Your itinerary
Day 1
DAY 1
Arrival in Vernon
Day 2
Monet's House
Monet’s House – Today you visit Monet’s house and garden. You have all seen Monet’s paintings reproduced in calendars and birthday cards, but to be here, in this spectacular display of colour, is simply an unforgettable experience. In the Japanese inspired water garden, shaded by a great willow tree and surrounded by bamboo trees, rhododendrons and azaleas, is the lily pond, where the famous Les Nymphéas or Water Lilies were painted. Inside the house is also outstanding.
Your journey continues to Chartres, where the cathedral is arguably the most magnificent in France with perhaps the most intricate 13th-century-stained glass in Europe eventually arriving in the picturesque city of Tours, where you will be staying for four nights’ bed and breakfast at the four-star Novotel Tours Centre Gare which is centrally located on the edge of the Old Town.
Meals: Breakfast
Day 3
Tours & Chenonceau
Tours & Chenonceau – After breakfast we enjoy a guided tour of the wonderfully preserved historic centre of Tours. The city’s rich and varied history stretches back as far as the Gallo-Roman period, later becoming the medieval capital of France and seat of the French monarchy.
This afternoon we visit Chenonceau, home of Mary Queen of Scots and probably the most stately of the Loire châteaux, majestically hovering on the waters of the River Cher. Later we return to the hotel.
Meals: Breakfast
Day 4
Fontevraud Abbey, Saumur & wine tasting
Fontevraud Abbey, Saumur & wine tasting – This morning we visit the stunning UNESCO World Heritage Site, Fontevraud Abbey, for a guided tour. Arguably the greatest monastic establishment left standing in France, the Abbey was once one of the richest and most powerful royal retreats in the world.
Next we head to Saumur, described as the ‘pearl of Anjou’, the town is a delightful spot to stop for lunch and wander amongst its magnificent architectural heritage. No visit here would be complete without sampling some of this famous produce, so this afternoon we visit the Ackerman wine cellars for a tasting of some of their award-winning Saumur wines.
Later we return to Tours.
Meals: Breakfast,Lunch
Day 5
Chinon & Château Villandry
Chinon & Château Villandry – This morning we visit the charming town of Chinon, medieval in character dominated by the imposing castle where Joan of Arc first met the Dauphin. You have time to explore this lovely town.
In the afternoon, we make our way down the beautiful Loire Valley to the Château Villandry, famous for its unique gardens, consisting largely of colourful vegetables.
Meals: Breakfast
Day 6
Amboise & Château of Clos Lucé
Amboise & Château of Clos Lucé – This morning we visit Amboise, a delightful little town nestling on the banks of the River Loire. where a royal château sits. Nearby is the Château of Clos Lucé, famous as the final abode of Leonardo da Vinci. Today it houses the Leonardo da Vinci Museum, dedicated to his work and the region’s prestigious history. On display are models of his various innovations as well as a copy of the Mona Lisa.
Afterwards we continue to our final hotel, where we stay at the four-star Hotel Mercure Orléans Portes de Sologne, where we also dine.
Meals: Breakfast,Dinner
Day 7
Fontainebleau & return Eurostar
Fontainebleau & return Eurostar – This morning we visit the beautiful Château of Fontainebleau, just south of Paris, where Napoleon departed to his exile on the island of Elba. It is decorated in fantastic style, with intricate frescoes and parquet floors inlaid with exotic woods.
Most impressive is the vast display of exquisite furniture and the formally designed, extensive grounds. Fontainebleau encompasses everything you imagine about a French château: style, opulence, grandeur – even outrageousness.
Later you transfer to Paris to take the Eurostar service (exact time will be indicated on travel documents) to London St Pancras International.
Meals: Breakfast
What’s included
What’s not included
Additional information
Saumur Town Walk & Ackerman Wine Cellars Tasting
Stroll elegant Saumur, where tuffeau-stone facades glow beneath the hilltop château and bridges span the broad Loire. Linger on riverfront quays and handsome squares showcasing Anjou heritage.
Descend into the atmospheric Ackerman wine cellars, hewn into limestone troglodyte galleries, to sample regional wines such as Saumur Brut and Crémant de Loire. Learn about méthode traditionnelle and the chalky terroir shaping these sparkling cuvées.
