Going to be in the Loire in just over a week for a few days. Were supposed to visit a great winery there but got bumped because of the Harvest!
Looking for suggestions in the Loire for special experiences, dining and unique lesser known wineries you can walk into!
We will be staying at a cottage south of Amboise!
What do you love about the Loire? And, if it is a great castle or Chateau and not a winery… fine too!
I’d search on “Loire” here… I know there was a good thread that I added a couple of posts to, as well. Amboise is a nice town - the chateau there is a fun visit and you can see Da Vinci’s grave there. If you have kids with you, Clos Luce is down the road and was a fantastic visit for my 4-10 year olds. Other “different” visit - call up one of the goat cheese producers and do a farm visit, especially if you’re around Ste Maure de Touraine. Aside from seeing the animals up close, was interesting to hear the how they made different formats (logs w/straw in the center, blue rings, pyramids). If driving from Paris, stop in Chartres to see the cathedral (thank you Rick Allen) and read this first → The American hero who saved Chartres Cathedral | Washington Examiner
Outside of that, the only “can’t miss” for me was Chenonceaux. Chambord was probably a close second, due to it massive footprint/gardens, but Chenonceaux was fantastic. Wasn’t able to hit any wineries, but am a fan of Domaine Huet and find quite a bit of the Saumur Champigny wines to be great QPRs.
This, although we went to the area primarily to visit the chateaux and while there taste some wines - we weren’t looking for other experiences.
Huet and Chidaine were easy walk in visits, very friendly and pouring lots of different things. We stopped in at Philippe Foreau because it is literally just up the street from Huet and while they were very nice and poured a few things for us, they were clearly not set up for stop ins and communication was quite difficult (very limited English on their side, very limited French on ours).
If you’re looking for a splurge meal, the restaurant at Domaine des Hauts de Loire was excellent (we stayed at the hotel, which is also not too shabby).
We were there only a few days on a side trip from Paris, but we will definitely return. There is also a lot more to the Loire that we plan to explore.
Would love to hear about your experiences when you return from your trip. I’ll be visiting in the spring.
Domaine Filliatreau in Saumur.
We had a great visit tasting wines in the tuffeau caves by their winery. Some good bio-dynamic wines were available, as well.
I think Clos Luce is really cool for adults, too. But kids will love it.
Chenonceau is well worth a trip, and if you go later in the day, the crowds will be light.
Restaurant Olivier Arlot for dinner. http://www.restaurant-olivier-arlot.fr/
Also, the restaurant at Les Hautes Roches (cool place to stay, too; especially in one of the troglodyte rooms)