Castles · Tour

Private Loire from Paris: Da Vinci's Tomb at Amboise, Chenonceau, Chambord

Planning a Loire day from Paris is the hard part: three châteaux, two hours of road at each end, and opening times that do not agree with each other. This private tour removes the arithmetic. Round trip transport from Paris, a driver, and a day built so that each stop gets the time it deserves rather than the time left over. The valley has more than 120 châteaux and is where the French Renaissance began, which is why any list of three is a choice. This one is built around Leonardo da Vinci. He spent his last years here, and the day takes in both his home and his tomb, along with the Gothic architecture that was already old when he arrived. Amboise, Chenonceau and Chambord are the three châteaux, with a photo stop at Clos Lucé in between. Being private changes the pace more than the comfort: no waiting for a coachload to reassemble, and time inside each building instead of a march past the highlights.