Merry Christmas From Loire Valley Time Travel

 

Industrial Heritage in the Loire Valley

The Loire Valley is not just all about Renaissance chateaux, although no doubt that's what most visitors come for. There is a surprising amount of 19th century industrial heritage too though, which is well worth making a short stop along your route to see. And that is exactly what we do on our tours. A good example are the éoliennes Bollée, wind turbines for pumping water, which you will get to see if we pass one of the survivors. Very steam punk!

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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos. You may also like to check out our YouTube channel. 

The Chateau is Full

We advise clients to buy their tickets online for the Chateau of Chenonceau no later than 4 days before they plan to visit, whether they are going to be accompanied by us or going independently. The chateau is very strict about visitor entry time slots during days of high visitor numbers. These include all the May long weekends, which are usually the busiest days of all during the year, and of course, the summer school holidays, in July and August. During these periods the "chateau is full" signs will often go out by lunchtime. If you turn up wanting to visit you will be allowed in to the grounds, for a reduced price, but not inside the already packed chateau. 

 

If you are buying tickets online, only do so from the official site [link], as anywhere else can only sell you a voucher, with no time attached. This gains you nothing, as you still have to call in to the ticket office to exchange your voucher and be allocated a time slot. You could easily miss out on your preferred timeslot, or not get one at all.

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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos. You may also like to check out our YouTube channel. 

A Review From Donna

Many thanks to Donna, who took the time to write a glowing review of her 3 hour walkin tour of Loches. She and her husband Jack, from the United States, visited the Loire Valley in May 2023.

"Wow, we LOVED our half-day in Loches and could have spent an entire day with Susan and still not seen it all. We climbed a lot of stairs to the top of the donjon, and learned not only about life in a 12th century castle but also 15th century hunting lodges and love stories and more."

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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos. You may also like to check out our YouTube channel. 

Winter Wine Tasting in the Loire Valley

Winter is a quiet time in the Loire Valley, especially for tourists. The only people who are really busy are the winemakers, as they are using the period when the vines are dormant to carefully prune them. This is a job that can only be done by hand and by someone who knows what they are doing. It's hard back breaking work, in the cold and wet quite often. Nevertheless, wineries are still ready to welcome visitors, especially if they are wine lovers and interested in buying a few bottles. In the photo our clients are being given a tasting by the winemaker's father-in-law. He had kindly made the tasting room cosy by lighting a fire (he was burning old vine stakes!). It is these personal touches that make our winery visits special.

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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos. You may also like to check out our YouTube channel. 

Supporting Our Charities in the Loire Valley

We have been involved in supporting a group of displaced Ukrainians who now live in the Loire Valley since April 2022. Naturally we talk about our work and our Ukrainian friends to clients, as it is part of daily life here and clients are often just as curious about what life is like here today, as well as what happened here in the past. Earlier in the year we had some wonderful clients who decided to support our work and made a very generous donation to the charity we are involved in. They wish to remain anonymous, but their money was used to fund a happy visit to the zoo, and the sad purchase of flowers for a funeral, as well as some more mundane necessities. Their donation reflects the typical international outlook, generosity of spirit and belief in the power of kindness that our clients regularly display. We are proud to have people such as this as clients, and thank them with all our heart for helping us to help others in difficulty.

Displaced Ukrainians visiting the Chateau de Chenonceau, organised by us.

 

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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos. You may also like to check out our YouTube channel. 

Visit the Loire Valley in Spring

The Loire Valley is beautiful in spring, with wisteria, lilac, magnolias, fruit trees and judas trees making the most glorious display. On the ground below them will be daffodils, tulips, primroses, honesty and daisies. We would love to share this fabulous display with you and will make sure any visit to a chateau includes time in the garden.

Tulips at the Chateau de Cheverny.

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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos. You may also like to check out our YouTube channel. 

What is the Cuisine of the Loire Valley?

If you are talking about French regional cuisine, it's not enough to talk about Escoffier and sauces. You need to talk about terroir, the notion that food is a product of a matrix of influences including soil, weather, seasons, generations of farming practices and knowledge, genetics, kitchen preparation and cooking. There might be a lot less butter involved than you were expecting...so book a tour with us and find out!

