I will be in Paris for 4-5 days. I would like to visit some castles.
Which one would you recommend?
Chantilly? Loire Valley? Mount St. Michel?
I will not have enough time to visit all...
By the way - maybe you know a place where I could book a tour to these castles? I am looking for a good service and reasonable price.
Please advice.
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For an all-in-one chateaux tour day, you should probably book one of the all-day (usually 7 AM to 7 PM) escorted tours offered by one of the larger Paris tour operators (either by motor-coack or mini-van). Most offer some sort of LOIRE VALLEY CHATEAU tour which usuallly includes three chateaux--most usually CHAMBORD, CHENONCEAU and one other.
PARIS VISION-- http://www.parisvision.com/fr/index.cfm
CITYRAMA--
http://www.graylineparis.com/
FRANCE TOURISME--
http://www.francetourisme.fr/uk/index.html
CHATEAU de CHAMBORD--
http://www.chambord.org/index.htm
CHATEAUX de CHENONCEAU--
http://www.chenonceau.com/
If possible, it would probaly be best to book an English-language tour..as there is a lot of wasted time repeating the same information in several languages by a guide. The smaller-group mini-van tours will be more personalized than larger groupmotorcoach...but also more expensive as well.
For a pleasant DIY daytrip from Paris (Gare du Nord), you can visit CHATEAU de CHANTILLY (about 45 mins from Paris by train--Gare de CHANTILLY GOUVIEUX) and the nearby old city of SENLIS (aboout 20 mins by regional bus from the Chantilly train station)
CHATEAU de CHANTILLY--
http://www.chateaudechantilly.com/
SENLIS--
http://www.ville-senlis.fr/
SNCF Train Info--
www.voyages-sncf.com/dynamic/_SvHomePage…
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Mont St Michel is not a castle, but an abbey, very beautiful but no furniture inside, as the rooms are empty. If you like a chateau then head for Chntilly, easy one day trip from Paris, or to the Loire valley if you have two days, a car would be good.
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We drove out to the Loire Valley and toured the Chenonceau, Chambord and Amboise castles. I oved them all. The Loire valley is also very beautiful with small towns along the Loire river - like Amboise, Blois and much more.
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Do you know that there is a special guide to hotel- castels ?
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Loire valley, or closer is Vaux le Vicomte and Fontainebleau.
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If you want to stay close in and around Paris,
then Vaux le Vicomte is wonderful.
I just came back from a visit to
Chenonceau in the Loire Valley last
week (the creme de la creme).
You might also enjoy Chateau
de Villandry in the Loire Valley.
Choices Choices Choices
Enjoy !
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If you are wanting to visit the Loire without a car, there are plenty of one day/half day tours you can book from Tours (a 1hr train trip from Paris via TGV, or 2hours via normal rail). We stayed in Tours for one night. It%26#39;s much cheaper than Paris. You can get a decent hotel room sleeping 2 for 50 euros.
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If you can only visit one, definitely CHENONCEAU (Loire). It%26#39;s like a dream...a fairy tale...great for Hopeless Romantics like me!
If you are pressed for time, though, CHANTILLY is much closer.
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I%26#39;d second the suggestion of Vaux-le-Vicomte, designed by the same guy who did Versailles but smaller and more manageable. Easy to get to from Paris via public transport.
http://www.vaux-le-vicomte.com/en/accueil.php
However like most of the %26#39;chateau%26#39; it is a large country houses rather than a fortress like castle. For that you%26#39;d need to go to CHateua Gaillard
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%A2teau-Gaillard
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Vaux le Vicomte is great, but hard to access by public transportation.
For easy day trips:
Fountainbleau is easily accessible by train and is very palatial.
Chantilly is a second option, with a stunning art collection, lovely grounds and a charming town nearby.
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