Be entranced by the Loire Valley where fairytale Renaissance chateaux and riverside vistas make it easy to imagine the bygone glamour and riches of French aristocracy. Take a Loire Valley tour with a local guide and learn all about the romance and intrigue of castle life hundreds of years ago.

The entire Loire Valley, with its abundance of fine chateaux and grand manor houses, has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Meandering with your guide along its rural laneways, you can take your pick of some of France's most beautiful sites. See the 'double helix' stairway (believed to be a creation of Leonardo da Vinci) at Chambord, the largest of the Loire castles. Wander the lovely grounds surrounding Chaumont Castle and breathe in magnificent views of the Loire.

You can choose from one of our suggested itineraries, or work with your guide to create your own. We want you to leave the Loire feeling you've seen the best this charmed region has to offer.

Loire-Valley

Château de Chenonceau, France - Private Tour

The Château de Chenonceau is often described as the most charming of the Loire Valley castles, with its gallery overhanging the river Cher and its wondrous gardens.

Once a feudal fortress that was torn down, the actual castle was built from 1513. This fairytale place has a remarkable history, linked with multiple amazing women. Hence its nickname, the Ladies' castle.

Katherine Briçonnet, Diane de Poitiers, Catherine de Medicis, Louise de Savoie, Louise Dupin, Simone Meunier. . . Some of them were queens, some of them were philosophers or nurses. Chenonceau is the perfect place to discover French history through the lives of all these personalities!

The tour is not just about the castle itself. We will explore the building but we will also enjoy a quiet view on the Cher river and a stroll in the formal gardens, discover a charming old 16th century farm and the incredible flower and vegetable garden. Chenonceau is a little world that is really worth discovering at your own pace!

The Château from the south bank of the Cher river ©Antoine Montulé

Fireplace with a portrait of Catherine de' Medici in Diane de Poitiers's bedroom ©MFSG

The Tour des Marques and Catherine de Medici's garden

The alley of trees leading to the Château

Discover the wonderful Ladies' castle on an unforgettable guided tour!

In the XVI century, attracted by the beauty of its landscape, its forests, its wines, its majestic waterways, French kings and queens decided to move to the Loire Valley. They needed places where to stay or hunt. There still are 300 castles here now !
Licensed tour guide for 25 years now, I will use my experience and knowledge to explain what French Renaissance architecture is all about. I will be happy to deliver anecdotes about daily life of sovereigns and their court in our chateaux.
Chambord, hunting lodge built by king François I, is the largest and most spectacular castle. With its 426 rooms ans crazy rooftops, it will simply blow your mind.
Chenonceau, arching across the river and nestled in magnificent Renaissance gardens, was built by the king's mistress, Diane, making it the most romantic castle here.
En route, my joy will be to show details in our everyday landscape such as our crops, our vineyards, small private hidden manor houses etc.

Private tour by French licensed tour guide of the two most popular Loire Valley chateaux.

Chauffeured Loire Valley highlights full day tour: Chenonceau and Chambord.

We will discover the ruins of a wonderful Renaissance mansion, the house where Joan of Arc has received her armor and the most spooky part of the visit : "Le passage des cœurs navrés", a death row from the Middle Ages and live the last moment of a prisonner before his execution in "Foire le Roi" square (square create by François, the same king who brought Leonardo Da Vinci in my county).

The oldest part of Tours : the cathedral "Saint-Gatien", in that part of the city there is a Roman wall in good condition, very beautiful. It is my favorite neighborhood because it is very quiet and there are fabulous houses.
MY OTHER EXPERIENCES
Paris Art Nouveau or street art, Chinon, Bourges, Villandry by bike, French classes

Discover an unknown jewel

Let's discover Tours with a native!!

A morning or afternoon spent at the most famous of the Touraine Loire Valley chateau. The chateau sits in the River Cher, reflected in the slow moving water and surrounded by formal gardens and peaceful parkland. You will learn about its royal occupants, their intrigues and loves, as well as the chateau's earlier humbler history and its role in world events in modern times.

We will start by approaching the famous chateau by the impressive driveway, just as the visitors of old would have done! I'll tell stories of its history before it was a royal chateau and we will go out on to the terrace of Diane de Poitiers garden to view the exterior in its entirety. This enables you to understand the chronology of the building and the history of its owners.

