In this itinerary through the must-see Loire Valley Castles in 3 days we’ll tell you which castles we visited and why, plus what we might change in our route. Includes a map of the trip.
We designed this 3-day Loire Valley Castles itinerary as part of a trip that also included other destinations in northwestern France, such as Mont Saint Michel and a road trip through Normandy.
We were eager to explore the villages and landscapes of inland France. And no wonder—it’s one of the most beautiful areas of the country, with countless castles scattered along the Loire River valley, which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
We “saw” a little over 10 castles (and I put it in quotes because we didn’t go inside all of them). Admission tickets aren’t cheap, so you have to choose carefully which ones are worth visiting and why.
3-Day Loire Valley Castles Itinerary (map)
Here’s the map of our route. We based ourselves in Tours (but Blois or Amboise are also good options). As our first recommendation, we suggest entering one or two castles per day, depending on your budget.
The blue route is the first day visiting the Loire Valley Castles, starting from Paris. The red route was on the second day, when we did a bit less because it rained. The green route is the third day of visits.
🔝 Check out these tips for visiting the Loire Valley Castles with kids.
What’s the best way to visit the Loire Valley Castles?
The best way to visit the Loire Valley Castles is by driving your own car or renting one. It gives you total freedom, more time at each castle, and the flexibility to change your route whenever you want.
If you don’t want to drive in the city or in the French countryside, we recommend these excursions:
- The Loire Valley Castles from Paris in one day, visiting Chambord and Chenonceau castles, with tickets included.
- The Loire Valley Castles and Mont Saint Michel from Paris in 2 days. Includes tickets and one night of accommodation.
- If you are already in the Loire Valley, you can join tours from Tours or Amboise to visit Chambord, Chenonceau, and the private Château de Villesavin in one day. Includes tickets and meals depending on the option.
1) Château de Chambord
One of the most beautiful Loire Valley castles on a road trip. We found it stunning both inside and out. Its first owner was King Francis I of France, though this wasn’t his main residence—it was where he stayed when he came hunting.
Later, other royal families lived here, maintaining the castle until the French government expropriated it at the beginning of the 20th century.
The castle has a square main floor plan with two levels, plus access to the rooftop terrace. At the center is one of its gems: right as you enter, you find a white marble double-helix spiral staircase, said to have been designed by Leonardo da Vinci.
We also visited other rooms of the castle: the kitchen, bedrooms, reading rooms, reception halls, and more.
Then we climbed to the rooftop, where some towers have beautiful details like these:
From above, you also get beautiful views of the gardens and can see the moat full of water surrounding the castle.
To visit Chambord Castle you need to pay for parking, which in most other castles is free. You can then decide whether or not to go inside the castle by paying the admission fee.
From outside the moat, the castle is clearly visible, so you could choose to just pay for parking and walk around the gardens.
📌 Parking: €6 for the closest lot, €5 for P2 (further away). Charged per day.
📌 Chambord Palace general admission 2025: €19 per person. Includes entrance to the castle and gardens. Book your ticket in advance here.
2) Château de Cheverny
Cheverny Castle is especially famous among Tintin comic fans. Its creator, Hergé, used it as inspiration for Marlinspike Hall, Captain Haddock’s official residence. In fact, one of the castle’s wings hosts a permanent exhibition on the influence of Cheverny in this iconic comic.
It has belonged to the same family for over six centuries, who have preserved it in good condition all this time.
We went to the back, where through the gates you can see part of the building. The photo didn’t turn out great because of the bars, but that part of the castle corresponds to Tintin’s Marlinspike Hall.
📌 Cheverny Castle general admission 2025: €15 per person (Tintin exhibition ticket sold separately).
3) Château de Blois
Blois is a medieval town full of charm. We fell in love with it right away. No surprise, as we found a parking spot by the Loire River and the panoramic view from there was breathtaking.
To reach the historic center of Blois, you need to cross the Jacques Gabriel Bridge, built in the 18th century by the French architect of the same name. Before that, there was an older bridge that collapsed. It was later remodeled to allow cars to pass.
