My partner and I are going to the Loire Valley for 4 nights in late August 2007 and have hired a car. The first night we plan to stay in Blois as we will be arriving fairly late from Paris (any accommodation recommendations will be highly appreciated, we tend to prefer spending money on experiences rather than hotels, so around the 80 euro - or less! - mark if possible)...
My main question is what would be the best place to base ourselves for the remaining 3 nights (Amboise, Saumur?) that will allow us to explore one or two chauteaux (leaning towards Chenonceux and Villandry) in the morning but also spend as much, if not more, time sampling some red wine and Cremant de Loire in the afternoons/evenings? I guess I don%26#39;t want to have too long a drive home from the vineyards!
Any accommodation or vineyard recommendations will also be highly appreciated - many thanks in advance for any responses!
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For red wine you need to be further west. In my opinion Chinon is the best of the Loire reds, but there is also Bourgeuil and Saumur Champigny. Crement de Loire can be produced anywhere in the Touraine / Anjou region, but is usually associated with Saumur.
I would suggest therefore that you visit Chenonceaux after leaving Blois, and then head over to somewhere near Chinon. Villandry is very close to Chinon; and Saumur is not too far either.
For Chinon wine producers here is a copy of an earlier posting I made on the subject:
Chinon red wine is made from the Cabernet Franc grape. I would call this a medium red wine in terms of body. You will find it heavier than a Gamay, or a Pinot; but not as heavy as your Zinfandel. It is normally not quite as tannic as a Cabernet Sauvignon.
I have just remembered two wine producers that I have Visited in Cravant les Coteaux.
Daniel Chaveau is well worth a visit. He speaks excellent English, with a slight Australian accent (having lived there a while) and is married to an English women. He has an excellent selection of red chinon, ranging from lighter easy drinking wines made from younger vines, to some really good vieilles vignes (wine from older vines). He also has some white Chinon, which is very good.
Not far away in Panzoult is the Domaine de Beausejour. I haven%26#39;t been there for a while, but the lady there spoke excellent English and had some excellent Chinon.
Both of these producers have web sites:
…orange.fr/domaine.daniel.chauveau/index.html
http://www.domainedebeausejour.com/
Happy drinking
Can%26#39;t help you with Cremant de Loire - I prefer the sparkling Vouvray.
As for accomodation, I can%26#39;t really help, as living in the area I don%26#39;t use hotels etc. If you search the internet for chambre d%26#39;hote or small hotels you will find something. I know there is a Campanile at Joué les Tours, on the road to Chinon. It is part of a chain, that typically have good, clean, if basic, rooms at resonable prices.
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Here are two reputable websites we have always found useful:
www.sawdays.co.uk/maps/browsemap/france/04h/
www.karenbrown.com/proplist.asp…
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Blois has a decent Etap hotel (part of the Accor chain) very central, close to the chateau and there%26#39;s a decent car park near by. Failing this you could stay at the Hotel Renaissance opposite, which is very cheap (I have written a review of this on the Blois pages)
If you want to stay at the etap, I would suggest that you book via accor website.
Saumur is a lovely place, but more of a white wine area.
EW
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In Blois I always stay in Formule 1. Especially if it%26#39;s only one night - and at 28€ a room it allows for a good meal. There are two Formule1 %26#39;s in Blois.
Amboise is a bit of a tourist trap - stay away from the towns, and try a small village. Visit the Logis France webpage for hotels. Most villages have a good hotel with a decent reastaurant (some have two) and they can remarkably reasonably priced. If youre driving, the fact youre not in town is of no consequence, really.
ldf.reservit.com/reservit/zone.php…
The hotel in Veigne has always appealed to me
For wines, left of Tours for reds, right of Tours for whites is a decent rule of thumb. Most of it is drinkable though.
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Hi
The Ibis in Blois is around the 65 euros per night and is in a great location, right in the centre of town and very close to the wonderful Château Royale.
ibishotel.com/ibis/…fiche_hotel.shtml
The Château at Chambord is also close to Blois and would highly recommend you try to fit in a visit- perhaps the morning after you arrive in Blois, you will not be disappointed.
That could be two of the best Chateaux on the Loire visited straight away.
My favourite Crémant is Château Langlois which is very close to Saumur and the vineyard visit here are also very good.
http://www.langlois-chateau.fr/index.asp
:-)
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Wizard,
Off post I know but thank you for the hotel and restaurant link in Veigne. We love that area the Indre as it winds its way through Montbazon........one day we might take the plunge a la your blog!
Thinking about it Globetrottergal, a hotel around Montbazon, perhaps Chambray le Tours, you will find many of the budget hotels, and is central for the wine route to Chinon, Amboise, and the surrounding Chateaux.
The following sites might be of use:
http://www.lvo.com/GB/INDEX.HTML
http://www.ligeris.com/index_us.html
Best wishes
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Further to my earlier posting about the Campanile, there is one at Joué les Tours and another at Chambray les Tours
www.campanile.fr/hotel/fr/hotel-021426.htm
The one at Joué is slightly better for access to Chinon and Saumur for your wine tasting.
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