Preparing an eclade of mussels in the garden on a summer evening.

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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos. You may also like to check out our YouTube channel. 

A Chateau With a Difference in the Loire Valley

The Chateau de Candé may at first glance look much like any other small fairytale Renaissance style chateau. But its real treasure is 20th century. Between the Wars the chateau was owned by a very wealthy and stylish couple who reflect the new interest in sport and fitness. Not only did they have a stable full of horses and ride regularly, they had a golf course, tennis court and home gymnasium. The gym equipment was supplied by the same company that fitted out the gymnasiums for the great cruise liners, including the Titanic. It is all still there in the generously sized gym room in the basement, in working order and now very rare.

If you are interested in the development of personal health and fitness movements, or the glamorous 1920s and 30s, ask us to include the Chateau of Candé in your itinerary for a tour with us.

A Gastronomic Treat in the Loire Valley

Both truffles and cheeses are produced in the Loire Valley. The combination of the two makes something even more special. We highly recommend you try a truffled cheese if you come across one. Truffle is a pungent intensely savoury aroma, but it often does not translate into an outstanding taste sensation. That's where the cheese comes in. Cheese has just the right texture and level of fat to make the truffle perform at its best. Don't hesitate to try it!

The cheese on the right is a Crémeux des Citeaux, that has been split and given a layer of truffles. A gift to us from the cheese refiner Rodolphe le Meunier (very well known and respected in France, and his products are available in New York). For those of you who need to know, the cheese on the left at the front is a Couronne Lochoise, a goats milk cheese virtually unknown outside our local area. The package at the back is hand churned butter seasoned with traditionally produced salt from the Ile de Ré, off the Atlantic coast of France.

A Review From Brannon

Brannon from Texas and his wife and daughter did our Amboise and Chenonceau tour in April 2023. He was kind enough to leave us a very positive review and we greatly appreciate that.

 

"Susan and Simon were excellent hosts and Susan did an excellent job covering two castles in excellent depth. She did an exceptional job in pointing out interesting bits and bringing the people whom lived and died in these palaces to life. My wife and daughter enjoyed it as much as I did. The historic Citroen added to the experience as did learning about the women who became powerful leaders."

Breakfast in the Loire Valley

Doesn't this look like a glamorous setting for breakfast? It is the view from a 5 star hotel in the Loire Valley, with a view across the River Loire to Blois. Book a stay here to be pampered, and book a tour with us so you can get the very best out of the UNESCO World Heritage area. You won't regret it.

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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos. You may also like to check out our YouTube channel. 

Servicing Our Classic Cars in the Loire Valley

Claudette and Célestine, our classic tour vehicles, are more than 60 years old, so they take a lot of maintenance. Luckily we have a great specialist mechanical team that we can call on, who love Citroen Traction Avants, and know exactly what to do. If you too have a love of old cars, book a special tour of the Loire Valley with us in an old Citroen.

Claudette waits patiently in her garage with her front wheels off while her brake drums are at a specialist workshop being refurbished.

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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos. You may also like to check out our YouTube channel. 

Historical Costume in the Loire Valley

Many chateaux have permanent or temporary and changing costume displays, either original pieces like Ussé, or reproduction like Loches. It is always a great insight into how people lived in the past to see how what they wore functioned so we always make sure to talk about costume in our tours.

Our client Michelle, from Hawaii, eyeing a codpiece askance, at the Chateau Royal d'Amboise. And yes, codpieces are exactly what you think they are...

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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos. You may also like to check out our YouTube channel. 

The Loire Valley Weather

The Loire River is big enough to create its own weather. It sucks in moist air from the Atlantic so the sky is often grey. But the grey skies are what gives the vineyards just the right conditions for growing chenin blanc grapes. The Loire sparkling wines made from this special variety can rival champagne, for a quarter of the price. So don't bemoan the weather if your stay in the Loire Valley is not brilliant sunshine and blue skies. Remember that a bit of grey is good for the vines, and for the goats producing the famous local cheese that you can pair with the wine (the goats produce more milk in cooler weather, so that's more cheese for you...). Likewise, the soft creamy limestone buildings with their slate roofs seem to sit better in a landscape under cloud cover. Book a tour with us and come and see for yourself how cool clouds over the Loire Valley UNESCO World Heritage area can be.