We arrived at the foot of the historic center and climbed up to the Cathedral of Saint Louis, the building that stands out at the top of the city. We were lucky to find it open.
Then we headed to the gate of Blois Castle, but not before passing by the Church of Saint Vincent de Paul. The interior is beautiful, so don’t skip it. From the gardens surrounding it, you can already see the back of the castle and realize how large it is.
We reached the Place du Château, the small terrace garden just in front, and admired its Renaissance façade. Here lived, with his wife, King Francis I of France and later other members of the royal family. This castle was abandoned for over a century and was even considered for demolition, but luckily that never happened and today we can still enjoy it.
It’s set in a beautiful spot, and because it’s on higher ground, from the square you get impressive views of the city, including the Cathedral of Saint Louis and the Church of Saint Nicholas. You can also see the House of Magic, which hosts shows and rooms with optical illusions—apparently a lot of fun, especially if you’re visiting the Loire castles with kids (in French: Maison de la magie Robert-Houdin).
📌 General admission to Blois Castle 2025: €14.50 per person. You can buy advance tickets to Blois Castle here. There’s also an interesting light and sound show at Blois Castle.
4) Royal Château of Amboise
The Château of Amboise is clearly visible from the road that runs along the opposite bank of the Loire River. We passed by twice. The first day it surprised us with a stunning sunset that lit it up completely.
It was one of the main residences of King Francis I. There’s an underground passage that connects it with Clos Lucé, the castle where Leonardo Da Vinci lived, worked, and died. It was his wish to be buried here, so his remains rest in a Gothic chapel within the Château of Amboise.
The next day, we crossed the bridge over the Loire River and entered the town to see it a bit closer. A large wall blocks the view inside, so if you want a full photo of the castle, the best option is what we did: go to the island in the middle of the river or directly to the road on the opposite side of the Loire.
📌 General admission to Amboise Castle 2025: €16.90 per person. You can book your ticket in advance here.
5) Château of Clos-Lucé
This is one of the castles we regret not entering. It’s where Leonardo Da Vinci spent the last three years of his life, and many of his studies were carried out here. In the gardens you can find models of some of his most visionary inventions, considered well ahead of their time.
As part of the visit, you can see the room where he died, preserved just as it was back then, and where you can find the portrait of Madonna Elisa Gherardini, wife of the Marquis of Giocondo—our famous Mona Lisa.
We were left really wanting to explore it, as we believe it deserves to be considered one of the best Loire castles to include in a route through the region.
📌 General admission to Clos-Lucé 2025: €19.50 per person.
6) Chenonceau, one of the most beautiful castles in the Loire
For us, another must-see castle in the Loire Valley. What makes this castle unique is that its foundations are built over the River Cher, offering stunning views of the structure.
The history of this castle was strongly shaped by the women who lived here or who owned it, which is why it is known as the “Ladies’ Castle.”
The first of them, Katherine Briçonnet, was the wife of a nobleman who worked for the French crown, and she was the one who built most of the castle around the keep, which stands apart from the main building.
Its most illustrious resident was Diane de Poitiers, the duchess famous for being King Henry II of France’s favorite mistress. She was the one who ordered the construction of a bridge with arches crossing to the other side of the river.
When the king died, Catherine de’ Medici became Regent of France and the first thing she did was remove Diane from the castle. Among the changes she made, the most significant was roofing over the bridge and creating two elongated halls or galleries, which are the ones we can enjoy today as visitors.
On each side of the castle’s access bridge there are two finely manicured square gardens. The one on the left is called the Garden of Diane de Poitiers, which you enter through the Chancellery building. The one on the right is the Garden of Catherine de’ Medici.
We couldn’t fully enjoy Chenonceau because of the rain, but we still visited the farm, the orangerie (greenhouse), and the maze. The latter is a reconstruction of the one that existed in medieval times.
It’s small but charming. Circular in shape, it’s easy to reach the wicker gazebo at its center. At the back, there are four caryatids that once formed part of the castle (they had been added by Catherine de’ Medici) but were later removed in a later reconstruction.
📌 General admission to Chenonceau Castle 2025: €17 per person. You can book your ticket in advance here.
