm what is open on your dates when we send the quote.

Yes. The Clos Lucé and its park of Leonardo’s machines, the double-helix staircase at Chambord and the gardens of Villandry all work very well with children, and the drives between visits are short. Tell us the children’s ages: we adjust the pace and the length of the visits.