Château de Villandry Gardens
Explore Château de Villandry’s celebrated ornamental kitchen gardens, where box-hedged beds pattern checkerboards of lettuces, beets and herbs in jewel-bright palettes.
Admire geometric parterres, the tranquil Water Garden and the symbolic Love Garden from terraced viewpoints to pause for photos and reflection. Restored by the Carvallo family, Villandry expresses Renaissance ideals of order, harmony and productive beauty.
Amboise Riverside Town Visit
Wander atmospheric Amboise, a Loire town of slate roofs and stone arcades where the Royal Château d’Amboise crowns the ramparts above the river.
Browse cobbled lanes and riverside cafés while noting Renaissance facades and the Chapel of Saint-Hubert, burial place of Leonardo da Vinci. Views from the quays capture the broad Loire and the town’s graceful skyline.
Château du Clos Lucé – Leonardo da Vinci’s House
Enter the Château du Clos Lucé to step inside Leonardo da Vinci’s house, where he lived from 1516 at the invitation of King Francis I.
See models of flying machines and bridges, then stroll gardens dotted with large-scale interactive reconstructions from his notebooks. Furnished rooms and workshop spaces evoke a working studio where art, engineering and curiosity fused.
Château de Fontainebleau
Visit the magnificent Château de Fontainebleau, royal residence to kings and emperors for eight centuries. Marvel at the frescoed Galerie Francois I, intricate parquetry and the emblematic horseshoe staircase.
In the Cour d’Honneur, recall Napoleon’s farewell before exile. Set amid formal parterres and vast forest, Fontainebleau layers Renaissance artistry and imperial grandeur into one richly decorated palace.
Château de Chinon Fortress Entry
Climb to the Château de Chinon to explore ramparts and towers above the Vienne River, a fortress linked to Joan of Arc’s momentous 1429 audience with the Dauphin.
This visit is at additional cost (approximately €8.50, payable locally) and is bookable on tour. Expect sweeping panoramic views and exhibits illuminating the site’s Plantagenet past.
Château de Chenonceau
Visit the Château de Chenonceau, the refined “Ladies’ Château” whose arched gallery over the River Cher reflects like lace on the water. Stroll flower-filled rooms, riverside views and parterres scented with roses and lavender.
Hear of Catherine de Medici and Diane de Poitiers, rivals who shaped the château’s fortunes and gardens. From vaulted kitchens to elegant salons, Chenonceau blends courtly history with lyrical scenery.
Fontevraud Abbey Guided Tour
Join a guided tour of vast Fontevraud Abbey, a serene ensemble of Romanesque church, chapter house and quiet cloisters set amid lawns and honey-coloured stone.
Stand before the effigies of Eleanor of Aquitaine, Henry II and Richard the Lionheart, and learn how this double monastery later became a prison. Within the Loire Valley’s UNESCO landscape, Fontevraud reveals centuries of power, piety and renewal.
Chartres Cathedral Visit
Explore Chartres Cathedral, a High Gothic masterpiece whose twin spires command the old town. Enter the cool nave to admire the shimmering 13th-century stained glass that bathes carved stone in the celebrated Blue of Chartres.
Trace biblical stories across rose windows and pause for photos and reflection by the medieval labyrinth set into the floor. A UNESCO World Heritage site, Chartres embodies the skill, symbolism and faith of medieval France.
Tours Historic Centre Guided Walk
Join a guided walking tour through Tours’ beautifully preserved centre, where half-timbered houses ring lively Place Plumereau and cobbled lanes open onto café-lined squares.
Hear how the city evolved from Gallo-Roman outpost to royal capital, and view the elegant facade of Saint-Gatien Cathedral. Architecture, artisanship and a relaxed Loire rhythm reveal Tours’ genial character.
Monet’s House and Gardens, Giverny
Discover Claude Monet’s world in Giverny as you visit Monet’s house and gardens. Wander the Clos Normand past peonies and nasturtiums to the mirrored Water Lily pond and Japanese Bridge, where willows fringe the water and carp glide beneath.
Inside, step inside the artist’s home with sunlit rooms hung with Japanese prints, then linger among flower beds he arranged as a living palette. Sense how the painterly light and seasonal colour inspired the Nymphéas series that reshaped Impressionism.
