Best Things to Do in the Loire Valley

The Loire Valley has no single sight and no single ticket. It is about 280 km of river listed by UNESCO, with châteaux, gardens, cellars and market towns spread along it. These are the things most worth your time, with what each costs and how to reach it. If you would rather have them arranged, the Loire Valley excursions put several into one day.

Walk the gallery of Château de Chenonceau over the Cher

Chenonceau stands across the river Cher on a row of arches, so its long gallery is a room over the water. Two formal gardens flank it: Diane de Poitiers' garden of 12,000 square metres, and the smaller garden named for Catherine de Médicis. Beyond them lie a 70-hectare park and a maze of 2,000 yews.

You pay €19 with a brochure or €24 with an audioguide, and you must reserve a timed slot when you buy. Chenonceaux station is 400 m from the ticket office. Leave the gardens for last, because they close 30 minutes after the château.

Climb the double-helix staircase at Château de Chambord

Chambord was built from 1519 for François I. Its staircase has two ramps twisting around one open core, so two people can see each other and never meet. The château's own historians see Leonardo da Vinci's influence in the design, though no plan names the architect.

You get more than 60 rooms, the terraces under the roofline and a park inside a wall 32 km long. The 2026 adult price is €21 for nationals and residents of the European Economic Area and €31 for everyone else. The nearest station is Blois-Chambord, with a shuttle bus to the gate.

See Leonardo da Vinci's tomb in Amboise

Leonardo died in Amboise on 2 May 1519. His tomb lies in the Saint-Hubert chapel, built in 1493 inside the walls of the Château Royal d'Amboise and reopened in spring 2024 after restoration. The château sits on a spur above the Loire, a 10-minute walk from Amboise station.

Your €17.30 adult ticket includes the Histopad tablet, which guides you through the rooms and the chapel. Children aged 7 to 18 pay €11.

Turn the handles on Leonardo's machines at Clos Lucé

Clos Lucé, a short walk from the château, is the manor where Leonardo spent his last three years. Its park holds 20 life-size models built from his drawings, and you can climb aboard the tank or turn the screw. It is the stop children remember.

The adult ticket is €20, with children aged 7 to 18 at €15 and a family ticket for two adults and two children at €60. It opens every day except 25 December and 1 January.

Walk the kitchen garden at Villandry

Villandry is known for its gardens rather than its rooms. Joachim Carvallo rebuilt them in the Renaissance spirit between 1908 and 1918, and the ornamental kitchen garden in geometric beds is the view in every photograph. A Sun Garden followed in 2008, and the gardeners have worked without chemical treatments since 2009.

If the rooms do not interest you, buy the €8.50 gardens-only ticket; château and gardens together cost €14. The gardens open all year except 25 December.

See the garden festival at Chaumont-sur-Loire

Since 1992, Chaumont-sur-Loire has hosted the International Garden Festival, with about 30 new gardens each season. The 2026 festival runs from 22 April to 1 November. The estate suggests three hours for the festival gardens alone.

A day ticket costs €21 in high season. Onzain station is about 2 km away, 20 minutes from Saint-Pierre-des-Corps, and a same-day train ticket gets you a lower price.

Taste Chenin Blanc in a Vouvray cellar

East of Tours, Vouvray makes its wine from Chenin Blanc, dry to sweet and still to sparkling, across seven communes. The Vouvray tastings take you down into cellars cut into limestone. The wine tasting guide explains each appellation.

The easiest way in is the Vouvray wine tour and food pairing, a morning from Tours at two estates with cheese and charcuterie. West of Tours, Chinon and Bourgueil pour Cabernet Franc instead.

Ride an e-bike to Saumur's cellars

Saumur's château stands on a rock above the Loire and opens Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 18:00. Under the town run cellars where sparkling Saumur matures. The Loire à Vélo, a cycle route of about 900 km, follows the river through it.

The Saumur e-bike wine tour rides from the Gratien et Meyer cellars along the river to Montsoreau, Turquant and Candes, with lunch. Riders must be 16 or over.

Fly over Chenonceau in a balloon

From the ground, Chenonceau is a gallery across a river. From a balloon basket you see the arches, the gardens and the forest together. Flights leave at sunrise or in the early evening, when the air is calm.

The balloon flight over Chenonceau rates 5.0 from 167 reviews and costs $269, with wine and cheese on landing. The Loire Valley hot air balloon tours page compares it with the flight near Amboise.

Can you row under the arches at Chenonceau?

Chenonceau hires rowing boats on the Cher for €5 a person, so you can look up at the arches from the river. It is the cheapest way to see the château's best angle, and a break for children between the rooms and the maze.

Shop the Amboise market on a Sunday morning

The Amboise market fills the Loire bank every Friday and Sunday, from 08:00 to 14:00. Friday has about 90 stalls and Sunday more than 200, with cheese, fruit and Touraine-Amboise wine among them. Blois fills Place Louis XII on Saturday mornings, and Chinon's market is on Thursday.

Is the Royal Fortress of Chinon worth the trip?

The fortress looks over the river Vienne, and its story runs to the Templars imprisoned there in 1308. The adult ticket is €12.50, children under 7 go free, and you save a euro if you arrive by bike. It opens every day except 1 January and 25 December.

Where should you start if you only have one day?

With Chenonceau and Chambord. They are the two châteaux most visitors come for, and they suit different tastes: Chambord for architecture and scale, Chenonceau for the gallery over the Cher and the gardens. A small-group day from Tours or Amboise gives you about two hours at each, and some fares include both tickets.

If you would rather stay on foot, spend the day in Amboise instead: the royal château in the morning, lunch by the Loire, Clos Lucé in the afternoon. Both sit a short walk from the station. The Loire Valley châteaux tours page shows which days include admission.

What can you do in the Loire Valley if it rains?

Go inside. Chambord's rooms, Chenonceau's gallery and Amboise's Histopad visit all work in the rain, and a wine tasting happens under a roof. Keep the gardens, the bikes and the balloon for a dry day; the weather by month shows when those come.

What can you do in the Loire Valley with children?

Start in Amboise. At Clos Lucé, children climb aboard Leonardo's tank and turn the screw in a park of 20 life-size machines, and at the royal château the Histopad tablet guides them through the rooms. Under-7s enter both free.

At Chenonceau, hire a rowing boat for €5 and find the centre of the yew maze. Older children can ride the Amboise Segway tour from 12, and the balloon flight near Amboise takes passengers from 6. Chambord lets under-18s in free on an individual visit, which makes it the cheapest big château for a family. The guide to the Loire Valley with kids goes into the detail.

Which things to do cost the least?

The markets cost nothing to walk. Chambord admits under-18s free on an individual visit, and Chenonceau, Amboise, Clos Lucé and Chinon let under-7s in free. Villandry's gardens-only ticket is €8.50, and the boats at Chenonceau are €5.

The best things to do, at a glance

Frequently asked questions

Tours that fit these plans

Hot Air Balloon Flight over the castle of Chenonceau / France

A balloon flight over Chenonceau and the Cher from Saint-Georges-sur-Cher, at sunrise or in the evening, from age 13.

From $269 per person

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E-bike Cycling and Wine in Saumur France

An e-bike day from Saumur along the Loire to Montsoreau and Candes, with cellars and lunch, for six riders at most.

From $198 per person

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Day Tour of Chateaux of Chenonceau & Chambord from Tours/Amboise

Guided visits of Chenonceau and Chambord from Tours or Amboise, with two and a half hours of free time in Amboise.

From $234 per person

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