Visit a Chateau in the Loire Valley at Christmas

Seven of the historic Loire Valley chateaux participate in a campaign known as 'Christmas in Chateaux Country'. The shining star amongst these is the Chateau of Chenonceau, known for its outstanding floral decorations. This, and several of the others, are open every single day, including Christmas Day. It has become quite a tradition locally to visit either in the afternoon of Christmas Day, or the day after, but you can enjoy the decorations for the whole of December, and the first week of January. We would be delighted to tell you the stories of one of these fabulous chateaux, at the same time sharing the extraordinary decorations over the winter festive season. Just let us know what date in December suits you, and which chateau you want to see.

 

The Long Gallery at Chenonceau decorated for Christmas 2025.

 

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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 Robert

 In April I had the pleasure of working with Rob, his wife, her sister and brother in law. They were always ready for a laugh and tremendous fun to guide. We visited the Chateau of Chenonceau together. Here is what Rob had to say:

"Highly recommend this tour. Loches is really interesting. Susan is very knowledgeable and fun to be with."

To learn more go to our website www.tourtheloire.com.

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.

 

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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 Rob

 In April I had the pleasure of working with Rob, his wife, her sister and brother in law. They were always ready for a laugh and tremendous fun to guide. We visited the Chateau of Chenonceau together. Here is what Rob had to say:

"Absolutely wonderful tour. Susan is extremely knowledgeable and fun to spend time with."

To learn more visit our website www.tourtheloire.com.

What is the Significance of the Carrot in the Loire Valley?

That's not the vegetable we are talking about, but a piece of French cultural heritage. Our clients are often shocked by how many French people smoke, and the carrot in question is connected to smoking. Everywhere you go you will see a distinctive orange diamond shaped sign above newsagents or bars that tells you that they sell tobacco. It is known as 'la carotte'.

The origin of the shape of the sign comes from how tobacco was sold in the 16th century. In those days tobacco was sold as leaves that you chewed or smoked. The leaves were not attached to their stalks, but in rolls that were wrapped in calico and tightly wound round with string in a way that made them resemble carrots. In order to use the tobacco one grated the 'carrot'. Later, the form changed to cigars and cigarettes, but the carrot symbol for shops stuck.

If you enjoy snippets of history like this then book a tour with us. We have dozens of fun and intriguing stories like this to share with clients.

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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 Jane

Last year I had the pleasure of guiding Jane and Jerry, who were travelling with their lively grandson. He was a ten year old bundle of curiosity and questions. As well as all the usual 10 year old boy enthusiasm for the historical stories of gory death and explosions, he was most engaged by stories linked to the development of science, and anything that involved maths and puzzles. It was great fun for me to tailor the tour to keep him engaged, and Jane very generously took the time to write a wonderful review of our time together:

"Breath and accuracy of history, and not just friends history, remarkable. We have had many guides in our years of travel, none knew as much as Susan. She is punctual, tolerant of American children, and fun. She was able to engage and have a reparte with our 10-year-old grandson." Jane, from New York.

 

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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 Website

Loire Valley Time Travel has a new website. It was days and days of work to completely revamp it, but finally we are happy with the result. We would really like you to check it out.

The website address is www.tourtheloire.com.

February Fun in the Loire Valley

February can be grey, cold and wet in the Loire Valley but it is your chance to visit the famous chateaux in the UNESCO World Heritage listed area without the crowds. At the Chateau de Chenonceau they keep the big front doors closed in weather like this and my client Jay took the opportunity to clown around a bit. There wasn't anyone else trying to come in or out so we could have fun without inconveniencing other visitors. 

Visit the Loire Valley in the Shoulder Season

 Of course most people visit the Loire Valley in the summer when the weather is glorious and gardens are looking their best. But if you don't like the crowds and don't mind having grey skies, late September can be rewarding. The days are still long enough, the temperature is cool but not cold, and the light has that autumnal quality that can make your photographs quite special. The photo shows the Chateau de Chenonceau in late September. The little row boats that visitors can hire to go out on the river have finished for the season and have accumulated a little rain in the bottom. They'll very soon be packed up and stored for the winter. But for now they are lined up at the 16th century quay where Diane de Poitiers and Catherine de Medici would have stepped off.

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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. 

Come and Smell the Roses in the Loire Valley

If you are a rose fancier then the best time for you to visit the Loire Valley is May and June. The roses here are world class and we would be delighted to design a day tour for you that visits some of the more spectacular chateaux gardens and villages crammed full of roses. Remember -- the most famous rose breeder in the world is French! And roses love the soil and climate along the Loire. Plus they just look fabulous against a backdrop of old limestone buildings. Your photographs and memories are going to be magnificent!!

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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. 

Learn About Honey in the Loire Valley

One of us is a big fan of honey, and the Loire Valley is an important honey producing area in France. Sadly, recent investigations have shown that most blended honey, the sort that is available in supermarkets, is adulterated with anything from cheap simple and widely available corn syrup to designer syrups made to order in laboratories to mimic subtle components of real honey, and which cannot be detected with current tests. But here in the Loire Valley we don't have to worry about that too much. We have numerous small scale artisan apiarists (beekeepers) and we can buy their authentic honey direct from the source. Some of them are very happy to be visited, and we can include all sorts of levels of 'honey experiences' in your tour. It could be just talking to a local apiarist and tasting their seasonal range of honey in a farmers market; it could be visiting a working apiarist and having him explain how he operates; or it could be visiting the beekeeping interepretation and education centre* for a guided tour. 