7) Tours Castle
Since we were based in the city, we took the chance to stroll around and visited its castle, located on the south bank of the Loire River. It didn’t seem particularly special compared to the others we had already seen, and we were told that inside you can see an exhibition of artworks and photographs.
We kept walking, as there are several places worth visiting in Tours, such as its Cathedral, just a few blocks away and definitely worth it, or the beautiful Place Plumereau.
8) Villandry Castle, a must on a 3-day Loire Valley castles route
Villandry Castle is one of the most visited because of its stunning gardens, making it one of the Loire castles you simply can’t miss on a road trip. In fact, you can choose to visit just the gardens or include the castle as well.
The castle is of medieval origin and throughout its history belonged to various French nobles (even a brother of Napoleon Bonaparte owned it). But what struck us most was that in the early 20th century it was the Spaniard Joachim Carvallo who saved it from demolition.
He designed the beautiful gardens that can be visited today, leaving his mark and touches of his homeland everywhere, both inside and outside the castle.
The gardens are organized into small square sections, each one different, with boxwood shrubs, colorful flowers, and even vegetables arranged in harmony. A farm and garden all in one place. There’s also a lovely play area for kids.
📌 Villandry Castle and gardens 2025: €14 per person. Gardens only: €8.50 per person.
9) Azay-le-Rideau Castle
This castle is also built over the river Indre, but here we decided not to go inside. We strolled through the village, which has a medieval feel, and reached the entrance, managing to snap a photo from afar, though you can’t really appreciate it well as it’s surrounded by water.
We parked in a lot off the road that had views of the Indre River and the village. Absolutely gorgeous!
📌 General admission to Azay-le-Rideau Castle 2025: €13 per person. You can book your ticket in advance here.
10) Ussé Castle
This castle might look familiar, as it’s said that French writer Charles Perrault, author of “Sleeping Beauty“, was inspired by it when writing the fairy tale. The best views are from across the bridge over the Indre River.
📌 General admission to Ussé Castle 2025: €14.50 per person (not open year-round).
11) Langeais Castle
Langeais Castle is located in the middle of the town of the same name and is accessed via a drawbridge. It’s a large stone fortress and one of the oldest in France.
Don’t let the robust appearance of the entrance put you off. Inside, it has beautiful gardens and, at the back, the remains of the original castle ordered built by Richard I of England (Richard the Lionheart) when the region was under English rule. It was here that King Charles VIII of France married Anne of Brittany at the end of the 15th century.
📌 General admission to Langeais Castle 2025: €12 per person.
Where to stay to visit the must-see Loire Valley castles?
Along the Loire Valley castles road trip we’ve detailed, you’ll find many accommodation options. If you prefer staying in larger cities, the best choices are Tours or Blois. The ideal option is probably two nights in one and two nights in the other.
If you want to stay in Blois, here are some recommended hotels:
- Noctuel Blois Sud: located away from the city center, this is a simple, clean, and very affordable hotel, ideal if you’re visiting the castles by car. Free parking available on-site.
- Ibis Styles Blois Centre Gare: right next to the Blois train station and close to all the attractions in the city center, it has the typical Ibis style—rooms not too spacious but modern.
- Relais de Chambord: for those who want to feel like royalty, this hotel is located in Chambord, just a few meters from the castle itself. It’s set in a restored historic mansion with fine touches and castle views.
🏨 Want to look for other options? Find the best accommodation in Blois here.
If you want to stay in Tours, here are some recommended hotels:
- Logis Hotel Des Châteaux De La Loire: a great option in the center of Tours with spacious rooms, excellent service, and a full breakfast. It also has a bar and lounge area inside.
- Hotel Mirabeau: elegantly decorated with antique furniture, this hotel is very close to the train station and just five minutes’ walk from the city center. It has a small garden where you can enjoy breakfast.
- Hotel Chantepie: a simple hotel a few kilometers from Tours, a good option if you’re visiting the castles by car. The staff is excellent and it offers free parking. It’s also close to vineyards for tours.
🏨 Want to look for other options? Find the best accommodation in Tours here.
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