Overlooking the Loire River from the Chateau Royal d'Amboise.

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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos. You may also like to check out our YouTube channel. 

Dead as a Door Nail in Amboise

Amboise is very much the tourist hub of the Touraine Loire Valley, but off peak you would struggle to believe it. This photo was taken at 10 o'clock in the morning on 7 March 2023. In summer this scene would be transformed by a heaving mass of people. So maybe think about visiting from October to April and avoid the crowds. Email us if you have questions about what you can see at this time of year. And if you book a tour with us we'll explain where the phrase 'dead as a door nail' comes from...

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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos. You may also like to check out our YouTube channel. 

Re-enactor Rushing to Work at Amboise

We quite often encounter re-enactors at the Chateau of Amboise. This one was obviously in a rush to get to work in the morning. Ask us to include Amboise in your tour if you would like to chat to these talented characters dedicated to bringing history alive.

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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos. You may also like to check out our YouTube channel. 

Wine Cellars in the Loire Valley

Wine cellars in the Loire Valley are often underground, in troglodyte caves. We finish most of our chauffeured tours with a visit to a wine cellar. So what are you waiting for? Book a tour!!

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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos. You may also like to check out our YouTube channel. 

Fossils in the Loire Valley

The Loire Valley is the remnant of an ancient tropical sea, hence all the limestone, which is formed by all the remains of sea creatures over millenia. It also means there are fossils everywhere -- in the rock used for the famous chateaux, but also loose in the soil in vineyards and vegetable gardens. Most vineyards have an impressive collection of fossils, picked up over the years from under the vines. If you are a fossil fancier why not join us for a tour that includes a winery? Don't forget to check the earth at the edge of the vineyards and fields. You never know what you will find.

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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos. You may also like to check out our YouTube channel. 

What is the Cuisine of the Loire Valley?

Recently a client asked me what French cuisine was. We'd just observed that there are Italian restaurants everywhere in the Western World. Despite the reputation of French cuisine as being the height of perfection (that's how the UNESCO World Intangible Heritage listing describes it), French cuisine is not so universally available or loved at a grassroots level.

There seems to be a lot of misconceptions about French cuisine, so why not book a tour with us and learn what the Loire Valley contributes to this famous aspect of French life. It won't be nearly so full of butter as you might think... 

Leeks are the favourite vegetable of many French people, and it seems French babies start early...

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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos. You may also like to check out our YouTube channel. 

Winter Conservation Cleaning in the Loire Valley Chateaux

Winter is a great time to visit the Loire Valley chateaux, especially if you are interested in the behind the scenes work of maintaining and presenting a heritage building to the public. Winter time is when the tapestries get cleaned, for example, and the conservators doing the work are very happy to talk to visitors about their job. If you book a tour with us we will always make sure you get to see this type of work being done. 

Conservators vacuuming a 17th century tapestry in the Chateau Royal d'Amboise.

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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos. You may also like to check out our YouTube channel. 

A Review From Regi

Regi and Michelle from Hawaii booked a tour of Amboise at the very last minute and turned out to be utterly delightful clients. They were kind enough to take the time to write a review of their experience with me.

Historical reenactors at the Chateau Royal d'Amboise.

"I don't think we could have found a more knowledgeable guide than Susan. The local tour was quick but beyond informative. Buy Susan lunch afterwards and get even more informed... LOL. Great time and great conversation. Aloha Susan !"

 Thank you so much, Regi and Michelle, for this great review and I definitely appreciated the lunch! 

 

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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos. You may also like to check out our YouTube channel. 

Impromptu Organ Recitals in the Loire Valley

Quite often when we visit a church the organist will be practicing. This is always atmospheric and beautiful. The churches we visit all have something unique and special, but an organ solo always makes your time inside something memorable.

You can just see the organist. The church is Saint Denis in Amboise.

 

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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos. You may also like to check out our YouTube channel. 