 

*They also train new and hobby beekeepers, but we can't include this in your tour. We would be happy to put you in touch with the centre, but you will need to be able to speak French to participate.

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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 a Beautiful Village in the Loire Valley

You may have heard of the 'plus beaux villages de France' (the most beautiful villages in France). This is an official certification scheme for a few hundred charming and picturesque villages throughout France. These villages are tiny, with populations in the low hundreds. They are flower filled and rustic, enticing you to explore their hidden corners. These are real villages, where ordinary people live. In the Loire Valley we offer tours of one of these villages, the aptly named Montrésor ('my treasure'). If you want to enjoy its historic church, quirky chateau and peaceful riverbank walk then let us know and we'll include it in your itinerary.

 

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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 a Chateau in the Loire Valley at Christmas

 Seven of the historic Loire Valley chateaux participate in a campaign known as 'Christmas in Chateaux Country'. The shining star amongst these is the Chateau of Chenonceau, known for its outstanding floral decorations. This, and several of the others, are open every single day, including Christmas Day. It has become quite a tradition locally to visit either in the afternoon of Christmas Day, or the day after, but you can enjoy the decorations for the whole of December, and the first week of January. We would be delighted to tell you the stories of one of these fabulous chateaux, at the same time sharing the extraordinary decorations over the winter festive season. Just let us know what date in December suits you, and which chateau you want to see.

 

The chapel in Chenonceau, decorated for Christmas 2025.

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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 a Medieval Church in the Loire Valley

Medieval churches abound in the Loire Valley, and if you are prepared to go a little bit further, outside the UNESCO World Heritage area, into the rich and powerful old historic province of Berry, there are even more. These churches are modest in size, but they make up for that with their rare surviving decorative elements. Each one is unique and features intriguing carvings and wall paintings. They are well off the modern beaten track and are best visited with a knowledgeable local guide. That's were we come in. We can take you to one, two, or a string of village churches in an area that sees very few tourists. Just let us know and we can design you an itinerary.

 

Find out why there might be a marvellous mermaid and her monsterous male companion at the door of a village church 200 km from the coast.

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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. 

Chrysanthemums in the Loire Valley

If you visit the Loire Valley in November you will notice that chrysanthemums are everywhere. The skies may be grey and the weather damp, but public gardens, balconies and florists are a riot of colour thanks to dozens of flower packed chrysanthemum balls. But why are they so popular? It's not just because they are hardy and conveniently flower at this time of year. Find out the full story when you book a tour with us in November.

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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. 

Floral Workshop at the Chateau de Chenonceau

The Chateau de Chenonceau are famed for their extraordinary floral arrangements. Every now and then they run floral workshops too. We came across this one in September. Our clients were not participants but enjoyed the serendipitous glimpse of the experience other visitors were engaging in. To book a floral workshop contact the Chateau directly [https://www.chenonceau.com/agenda/masterclass-art-floral/].

 

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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's New at the Chateau of Chenonceau in the Loire Valley?

 I visit the Chateau de Chenonceau perhaps 40 times a year on average. People ask me if I get bored with it. Not at all. There is so much history, so much beauty, I always look forward to visiting, and to sharing it with clients. Every year something changes too, as the management develop the site. This year it is perhaps a rather mundane refurbishment of the café, but some years it can be the introduction of a really special new exhibition space, such as for the 16th century apothecary or the 18th century collection of scientific instruments. 

The café is in Catherine de Medici's former stables. Previously the old stalls formed booths in the café, but they've now been removed and a more refectory style has been introduced. To match the lighter furniture the beams have been cleaned and light oak panelling added to the walls. The place is brighter and more airy, not so dark and heavy. I have a feeling I know where the stalls are going to be reinstated too, so watch this space for the next development.

Photo shows the newly refurbished café.

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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 the Shoulder Season

Of course most people visit the Loire Valley in the summer when the weather is glorious and gardens are looking their best. But if you don't like the crowds and don't mind having grey skies, late September can be rewarding. The days are still long enough, the temperature is cool but not cold, and the light has that autumnal quality that can make your photographs quite special. The photo shows the Chateau de Chenonceau in late September.

************************************************

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. 

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.

************************************************

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 Graffiti in the Loire Valley

Because the local limestone (Fr. tuffeau) is so soft it is ripe for graffiti of all sorts. One of the most striking we've seen recently is a long and anguished inscription on a stone in a rural wall. It refers to a flood in the mid-19th century as a scourge sent by God and hopes that in the future people living along the river do not have to witness the 'precious treasure' of their river valley disappear under water. Sadly that 19th century wish has not come true and there have been several major floods in the 21st century. What an astonishing piece of personal and intimate history that inscription is though?! If you would like to include some historic graffiti in your tour just let us know. We are always delighted to share our local knowledge of historical records that tend to go unnoticed.

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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.