# Two nights in the Loire Valley from Paris: Chambord, a day by bike and Amboise, without a car

Two nights in Blois, an hour and a half from Paris by train: Chambord on the line 2 bus, a day by bike along La Loire à Vélo to Chaumont and the royal château of Amboise before heading home.

Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/france/centre-val-de-loire/loire-valley/itineraries/two-nights-car-free-with-bike · Revisado: 2026-11-12

Dónde: Loire Valley

Blois is the perfect base for the Loire Valley without a car. It is an hour and a half from Paris by train, the hotel is between the station and the château, the bus to Chambord leaves from the same station, and the bike hire agency is a hundred metres from the door. With two nights you see the biggest château in the valley, spend a day cycling La Loire à Vélo and, on the last day, take the train down to Amboise to see the royal château and have lunch by the river before returning to Paris.

## Where to sleep?

AccommodationWhereFor whom

Hôtel Anne de BretagneBlois, 500 m from the château and 100 m from the bike hireComing and going by train, with a dog or as a family

Relais de ChambordInside the estate, facing the châteauA special night, better with a car

Camping de l'Île d'OrAmboise, on the island facing the châteauCycling travellers, March to November

The Anne de Bretagne has no lift or air conditioning; it admits dogs for €10 a night.

## How much does it cost?

Between €300 and €450 per person with two nights in a hotel sharing a room, both admissions, the bus, the bike, meals and trains from Paris. The figure depends mostly on the train price, which varies a lot by day and how far ahead you book.

## El plan

### Friday · 9:20 · Train to Blois and bus to Chambord
Train from Austerlitz, leave your suitcase at the hotel and take the Rémi line 2 bus at 9:20, or the 12:20 one if you arrive later. 35 minutes and €3.40.

### Friday · 10:00 · Château de Chambord
€21 with ID, free for under-18s. The double-helix staircase, the terraces among the chimneys and the French gardens.

### Friday · 12:45 · Lunch at Les Armes du Château
On the place Saint-Louis. Set lunch at €19.90. Afterwards, a walk in the estate's forest and the bus back at 17:00.

### Saturday · 9:30 · Bike from Blois to Chaumont-sur-Loire
Pick up the bike at Détours de Loire: €18 a day, €40 for an electric one. About 20 km along the south bank to Chaumont, and back by the same route.

### Saturday · 16:00 · Blois on foot
Return the bike and walk down towards the river: the royal château of Blois and the Maison de la Magie, opposite it, are 500 metres from the hotel. Check their hours beforehand, as in winter they close early.

### Sunday · 9:30 · Train to Amboise and the royal château
Train from Blois to Amboise on the same Loire line and ten minutes' walk. €17.30 with HistoPad; Leonardo's tomb in the Saint-Hubert chapel and the terrace over the river.

### Sunday · 12:30 · Lunch at Le Choiseul and train to Paris
At the Relais d'Amboise, by the Loire; open every day. In the afternoon, direct train from Amboise to Austerlitz or via Saint-Pierre-des-Corps to Montparnasse.

## Consejos

### Saturday for the bike
In winter the Blois agency closes on Sunday and Monday.

### Book Sunday at Le Choiseul
It is the lunch that closes the trip; do it online.

### Travel light
The hotel has no lift and you go everywhere on foot.

## Preguntas frecuentes

### Can you do the Loire Valley without a car?
Yes, based in Blois: train from Paris, bus to Chambord, bike along the river and train to Amboise.

### Why Blois and not Tours?
Because the bus to Chambord and the bike hire are next to the station, and Amboise is on the same train line.

