Please click the link below to book this tour
Welcome to Hooked on Cycling Holidays and our cycling holiday in the Loire Valley region of France. Our cycling holiday in France will take you through this wonderful French region. This biking vacation in France is available as a self-guided level 2 tour which can be started on any day of the week. This region of France is a wonderful location for your French cycling holiday as you can cycle but also explore the great chateaux and castles which make this such a famous region.
We think this cycling holiday is suitable for the first-time cycle tourist and also the more experienced cyclist. This valley was once the playground of the Kings building wonderful fortresses and manor houses. You will visit the great chateaux at Blois, Chenonceau, Amboise, Chitenay and Chambord to name a few but there are even more treasures than these to see, we like to leave you a few surprises each day!
Blois
Standard
Blois: Hotel Anne de Bretagne
Amboise: Hotel Le Chaptal
Chennonceaux: Hotel La Roseraie Chennonceaux
Chitney: Auberge du Centre
Upgrade
Blois: Hotel Mercure Blois Centre
Amboise: Hotel Le Clos D’Amboise
Chennonceaux: Hotel La Roseraie Chennonceaux
Chitney: Auberge du Centre
It is a requirement of booking this tour with Hooked on Cycling that you have suitable travel insurance which covers you for the chosen activity and for emergency evacuation and hospital care.
Today you make your way to Blois which is easier reached by train from Paris. On arrival make your way to your hotel. If you have arrived early take a walk around the hillside town which is known for its light facades and blue roofs. The Late Gothic cathedral is impressive as it towers over the pedestrian cobbled streets which gracefully preserve the serene atmosphere of lost centuries. It is also worth a visit to the Royal Chateau de Blois, the residence of several French kings, and a perfect example of the evolution of French architecture between the Middle Ages and the 17th century.
Today your cycling adventure begins as you cycle from Blois on the southern bank of the Loire. Passing between rolling hills with many vineyards you cycle to Cande‐sur‐Beuvron. Then you cycle back along the Beuvron to the majestic Loire. Now you see high on the bank the elegant castle of Chaumont‐sur‐Loire which is surrounded by beautiful gardens. Now you are in the historic region of the Touraine. Maybe visit a wine producer and taste a local sauvignon blanc. Soon you arrive at Amboise where you can enjoy the grandeur of the Château Amboise and the Clos‐Lucé where Leonardo da Vinci once stayed.
Today you shall visit one of the most impressive Chateau at Chenonceau. The famous “Château de Chenonceau” straddles the Cher River in five very distinctive arches. It was this chateau which was promised by King Henri II to his mistress Diane de Poitiers, which was sabotaged by the Queen, Catherine de Médici. There are two cycle routes to choose from today, one is direct while the other takes you on a scenic route along the Loire and Cher River valleys with options to visit chateaux and villages during the ride. You shall end in the charming town of Chenonceaux, settled on the banks of the Cher river.
Today you leave behind the Cher Valley and enter again the Touraine area via the chateau of Gué Péan and the medieval chateau of Fougère sur Bièvre, a perfect example of the traditional 15th Century architecture. Your night’s accommodation is a charming rural hotel with a lovely garden.
A lovely cycle route today along with more wonderful quiet country roads common to this area. During this last stage of the cycle, you have the opportunity to discover the famous, sumptuously furnished Château of Cheverny. Explore the Chateau and gardens, visit the hunting dogs. After you visit we set off again by bike towards the prestigious Château de Chambord with its 440 rooms which were built during the reign of Francis the 1st. We return to Blois with its hilly streets surrounding the Blois castle. They are a perfect fairytale ending to a memorable bike ride. If you did not have time to explore Blois when you arrived now take the opportunity to visit its treasures.
Say goodbye to Blois for you return home or onward journey.
By Plane
To Paris (Charles de Gaulle) then TGV train to Tours and then regional train to Blois.
Recently back from our Cycling trip around the “Castles of the Loire Valley” and we rounded our Holiday with a wine Tour of La Rioja.
With reference to our wonderful cycling tour, and after nearly two years of trying to get to France, we must first thank you and your team in organising it on two previous occasions, which of course ended up rescheduling. The tour itself was professionally organised, the route was easy to navigate, quiet with extremely pleasant roads and tracks, there was enough time during the day to visit the many Chateaus, the tour when it could followed the route of the beautiful la Loire, and when it didn’t it took in delightfully peaceful towns and Hamlets, our luggage was successfully transported each day, and arrived in plenty of time prior to our arrival, the hotels were all proud to display they were fully sanitised, the hotels were mostly, owned and ran by family’s, on arrival our bikes were always given a secure location, the hotels were all impeccably clean, and the food was of high end restaurant standard.
Julie and I thoroughly enjoyed our first fully organised cycling holiday, and we are looking at doing another in the near future.
Thank you and your team once again Jon, we will be in touch soon.
We had a wonderful holiday thank you. The routes and itinerary worked well and the dual option on the second day suited us as we successfully cycled independently. The cycling was challenging for me, even on an electric bike, but achievable enjoyably. We were very happy with the individual character of the accommodation, especially in Amboise and Chitenay. So, on the whole, a very enjoyable and relaxing holiday.