Then we will go inside to explore the magnificent interior. We can easily spend over an hour inside there is so much to see (especially at Christmas time when the house is decorated even more extravagantly) but finally we will emerge to visit the stables.

Chateau of Chenonceau, viewed from Catherine de Medici's garden

Portrait medallion of Mary Queen of Scots and her young husband Francois II

Diane de Poitiers garden, viewed from the chateau

The most iconic of the Touraine Loire Valley chateaux

Half Day Walking Tour of Chenonceau

In 1516, invited by King Francois I, Da Vinci arrived in the Loire Valley.
He became the king's first painter and architect. The king gave him one of his chateaux to stay, le Clos Lucé, situated in Amboise, where he spent his last three years and where he passed away, aged 67.
As he expressed in his will, he got buried in the Royal Castle of Amboise.

In le Clos Lucé, I will show you Leonardo's intimacy with his bedchamber, his reception hall, his studio and his mind blowing inventions.

In the Royal château of Amboise, spectacularly looking over the Loire river, we will discover Da Vinci's tomb.

Born and raised in the Loire Valley, licensed tour guide for 25 years, I have collected so much knowledge and anecdotes about Da Vinci and am excited to share them with you. Did you known:
- he finished Mona in le Clos Lucé 's studio ?
- he invented the helicopter, the parachute, the tank, etc ?
- he used a secret passageway to meet with the king ?
And many more. . .

Last home of Da Vinci. His tomb in Royal castle of Amboise. Private tour given by a French licensed tour guide.

Leonardo da Vinci's life in the Loire Valley, chauffeured full day tour.

Half Day Walking Tour of Amboise: Chateau and Church

This walking tour visits the Royal Chateau of Amboise and the Eglise Saint Denis. The chateau is a well known architectural and historical gem which dominates the small picturesque town. The nearby Saint Denis's Church houses some extraordinary funerary monuments, whose true history is not widely known, even by the locals. The two places make an exceptional half day visit.

I'll tell the stories of the various royal occupants, their triumphs and sorrows, births and deaths in this historic place. Because my background is in the care and management of historic sites I will also talk about the behind the scenes aspects of running a historic monument.

At Saint Denis's Church I will show you some extraordinary funerary monuments belonging to royal courtiers. I will tell you the fascinating background to these expressive sculptures. The church is medieval and I will point out some amusing carvings typical of the period.

The view of the Loire River from the Chateau's ramparts

The sarcophagus of the King's cryptographers

Was this the most beautiful women of her era?

Sunlight through stained glass plays on stone carving in the chapel of St Hubert

The Chateau of Amboise, viewed from across the River Loire

The residence of kings and the resting place of their codebreakers

Half a day in Amboise, France - Private tour

Amboise is the perfect example of a Loire Valley town, living by the rythm of the last wild river of Europe.

It was one of the most important cities for the French royalty during the Renaissance, when the Kings of France lived in the Loire Valley. This nice town is organized around the Château Royal built on a rocky outcrop overhanging the Loire river and offering one of the most stunning views of the region. Discovering this castle, you will learn a lot about French history and the incredible things that happened here!

The city of Amboise is also famous for being the last residence of the greatest artist and engineer of his time : Leonardo da Vinci. Invited by the king of France Francis I in 1516, Leonardo crossed the Alps with his pupils and three of his unfinished masterpieces. He spent the last three years of his life in the Château du Clos-Lucé. Discover his life and work in the most pleasant way visiting this beautiful mansion and its garden.

View on the Loire from the Château Royal

Leonardo da Vinci's workshop at Château du Clos-Lucé

Visit the beautiful city of Amboise, its royal castle and the last house of Leonardo da Vinci

In the XVI century, attracted by the beauty of its landscape, its forests, its wines, its majestic waterways, French kings and queens decided to move to the Loire Valley. They needed places where to stay or hunt. There still are 300 castles here now !
Licensed tour guide for 25 years now, I will use my experience and knowledge to explain what French Renaissance architecture is all about. I will be happy to deliver anecdotes about daily life of sovereigns and their court in our chateaux.
Chenonceau, arching across the river and nestled in magnificent Renaissance gardens, is the most popular Loire Valley chateau. It is known as the ladies' chateau because all its owners have been women until today.

Tour the most popular Loire Valley castle.

Chateau de Chenonceau, private tour, French licensed tour guide.