The Chateau of Chambord as Wildlife Sanctuary

The Chateau of Chambord is the most important hibernation roost for protected pipistrelle bats in Centre Val de Loire. The bats are surveyed twice a year, to check which species are using the Chateau and when. The curators then develop policy to protect both the bats and the collection of fine objects in the Chateau. You won't see the bats when you visit with us, but we are able to tell you how these little creatures live in harmony with a historic site. It's one of the unexpected aspects of managing a chateau open to the public.

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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos. You may also like to check out our YouTube channel. 

Where Do All Those Baguettes Come From?

If you are in the Loire Valley then the chances are the wheat that was grown to make your baguette was grown somewhere close by. Centre Val de Loire Region is the largest cereal producer in Western Europe, and a hectare sown to wheat here will yield 6 tonnes of grain, which once milled into flour will make 25 000 baguettes. 

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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos. You may also like to check out our YouTube channel. 

Unicorn Sighting in the Loire Valley

Unicorns have been extinct in the Loire Valley for centuries, but it seems they may be returning. Probably like wolves, they are making their way over the Alps and dispersing far and wide throughout France.

We were lucky enough to get good views of one in the Loire Valley just recently. A charming creature, but much bigger than you expect.

Or possibly it was an elderly Percheron mare...

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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos. 

Visiting a Winery in the Loire Valley

When you book a tour with us we usually include a visit to a small family run winery. You'll be shown where the wine is made and have the process explained to you. The winemakers are proud of their 'terroir', the link between their wine and where it is made, that influences the way the wine tastes and its keeping qualities. On the visit shown in the photo, winery owner Delphine explains that Loire wines are not traditionally oaky, but when they do use wine it is important to use barrels made from oak grown in the forests of the Loire Valley.

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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos. You may also like to check out our YouTube channel. 

See Restoration up Close in the Loire Valley

Visitors who come in the winter are quite likely to encounter restoration projects underway in the chateaux of the Loire Valley. Sometimes rooms will be closed or there will be scaffolding up. Don't think of this as spoiling your visit, but an opportunity to have a unique experience. In winter there are very few visitors and the staff have time to talk to anyone who is interested in the behind the scenes challenges of managing a heritage property. 

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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos. You may also like to check out our YouTube channel. 

A Review from Royce

Royce and Linda, from Texas, did a chauffeured tour of Amboise and Chenonceau with us in November 2022, and were kind enough to leave this terrific review.

Claudette, one of our classic Citroen cars, with Royce and Linda on the right, and a random French tourist on the left, taking a video of us.

 

We really enjoyed our tour to the Loire Valley! What made it exceptional was the vehicle that was used. It was a 1956 Citroen that was absolutely beautiful and in like new condition. It turned heads everywhere we went! People were taking pictures of it and waiving all along the way. Simon, the driver and husband of the guide, Susan, was a great driver and very proud of his vehicle. Susan was an excellent guide and very enjoyable in every way. Exceptionally knowledgeable! Highly recommended.

Wrapping Up Christmas in the Loire Valley

If you visit the Loire Valley chateaux in January you may well come across scenes like the one below. Little by little the fabulous Christmas decorations get taken down, packed up, and put away in January. Don't worry that it will spoil your visit. You will be able to enjoy whatever decorations are still in place, and there will be so few visitors the staff are relaxed and happy to see us. We'll get to see things we might otherwise not have access to.

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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos. You may also like to check out our YouTube channel. 

A Very Fine Vintage in the Loire Valley

Many of our clients are much the same age as we are and are delighted to hear that 1959 was an exceptional vintage in the Loire Valley. For real wine lovers such as the client in this photo we try to make sure we visit a winery that can offer you some of this special vintage. You won't get to taste it, as the winemaker cannot afford to open a bottle for that, but you can still buy it, for a surprisingly reasonable price. The wine in this photo is about €300 a bottle, and for anyone who wants to celebrate a special anniversary, it makes a great gift (to yourself, or a loved one!).

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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos. You may also like to check out our YouTube channel. 