### And Chenonceau?
Add a night or do the day trip from Tours: TGV to Saint-Pierre-des-Corps and TER to Chenonceaux.

## Dónde dormir if you're flying
- **Relais de Chambord**: The Relais de Chambord is the only hotel inside the 5,440 hectares of the Chambord national estate, right opposite the château. It occupies the former coaching inn of Francis I's hunting lodge, which was already a hotel and was reborn in 2018 after a renovation by the architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte. It keeps the original façade, with its little lookout turret and the red windows and doors typical of Chambord.
The rooms
There are 55, each different because of the building's history: velvet, wood, ceramics by Ettore Sottsass and lamps by Adrien Gardère. There are Classic, Superior, Deluxe, Junior Suites and family rooms, several with views of the château or the River Cosson. The most unusual is a suite installed in a toue, the traditional flat-bottomed Loire boat, which floats on the Cosson canal with the château in the background. Some rooms are adapted for people with reduced mobility; ask when booking.
The spa and the restaurants
The Spa du Relais is open every day from 10:00 to 20:00, with Anne Semonin products, hammam, sauna and an outdoor jacuzzi with a view of the château. For hotel guests access is free, by booking a one-hour slot; under-16s may not enter. In November 2026 the hotel warns that the jacuzzi is temporarily closed for maintenance.
There are two restaurants run by Lyon chef Joseph Viola: Le Grand Saint-Michel, the classic dining room with views of the château, from 12:00 to 14:30 and from 19:00 to 22:00, with booking recommended; and Les Armes du Château, simpler, on place Saint-Louis. The Bar du Relais completes the house.
Getting there and parking
By car, you enter the park, continue towards the château and its car parks, and then follow the signs for the Relais through the entrance to the P1 Bus car park. The car park closest to the hotel is an estate concession and costs €10 per night. By train, from Paris Austerlitz or Montparnasse to Blois-Chambord or Mer; from Blois, Rémi bus line 2 runs to the château.
Sleeping here has a clear advantage: the château and the forest at dawn and dusk, without coaches.
- **Hôtel Anne de Bretagne**: The Hôtel Anne de Bretagne is a three-star in the centre of Blois, on the avenue that runs down from the station to the royal château, which is 500 metres away on foot. It is the most practical base if you arrive by train and want to do Chambord by bus and a day of cycling on the Loire: the Détours de Loire hire is 100 metres away, and the cycle path linking with La Loire à Vélo passes in front of the door.
The rooms
There are standard and superior rooms, and one adapted room. For families there are triples, with a 140 or 160 bed and a single bed or sofa bed, and quadruples, with two 140 beds or with a 160 bed and bunk beds. The building has three floors and no lift: if you find stairs hard, ask for the first floor or ground floor. There is no air conditioning either, only a fan; in heatwaves the staff close the shutters.
Breakfast is a buffet from 7:30 to 10:00, with a terrace under the ivy-covered façade in the good months. Animals are accepted for €10 each per night.
Arrival and times
Reception is open every day from 7:30 to 21:00. Check-in is between 15:00 and 21:00 and check-out before 11:00. In 2026 it closed from 4 January to 8 February and it closes on 24 and 25 December.
Parking
There are free spaces in front of the hotel depending on availability, without booking. Otherwise, the public Laigret car park, 50 metres away, costs €8.50 a day and is free from 18:30 to 9:00, on Sundays and on public holidays; the underground Stationeo car park, 200 metres away, is cheaper. The hotel also has one car space and one motorbike space in a nearby residence.
What is nearby
Blois château and the Maison de la Magie, opposite it, are 500 metres away; the Fondation du Doute, 800. Blois-Chambord station is up the same avenue, and from there bus line 2 to Chambord leaves at 9:20 and 12:20.

## Dónde dormir without a car
- **Hôtel Anne de Bretagne**: The Hôtel Anne de Bretagne is a three-star in the centre of Blois, on the avenue that runs down from the station to the royal château, which is 500 metres away on foot. It is the most practical base if you arrive by train and want to do Chambord by bus and a day of cycling on the Loire: the Détours de Loire hire is 100 metres away, and the cycle path linking with La Loire à Vélo passes in front of the door.
The rooms
There are standard and superior rooms, and one adapted room. For families there are triples, with a 140 or 160 bed and a single bed or sofa bed, and quadruples, with two 140 beds or with a 160 bed and bunk beds. The building has three floors and no lift: if you find stairs hard, ask for the first floor or ground floor. There is no air conditioning either, only a fan; in heatwaves the staff close the shutters.
Breakfast is a buffet from 7:30 to 10:00, with a terrace under the ivy-covered façade in the good months. Animals are accepted for €10 each per night.
Arrival and times
Reception is open every day from 7:30 to 21:00. Check-in is between 15:00 and 21:00 and check-out before 11:00. In 2026 it closed from 4 January to 8 February and it closes on 24 and 25 December.
Parking
There are free spaces in front of the hotel depending on availability, without booking. Otherwise, the public Laigret car park, 50 metres away, costs €8.50 a day and is free from 18:30 to 9:00, on Sundays and on public holidays; the underground Stationeo car park, 200 metres away, is cheaper. The hotel also has one car space and one motorbike space in a nearby residence.
What is nearby
Blois château and the Maison de la Magie, opposite it, are 500 metres away; the Fondation du Doute, 800. Blois-Chambord station is up the same avenue, and from there bus line 2 to Chambord leaves at 9:20 and 12:20.
- **Municipal Campsite l'Île d'Or**, desde 21.45 € / pitch: The l'Île d'Or campsite is the municipal campsite of Amboise, on the island that separates the two arms of the Loire, right opposite the royal château and a short walk from the centre. It lies on the La Loire à Vélo route and about ten minutes on foot from the station, on the TER line between Tours and Paris, so you can arrive without a car.
Pitches and tents
It covers 3 hectares with more than 280 pitches, almost all shaded and spacious, for tent, caravan or motorhome, with or without 10-amp electricity. It does not admit twin-axle caravans or vehicles, or caravans towed by a van. For those travelling by bike or on foot there is a hiker's offer with equipped tents for hire.
The toilet blocks have showers and access for people with reduced mobility, and there is a washing machine, dryer and iron. Motorhome users have an emptying and water-filling area. Bring your own toilet paper: the campsite does not provide it.
Prices and booking
As an example, the website gives for 2026 a night with pitch, two adults, a motorhome and electricity: €21.45 in low season and €23.85 in high season, without the tourist tax. Book online with a 30% deposit, which is not refunded if you cancel except for the exceptions in the regulations, and €4 booking fee. There is a 20% discount for those coming from the towns twinned with Amboise, among them Vejer de la Frontera.
Season and opening hours
Open from late March to early November; it is now closed and reopens in the last week of March 2027. Arrivals are from 13:30. Reception is open from 9:30 to 12:30 and from 13:30 to 19:00 in spring and autumn, and from 8:00 to 21:30 in high summer.
Around it
Next to the campsite is the l'Île d'Or bar-restaurant, open from morning to night in season, with bread, breakfasts and brasserie, and in 2026 a food space for cyclists. Nearby there is a municipal summer swimming pool with a slide, tennis, a playground, a canoe club and a BMX track. The royal château and the Clos Lucé can be reached on foot across the bridge.