The small town of Loches in the Touraine Loire Valley is packed with history. The medieval kings of France and England lived here, Joan of Arc was here, the sorrowing Anne of Bretagne and the lovely Agnes Sorel. You won't see a modern building in the old centre of town. We'll visit the Royal Apartments and the oldest castle keep in France, full of fascinating and unique graffiti and resonating with the sense of past lives.

This is a place where history genuinely changed because it was here that Joan convinced the young King to go to Reims to be crowned. This legitimised his authority and he turned into long reigning and quite good King -- who spent much time at Loches, where he had installed his remarkable mistress. I will take you to 'meet' her and I'll talk about the status of mistresses in medieval France (hint -- we have a quite wrong idea of their position these days).

The graffiti in two of the towers on the citadel are absolutely unique and I will tell you the astounding stories of their creation!

The medieval donjon - Richard the Lionheart's favorite.

Medieval and Renaissance off the beaten track

Half Day Walking Tour of Loches

City Center of Tours, France - Private Walking Tour

Although it's the very central point of the Loire Valley, Tours is not a very famous city. And yet, it's really worth visiting!

Proudly settled on the Loire river since Roman times, the city of Tours is full of history. It has been the capital of France on a few occasions, during the Renaissance time, and briefly during WWII.

The center is typical and well conserved with its medieval timber-framed houses and charming tiny streets. From the lively "Place du Monstre" (Monster's square) to the wonderful Saint-Gatien cathedral and the remains of the ancient Roman wall, through the very famous "Place Plumereau" and the gourmand Rue Colbert, I will lead you through this beautiful maze and show you some secrets passages and hidden spots known by locals only. You will discover that Tours is also a wonderful base to meet with French history.

Of course, we'll admire a stunning view on the Loire river, the big star of our wonderful region and you'll see that Tours is not only urban but also a natural space!

Place du Monstre (Place du Grand-Marché)

View on the Loire and the Wilson bridge from the north bank

The Hôtel Goüin - Renaissance private mansion

Discover this charming, little known city settled on the Loire river!

In the XVI century, attracted by the beauty of its landscape, its forests, its wines, its majestic waterways, French kings and queens decided to move to the Loire Valley. They needed places where to stay or hunt. There still are 300 castles here now !
Let us drive through the Loire Valley nicknamed by the French the "garden of France". Our landscape is crops, forests, rivers, flood plains, quaint small towns, spectacular castles looking over waterways or nestled in manicured estates.


Explore the Loire Valley at your own pace in my new luxury electric Mercedes SUV (EQB 250)

Chauffeured Mercedes at your disposal for 8 hours

This two hour introductory tour focuses on the lives of three significant women -- Joan of Arc, Anne of Brittany and Agnes Sorel. Anne and Agnes were typical in many ways, but also extraordinary, through circumstance and personality. And there is no question that Joan was extraordinary through and through. All died young, despite their many priveleges. The tour takes place on the Royal Citadel of Loches, where both Anne and Agnes lived for a time, and Joan visited, in the 15C.

I will go into the intimate details of their daily life and dispel many of the myths there are about the lives of medieval women. Two of the most pervasive misconceptions are that they had no power, and that they didn't bathe. You will learn the truth about how they navigated in what on the surface appears to be a man's world. Sometimes it's nuanced, sometimes it's the complete opposite of what most people believe today. I have been studying Agnes Sorel for years and although she is not known outside of France she rocks!

Canopy over Anne of Brittany's private altar.

Bronze bust of Charles VIII, one of Anne of Brittany's husbands.

Costume based on a portrait of Anne of Brittany.

Tableau depicting the forced marriage of Anne of Brittany to Charles VIII at Langeais.

Plaque commemorating the visit of Joan of Arc.

Looking at a 15C figurine of Saint Agnes in the Royal Apartments at Loches.

Tours tours

Explore with 21 tours and 4 guides.

Valentine B.

$ 324 (USD)

Simon J.

$ 903 (USD)

Emmanuel J.

$ 313 (USD)

Susan W.

$ 463 (USD)

Simon J.

$ 903 (USD)

Susan W.

$ 463 (USD)

Valentine B.

$ 486 (USD)

Simon J.

$ 301 (USD)

Susan W.

$ 405 (USD)

Valentine B.

$ 307 (USD)

Simon J.

$ 753 (USD)

Susan W.

$ 232 (USD)

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