Garden tour
Highlights: Gardens grand tour - Wine & Gastronomy - Free time
Duration: 6 days / 5 nights
Date: From mid-April to mid-October
Transportation: Fully chauffeured private luxury car with your guide
Accommodation: Deluxe Chateau hotel surrounded by gardens and nature
Overview
The Loire Valley is like a single garden made up of individual spaces, combining the local nature’s bounty to the gardeners’ skills. No wonder that Rabelais or Ronsard, renowned French authors, celebrated the area as the “garden of France”.
The tour we have imagined, will take you to some of the most famous gardens, often surrounding famed castles, but also to more confidential ones, including some located in private properties that only open their doors to Riverloire guests. But Mother Nature also dotted the Loire Valley with an abundance of variety of vines that you will visit and… taste.
During your stay, we suggest you to stay in a family owned castle, converted into a luxury hotel, renowned for its 2-hectare vegetable garden and its unique collection of over 500 tomatoes carefully grown by the CCVS (Specialized Vegetables Collection Conservatory). Don’t miss the homemade tomato tart and jam!
This program has been elaborated with the help of our garden lover clients, but as all our tours are custom made, we will be happy to accommodate any specific request.
Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival in the Loire Valley
The tour will start with a scenic drive across the vineyards of Vouvray, and its forest but also the visit of some typical cellars and your first wine tasting.
Day 2: Chenonceau and Amboise
With Amboise and Chenonceau, you will witness how nature can enhance the beauty of the Renaissance architecture, but also discover the exquisite work of Chenonceau’s team of flower girls to grace the chateau with seasonal flower displays.
Day 3: A day for your senses
From the Chateau du Rivau and its 12 gardens evoking famous fairytales to the Chateau Villandry and its amazing leveled gardens, today all your senses will be exhaled. A couple more stops will complete this journey with more exceptional views and gastronomy.
Day 4: Chaumont sur Loire and Cheverny
Chaumont is known worldwide for its international Garden festival that runs from mid-April to mid-October. After wandering through the 25 elaborate gardens arranged around the theme of the year, visit the Chateau of Cheverny, the most magnificently-furnished of all the Loire castles.
Day 5: Wine and Roses
Some tourists just taste the wine, but you are going to “experienced it”. Be ready to “see” and “touch” it in a style offered to few travelers and in places open only to RiverLoire guests. In the afternoon, take a walk to the Prieuré de Saint Cosme that for 20 years has been home to the famous medieval poet Ronsard and its beloved rose gardens.
Day 6: Last day in the Loire Valley
Enjoy your last morning in your chateau and shop for jams, mustards and other traditional products at their boutique before leaving the Loire Valley.
Price & inclusions
Price starting from € 2 880,00 per person (€ 5 760,00 for 2 people)
Subject to availability at the time of booking.
It includes:
- 5 Nights in a Chateau Hotel.
- Breakfasts daily.
- 5 lunches in outstanding places with drinks included.
- All private transportation and transfers with a private English-speaking guide throughout your entire stay, with periods of free time.
- All the entrance fees for the chateau of the Loire castles and gardens listed (Chenonceau, Amboise, Clos Lucé, Rivau, Azay-le-Rideau, Villandry, Chaumont-sur-Loire, Cheverny and Prieuré de Saint Cosme).
- The visit of a privately owned castle.
- A private visit of outstanding wine cellars with wine tasting.
- A private visit of a private property with wine tasting and where you will get the chance to bottle your own wine...
- A river cruise on the Cher River.
- A suggested walking itinerary of the town of Amboise.
- RiverLoire local assistance.
- Fees and taxes.
If you’ve just returned from this “Garden tour” tour we’d love to hear from you...
I had chosen Riverloire Tour Company -
one because they had 32 reviews and all were 5 Star - and now I know why!
Their website is amazing. They can customize anything you want in a luxury style.
We chose to do two days of Chateaux travels - one day of wine tasting - a goat cheese farm and canoeing on the Cher river. We had one whole day on our own- split between the city of Amboise and Tours. Riverloire provided us with maps of both cities and transported us between the towns. From the get go Claire in the administrative office put together an amazing 5 day itinerary.
We did not have to think about anything (they even transported our suitcases from one hotel to the next)
We had Audrey as our guide for all the chateaux and the goat cheese farm.
She was absolutely amazing - Her knowledge about French history and more is incredible- She had us all mesmerized by her story telling. Her energy is fantastic.
She was the highlight of our touring the beautiful Chateaux of the Loire.
On our wine tour day we were greeted by Clemant - who was knowledgable (sweet & fun) about all the wines of the region- he took us to a privately owned chateau and to a fabulous winery.
A highlight was when we were invited to Riverloire's owners house (Thierry) wine cellar where we got to taste some fantastic wines and even bottle our own(and meet Thierry & Claire)
Our whole itinerary was amazing - we visited Chateaux Chambord, Cheverny, Chaumont, Villandry, Azay Le Rideau, Usse and Chenonceau!! Audrey brought these Castles/Chateaux to life with her storytelling - It was a Magical, Fairy tail trip!
I highly recommend Riverloire and think the staff is fantastic!!
Jackie (USA), a review from TripAdvisor (5 stars) - October 2017
To let you know that we just loved our stay in the Loire Valley. From the beginning, the communication was just perfect. We had a detailed agenda and every arrangements were well executed. Both of our guides were wonderful, very personable, knowledgeable and enthusiastic, and Maryke was exceptional in her knowledge of wine. We would happily travel with River Loire again!
James & Becky (USA) - October 2015
Thank you for the wonderful time that we had in the Loire Valley. Our stay is one of the highlights of our 6 weeks in France. In fact when friends ask what the highlights were, our stay in Amboise is nearly always mentioned first.
Delphine, you were a great guide. We liked the fact that we weren't in a bus with many other people as we were later in our trip. We enjoyed those parts of France as well & we paid less per day & as the saying goes, we got what we paid for. Ron & I hope that your business continues to do very well as you are offering a very good quality service.
We will be recommending your company to friends as we know that they would not be disappointed. Thank you all very much.
Kind regards.
Pam and Ron (Australia) - April 2014
The Loire Valley is beautiful and RiverLoire's Team ensured that all planned events were on time and handled everything professionally. Agathe was well informed, professional and patient ! The hotel was wonderful. Clean, roomy & gracious service.
Thank you all very much!
Pamela (USA) - March 2014
Sono felice di inoltrarti il feedback dei signori Piana, che sono rimasti molto soddisfatti del loro viaggio in Francia.
Ti ringrazio di esserti presa cura di questi nostri importanti clienti, e spero di contattarvi presto per una nuova prenotazione.
Cordiali saluti a te e a Thierry.
Giorgio (Italy) - May 2013
Just wanted to say thank you so much for organizing such a wonderful stay for us in Loire Valley last week. My mother, sister and I had a fantastic time and will have memories to last a lifetime.
Thanks for all the wonderful (door to door) service, driving (because we'd have been lost immediately!!), all the time you took with us and the extras....like the yummy macaroons Delphine...delicious!!! I hope that we have the chance to get back that way.....we'd LOVE it and if we do we will definitely be calling on you!! We will recommend you guys to anyone we know that is heading to Loire Valley.
Thanks again!!! Enjoy your summer!!
Alexandra (USA) - April 2013
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