A New Expert Mechanic on the Loire Valley Time Travel Team

We are fortunate to have a new expert mechanic on our classic car maintenance team, and Célestine and Claudette are very happy. Dominique worked for more than forty years for the marvellous Dufresne, home to the most amazing collection of mostly mechanical and historical objects in the Loire Valley. Now he's retired he takes on clients or projects that he likes. He's a friend of Bernard, one of our relief drivers, and so we were lucky enough to engage him when Claudette needed her brake drums skimmed. He also discovered she needed new drive shaft bolts and dealt with that. So we are very happy too.

Dominique working on Claudette's brake drums.

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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos. You may also like to check out our YouTube channel. 

Photo Session in the Loire Valley

In the Chateau Royal d'Amboise the king's room is on the second floor of the royal apartments. In addition to the famous painting by François-Guillaume Ménageot "The death of Leonardo da Vinci" (1781), there is also a four-poster bed. 

Mark Playle, from Photograph France [link], doing a photoshoot with one of our clients in the King's Chamber in the Chateau Royal d'Amboise.

If you come in the low season (2 January to Easter) we can arrange to have a special photo session in the Chateau Royal d'Amboise, with a professional local photographer and access to the heart of the historic displays, behind the barriers in the rooms open to the public. This is a unique opportunity only offered to our clients. Email us to book this experience.

Canopied beds appeared at the end of the 15th century. Whilst obviously being a way of displaying gorgeous textiles and carved wood, they also have a utilitarian dimension. The curtains allow occupants to keep the heat inside the bed, despite the chill of the castle interiors. The curtains also ensured a relative intimacy and privacy to the bed's occupants. At the time, everyone, even the King, shared their room with several other people.

A Review From Taylor

Taylor and family did a half day walking tour of the Chateau of Chenonceau in July 2022, which was extended to include lunch at a nearby restaurant that is very popular with the locals, and somewhere that tourists might not find. We are always very grateful to get positive reviews like this and appreciate that clients take the time to write them.

"Our tour with Susan was lovely. She is so knowledgeable and experienced. She was able to relate to adults and kids alike so we all learned a great deal. To end the tour she took us to a fantastic local restaurant for more conversation and unbelievable local food."

A Chateau With a Difference in the Loire Valley

The Chateau de Candé may at first glance look much like any other small fairytale Renaissance style chateau. But its real treasure is 20th century. At the heart of chateau, in the library, and extending all the way up to the attic, is a most remarkable Skinner organ from America, installed in 1929. It is so special that it is listed in its own right as a Historic Monument (which, surprisingly, the chateau building itself is not!). The organ is regularly played, in order to blow the dust out of its pipes and connections and is the only one of its kind in working order in Europe. It is so powerful it can be heard 3 kilometres away! 

If you want to learn the remarkable history of this organ's installation and restoration, as well as hear it play, ask us to include the Domaine de Candé in your itinerary with us. The organ is not the only treat the chateau has in store for you.

A Gourmet Treat in the Loire Valley

Both truffles and cheeses are produced in the Loire Valley. The combination of the two makes something even more special. We highly recommend you try a truffled cheese if you come across one. Truffle is a pungent intensely savoury aroma, but it often does not translate into an outstanding taste sensation. That's where the cheese comes in. Cheese has just the right texture and level of fat to make the truffle perform at its best. Don't hesitate to try it!

Brie that has been split and spread with truffle, at a truffle market in the Loire Valley.

Come to the Loire Valley in January

If you visit the Loire Valley chateaux in January you have a great opportunity to take some stunning photos without the crowds. You'll be able to pose wherever you like without risk of photobombers. Your photos will be wonderful souvenirs of almost empty chateaux.

 

Want to See Something Unusual in the Loire Valley?

Don't hesitate to ask us. We often take people to rather odd locations when they are researching a book for example. Most recently an author asked if she could see inside an ambulance. Thanks to our contacts, this was possible and we had a lovely visit to the accident and emergency unit of a local hospital, with guided tour by one of the doctors!

Thanks to Dr Deilgat, who took us around, explained how it worked and answered all our questions.

