Loire Valley, Renaissance châteaux along a river with no dams.

Which châteaux should I choose?

There are dozens, and you don't need to see them all. With three days and four châteaux you have the best of the valley, and the rest you see from the road or the bike. The stretch inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 2000 runs from Sully-sur-Loire to Chalonnes, and the most visited châteaux are gathered between Blois and Tours.

Chambord is the biggest and the most extravagant: a hunting lodge of Francis I with a surrounding forest enclosed by a wall, which the estate itself presents as the largest walled nature reserve in Europe. Inside, the double-helix staircase, on which two people go up and down without meeting. In November it opens from 9:00 to 17:00 and the forest is open day and night.

Chenonceau is built over the River Cher, with its gallery resting on arches over the water. Its history was written by women, above all Diane de Poitiers and Catherine de Medici, and it has French-style gardens, a kitchen garden, a maze and a flower workshop that prepares the arrangements for the rooms. It opens every day of the year; in November, from 9:30 to 17:00. Buy your ticket only on its official website: the château warns of fake sites that sell at a higher price and give wrong opening hours.

Amboise combines two visits in one walk. Above, the royal château, over the Loire. About 400 m away, the Clos Lucé, Leonardo da Vinci's last home, with a park where you can see more than 40 full-size models of his inventions. For the house, the park and the galleries the Clos Lucé itself estimates an hour and a half to three hours.

Villandry is visited for its gardens: a medieval château that Jean Breton transformed into Renaissance style from 1532, with terraced gardens that Joachim Carvallo remade in the early 20th century, including an ornamental kitchen garden laid out like a parterre. The gardens are open every day of the year except 25 December. The château opens in 2026 from 7 February to 11 November and reopens from 28 November to 3 January 2027.

And by bicycle?

The valley is one of the best places in Europe to travel by bike. La Loire à Vélo follows the river for about 900 km, from Cuffy, near Nevers, to Saint-Brevin-les-Pins, on the Atlantic, almost always flat, on paths beside the water and quiet roads. You don't have to do all of it: the Blois to Tours stretch passes near Chaumont and Amboise, and beyond Tours the route continues towards Villandry. There is bike hire in the cities and in many villages along the route, and the regional trains on the Loire line carry bikes, so you can go one way and come back by train. To start, the stage from Blois to Chaumont-sur-Loire, about 20 km with a hire bike next to Blois station.

Where do I stay?

In one of the towns on the riverbank. Amboise and Blois are in the middle of the best-known châteaux, with the centre on foot and a railway station. Tours is bigger, has more hotels and restaurants and is the best base if you arrive without a car. To sleep in the countryside, there are châteaux and guesthouses among vineyards, especially towards Chinon and Saumur, further west, where the Loire crosses the Anjou and Touraine wine region.

Three tried options, from most to least expensive: the Relais de Chambord, the only hotel inside the estate, facing the château; the Hôtel Anne de Bretagne, a three-star between the station and Blois château, which admits dogs; and the Camping de l'Île d'Or, on the island at Amboise facing the château, from late March to early November.

Where do I eat?

Next to the châteaux. At Chambord, Les Armes du Château opens every day at midday, with a set menu of the day at €19.90. In Amboise, Le Choiseul, on the banks of the Loire beneath the château, serves cooking built around sauces and Touraine produce every day. For a special meal after Chenonceau, the Auberge du Bon Laboureur, a few minutes' walk away, has menus from €58 to €126 and opens Thursday to Monday.

For wine, the Château de Valmer, in Chançay, combines terraced Renaissance gardens and a Vouvray tasting for €12.

How do you get there from Spain?

By car, from Irún it is about 570 km to Tours on the A10 toll motorway, via Bordeaux and Poitiers. By train or plane, the quickest is to go through Paris: from Montparnasse there is a TGV to Saint-Pierre-des-Corps, next to Tours, in about an hour, and from Austerlitz trains to Blois in an hour and a half and direct to Amboise. To get between châteaux the car is the most practical; without one, combine the regional train with a bike, or book a group excursion from Tours.