Loire Valley Time Travel: Floral Carpets in the Loire Valley

Sunday, 7 December 2025

Floral Carpets in the Loire Valley

One of the joys of visiting the Loire Valley from late August to early October is the carpets of the pink autumn flowering Sowbread Cyclamen hederifolium in parks and gardens everywhere. You will see them in the dry shade of mature deciduous trees. The photo shows cyclamens in the grounds of the Chateau de Chenonceau.

Cyclamens in the grounds of Chateau de Chenonceau, France.

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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.

Who are We?

Loire Valley Time Travel are a specialist tour company organising private tours of the Loire Valley and surrounding areas.

If you are visiting Paris for a week or two, book a day trip away from the big city bustle and experience the heart of France. We provide custom tours of the Loire Valley, travelling in our classic French 1953 Citroën Traction Avant. Our ain is to make a day trip with us like having a day out with friends. We visit the grand châteaux you have always dreamed of seeing, stopping along the way at small overlooked sites that can range from WW2 memorials to Roman ruins or pre-historic burials.

à la carte

In addition to our custom made tours we have devised some standard itineraries that visit some of the most popular chateaux of the Loire Valley. Prices are current for all of 2024 and are for all inclusive day tours for two people departing from Tours or Amboise.

Off the Beaten Track : Loches and Montresor.

€1470 A medieval market town, lunch in a popular restaurant, a lovely village and a winery.

Floral Magnificence : Chenonceau and Chaumont

€1470 Extraordinary floral artistry, a worker's lunch, a sculpture park and garden festival followed by a winery.

Testimonials

Tour the Loire Valley in a classy classic car with two delightful hosts Simon and Susan."
nitzwilli white heath

Simon & Susan were wonderful hosts, making our 20th anniversary trip stress-free, full of excellent food and laughter.”
Carol S, Washington State, USA

"The two days we spent with Susan, Simon and Claudette ('56 Citreon) in the Loire Valley was the highlight of our London, Loire and Paris excursion!!"
Zack3239 Woodbine, Maryland

"We really did have an amazing day out with Susan and Simon and we would HIGHLY recommend this tour."
Allison, Sorrento, FL

"I highly recommend booking with them and we plan on touring with them again. "
Lisbeth, Forth Worth, Texas

About Our Cars

The cars we use for our tours are Citroen Traction Avant 11Bs, a car designed in 1934 and built almost unchanged until 1957. Célestine was built in 1953, and Claudette in 1956

You will be amazed at how comfortable they are, and how much attention they attract. When it is parked a Traction Avant is the centre of attention, and people are always happy to see such an iconic car in good condition and being used. We have had many conversations with strangers about the glory days of motor touring.

We invite you to relive the fun of those days with us and our special cars.

You can read more about Célestine and Claudette here.

Sample Tours:

Sunday, 7 December 2025

Floral Carpets in the Loire Valley