The stunning French region that has attracted visitors for centuries
Two hours after fleeing the Monday morning rush of Paris – so many commuting cyclists and e-scooters – we arrive in the rather more laid-back environs of the Loire Valley, where France’s longest river and its tangle of tributaries weave past a string of majestic chateaus rising from a lush, quilted patchwork of forests, gardens, vineyards and wheat fields.
This region south-west of the capital is as alluring for travellers now as it was for the French royals of the late Middle Ages and Renaissance era. We’re visiting some of their grand old castles and hunting lodges on our three-night stay in the Loire, the opening portion of a La Grande France tour with Albatross that will end a fortnight later in Nice on the sizzling Cote d’Azur.
First to cast its spell is the Chateau de Chambord, whose whimsical, sun-kissed melange of towers, spires and chimneys have eyes glued to the windows of our tour coach, driven by the amiable Laurent (nicknamed “Lolo”). After time for lunch, we join another endearing Gallic soul, local guide Olivier, in the courtyard of this chateau, the largest in the Loire, begun in 1519 for King Francois I and fashioned by the finest artisans and architects from France and Italy.
After Olivier shares some mind-boggling facts and figures, we check out a chunk of the chateau’s 426 rooms, 282 fireplaces and 80-odd staircases, the most celebrated of which is the double spiral staircase writhing through the central keep. “OK, one half of the group come with me,” says Olivier. “The other half go up the other side.”
Serving the main quarters of the chateau, this staircase was designed to enable two people (or two groups of people) to ascend floors without ever having to cross paths. Its rumoured mastermind – never confirmed – was Leonardo da Vinci. Francois I was one of his patrons and notebooks discovered after da Vinci’s death contained sketches that bore a striking resemblance to this double helix.
Sign up for the Traveller Deals newsletter
Get exclusive travel deals delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up now.
A few days from now, we’ll call in at Chateau du Clos Luce, where the Tuscan polymath lived out his final years as a guest of Francois (the very king, in fact, who purchased his Mona Lisa, now at Paris’ Louvre Museum). Exhibited in the galleries and park at Clos Luce are dozens of machines and contraptions, from weaponry to bridges, that modern-day builders have crafted using da Vinci’s original designs.
But, back to Chambord, where our 18-strong Australian gang is reunited after scaling the dizzying double staircase. We follow Olivier through lavishly-decorated bedchambers and apartments, flush with paintings, tapestries, exquisitely-carved cabinets and objets d’art. He shows us the chateau’s hidden nooks, too.
We navigate narrow spiral stone staircases and creep through spartan attics propped up by an incredible network of beams. “Oak from the 16th century,” says Olivier, pointing to the ceiling. Halfway down another passage, he pulls out a key from his leather satchel and unlocks a hefty wooden door carved with an image of a salamander. It’s the heraldic symbol of Francois I that we’ll see time and again, embossed into the walls and ceilings of this and other Loire landmarks.
On the chateau’s airy rooftop terrace, we wander by the turrets and gaze over the moat towards Chambord’s impressive gardens. Cultivated in the late-17th century under Louis XIV, they were restored in 2016 and boast more than 16,000 plants, trees and shrubs, many elaborately woven into parterres and topiaries.
From up here, we also get the lay of the wider estate. Touted as Europe’s largest enclosed park, it sprawls 5540 hectares, surrounded by a 32-kilometre wall. Where the royals and their courtiers once stalked stags and wild boars, today’s leisure seekers pedal and hike through the estate’s dense forests, row or ride electric boats along the waterways, picnic on grassy lawns or lunch at the al fresco restaurants in quaint, tiny Chambord village, which also has a shop selling local delicacies such as deer terrine and palets solognots (buttery cookies stoked with rum and raisins).
About seven kilometres south of the chateau, as the crow flies, is our Loire base, Le Prieure de Boulogne, a converted former priory, where medieval monks prayed and meditated and chirpy swallows nest by the hotel’s guttering during our early June stay. This four-star retreat is blessed with smart contemporary rooms, a heated open-air swimming pool and a rustic-sleek restaurant serving regional fare, from pork rillette and Crottin de Chavignol (a Loire goat’s cheese) at the breakfast buffet to dishes such as duck confit and wild mushroom risotto for dinner.
We enjoy several other outings to lift the spirits. Eliciting swoons and camera clicks aplenty is the multi-arched, river-spanning Chateau de Chenonceau, where the rivalry between Catherine de’ Medici, the Florence-born wife of King Henri II (son of Francois I), and his mistress Diane de Poitiers played out. An audio guide shares tales of their simmering feud and other episodes and scandals from the chateau’s past.
Both women have gardens in their honour by this richly-furnished property, though none are quite as vast or extravagant as those at our next stop, the Chateau de Villandry, whose multi-tiered, seven-hectare gardens look sublime even from under an umbrella. Slick with drizzle, fragrant rose bushes radiate around fruits, herbs and vegetables in its centrepiece kitchen gardens, which flaunt showy geometric motifs. Other ornamental gardens at Villandry convey the states of love – tender, passionate, flighty, tragic – in box beds shaped like hearts, flames and daggers.
Besides the organised elements of this Albatross tour – which also includes tastings of seven different Loire wines, all made with the chenin blanc grape, at one of the limestone caves gouging this region – we have free time to stroll, eat and drink in the historic riverside towns of Amboise, Blois and Tours. Bistro-fringed lanes and cafe-framed squares draw you in, many backdropped with half-timbered medieval houses or elegant mansions and churches hewn from the same local tuffeau limestone that gleams in the famous chateaux.
The Loire has been a pleasure and the good news for us is that it’s merely the hors d’oeuvre – the appetiser – for a journey that will take our group through other timelessly charming French regions, with the Dordogne, Languedoc-Roussillon and Provence all on the itinerary.
Enjoying one last post-dinner walk through the peaceful grounds of our Loire hotel, I spot a hare dashing into the fields, beavers wading in an algae-clogged pond and those busy swallows criss-crossing a sky that remains bright well after 9pm. Not for the first time on this trip, and it won’t be the last, I’m imbued with a feeling of joie de vivre.
THE DETAILS
FLY
Several airlines connect Paris with Sydney and Melbourne, including Emirates, which flies via Dubai. see emirates.com
TOUR
The Albatross 16-day La Grande France costs $10,987 a person based on two sharing or $14,087 for a solo traveller. For 2026, the tour itinerary extends to 19 days, including three nights in Bordeaux. Departures are from Paris in May, June, August and September with prices from $15,887 a person (twin) and $20,887 (solo). See albatrosstours.com.au
The writer was a guest of Albatross Tours.
For info on Southern France travel, watch Getaway on 9Now.
Steve McKenna is based in the UK, but is usually drawn to sunnier climes. He has a special affection for Mediterranean Europe, south-east Asia and Latin America.