PROGRAMME

DAY 1
Arrival in Tours in the morning. Setting up at your 2 or 3 or 4 star hotel or bed and breakfast in the city centre of Tours. Lunch on your own.

Sightseeing of the chateau of Chenonceau. Built in the XVIth c., it is one of the purest Early French Renaissance style works. The square dwellings, built in the riverbed itself on the piles of a fortified mill, the square building is the original chateau. On the bridge built by Diane, rises The two-level gallery completed by Catherine de Medicis. . You will discover the guardroom, the chapel, a superb 60 metres long gallery above the Cher river, Diane de Poitier and François 1st rooms. In the upper levels, you will admire the bedrooms of Gabrielle d'Estrees, Catherine de Medicis and Louise of Lorraine… Settled inside the two piles of the former mill anchored in the Cher river bed, the kitchens will reveal the art and ingenuity of the Renaissance builders. Not far from the gardens of Diane de Poitiers and Catherine de Medicis, stands "La Galerie des Dames de Chenonceau" settled in the former Royal stables. Here are told the dreams, ambitions, the great projects and the destinies of those women who made the history of the place. A walk in the French style gardens will provide a pleasant end to your tour

Sightseeing of the chateau of Amboise. Built during the XVth and XVIth centuries by Kings Charles VIIIth, Louis XIIth and François 1^st, Amboise was really the first royal residence. You will discover its French Gothic and Renaissance architectural styles. Today, the chateau still owns an exceptional collection of furniture, beautifully preserved. Leonardo da Vinci is buried inside the St Hubert chapel, built during the XVth century in the Flamboyant Gothic style. From the gardens, overlooking, the town of Amboise, you will discover one of the most beautiful panoramas of the Loire valley.

Then, visit the CLOS LUCE in Amboise:
A Renaissance style manor house, where Leonardo de Vinci spent the last years of his life. You will discover freely the Leonardo da Vinci park in three stages. The chateau itself where you enter Leonardo’s privacy (his bedroom , study, a kitchen and beautiful Renaissance style rooms ) and the exhibitions of 40 of his fabulous machines.Then, in the garden you will leave for an initiatory trip with Leonardo and his disciple.

8:00 pm
Dinner in a city centre restaurant of Tours. Accommodation at your 2 or 3 or 4 star hotel or bed and breakfast in the city centre of Tours.

DAY 2
Breakfast

Morning on your own for shopping ( many shops, flowers market, flee market…), or guided tour of the city ( schedule available at the tourist office) visit of the museums of Tours ( a pass for the entrances of the different museums of Tours is available at the tourist office)

More than 4 centuries after it was built, it still mystifies one’s imagination : 156 meters of façade, 56 meters high, 440 rooms… Built as a fortress, with its keep, fortification and massive corner towers, the fantasy of the gothic style roof crowned with chimneys, turrets and dormer windows makes it look like the fantastic palaces met in novels of chivalry. Chambord is a dream come true for a young king of 25 years, François 1^st, who was fond of the Loire valley way of life and full of pride for his military success and who wanted to have built the most sumptuous hunting meeting place ever seen.

Then, the chateau of Cheverny. The chateau which was used as example by Hergé to draw Moulinsart, will amaze you by the wealth and density of its furniture and the authentic and refined charm of its decoration. Inhabited all year long by the owners, the estate of Cheverny belongs to the family Hurault well known people and councillors of the Kings Louis XII, François 1^st, Henri III and Henri IV. The tradition of fox hunting is kept and respected. 70 hounds live in the kennel and their feeding called "la soupe" has remained an astonishing spectacle.

8:00 pm
Dinner in a city centre restaurant of Tours. Accommodation at your 2 or 3 or 4 star hotel or bed and breakfast in the city centre of Tours.

DAY 3
Breakfast

9:20 am
Meeting at the tourist office.

9:30 am
Departure with an air conditioned minibus with a driver for a third excursion to discover 2 other major monuments of the Loire valley chateaux ( visits on your own).

Visit the CHATEAU OF AZAY-LE-RIDEAU. The chateau was built on an island in the middle of the Indre river and surrounded by greenery . It is a perfect example of the Early French Renaissance architecture., Punctuated by towers and turrets, The two right angle wings show the perfect combination between traditional elements and others influenced by the Italian art. The furnished rooms are decorated with a lovely collection of XVIth and XVIIth c. Flemish and French tapestries.

Visit the GARDENS OF VILLANDRY
They surround like, a jewellery box, the last great Early French Renaissance château built on the banks of the Cher river (1536). You will walk through one of the most beautiful gardens in France distributed on three levels : the water garden, surrounded by a cloister made of linden trees , the ornamental garden, displaying its "love", "music" and herb gardens, the kitchen garden, over 12,500 m2, which reproduces the shape of an authentic multicoloured checkerboard divided in nine squares where vegetables and fruit trees are symmetrically planted.

           
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