Truffles are a Winter Treat in the Loire Valley

Black Truffle Tuber melanosporum (Fr. Truffe noire) is native to the Loire Valley, but has long since disappeared from the wild. According to the experts and old timers the best place to find truffles was under isolated oak trees in the middle of wheat fields, but fifty years of modern farming practices and fungicides sprayed on wheat crops have destroyed the habitat for truffles. The truffles benefitted from the disturbance of the soil with the plough and the minor damage done to the tree roots, allowing the truffle mycelium to latch on, providing the conduit for a symbiotic exchange of nutrients. It may explain why isolated mature oak trees in the middle of fields continue to be a not uncommon sight in the Touraine. 

Truffle market in the Touraine Val de Loire.

If you want to experience a truffle market or visit a truffle farmer let us know.

To enquire about our private guided tours of chateaux, wineries, markets and more email us or use our contact form. More tour ideas can be found on the Loire Valley Time Travel website. If you would like an idea of how your tour might look and sound, please check out our YouTube channel.

A Review from Jonathan

Jonathan and his lively family, from the USA and the UK, did a three hour tour of Chenonceau with me, followed by a visit to a winery in October 2022.

Our family had a fantastic afternoon with Susan, touring the beautiful grounds and chateau at Chenonceau. Susan's command of the local history and narratives is exceptional, and she did a wonderful job weaving in facts and context that we otherwise would never have appreciated. She managed to keep everyone, including our young daughters, engaged and did a good job of pacing the visit to accomodate the varied attention spans. To top it off, she had great recommendations for local attractions and food!

The Holly and the Ivy in the Loire Valley Forests

The Loire Valley is about 50% forest and some of it has been there for over a thousand years. It provides extensive areas for hiking and riding, and high grade hardwood timber for , and wine barrels and projects such as the reconstruction of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris. Many of the trees are deciduous, including oak, chestnut and beech, but a few are evergreen. Holly and ivy are both abundant and are important contributors to the microclimate, with their ability to protect small creatures from bad weather in the winter.

If you love nature, ask us to include a walk in the forest as part of your itinerary. In the autumn we can forage for fungi and at any time of year we can pay our respects to the World War II Resistance fighters whose graves we might encounter deep in the forest.

Autumn is Wild Fungi Season in the Loire Valley

If you visit a market with us in the autumn one of the seasonal treats you will see is several species of wild harvested mushrooms for sale, usually around €25 a kilo. They will include the world famous ceps (aka porcini), girolles and chanterelles as well as some you may not be familiar with, such as trompettes de la mort. The most prized species of all for many French people is the chanterelle grise. None of these mushrooms can be cultivated, so they are wild seasonal treats. All the local chefs will be at the markets making sure they have a supply for seasonal dishes like risottos, soups and sauces.

Wild harvested Trumpet Chanterelles from Saumur at Loches market.

To enquire about our private guided tours of chateaux, wineries, markets and more email us or use our contact form. More tour ideas can be found on the Loire Valley Time Travel website. If you would like an idea of how your tour might look and sound, please check out our YouTube channel.

The Key to a Great Visit in the Loire Valley

If you visit the Donjon of Loches with us late in the day, you may experience the fun of helping the docent lock up, with these fabulous keys from the 17th and 19th centuries. Be prepared to climb lots of stairs though! 

To enquire about our private guided tours of chateaux, wineries, markets and more email us or use our contact form. More tour ideas can be found on the Loire Valley Time Travel website. If you would like an idea of how your tour might look and sound, please check out our YouTube channel.

Be the Centre of Attention in the Loire Valley

Our chauffeured tours are conducted in classic Citroen cars. French people all know these cars and have fond memories of them. They attract a lot of attention. You will find yourself being waved at, smiled at, given the thumbs up and photographed, everywhere we go.

The couple on the right are our clients, from Texas. The man on the left is a French tourist and he circumnavigated the car, excitedly filming. Goodness only knows how many FB and Insta accounts we feature on. Claudette, one of our classic Citroen Traction Avants, is parked just outside the exit to the Chateau Royal d'Amboise.

To enquire about our private guided tours of chateaux, wineries, markets and more email us or use our contact form. More tour ideas can be found on the Loire Valley Time Travel website. If you would like an idea of how your tour might look and sound, please check out our YouTube channel.