Where to stay in the Loire

I%26#39;m planning to get a gite and drive from London to the Loire to celebrate my daughter%26#39;s first birthday -- and mine (same day!) in late October.

I%26#39;ve been living in Asia for a few years and crave some lovely autumnal French towns and forest to stalk about in but the Loire isn%26#39;t somewhere I know well and I%26#39;m finding it daunting trying to pick a small town near to which to find a gite.

Any ideas?

We picked the Loire as we didn%26#39;t want to give ourselves a terribly long journey from London and the Eurostar and we%26#39;ve been to Normandy and Paris/Reims/Burgundy/Dijon and around there.

We%26#39;re not looking to do an awful lot of activities with a 1 year old and really after 12 months of very broken sleep I just need to recharge my batteries. But we%26#39;re keen to cook and would love somewhere that has some wonderful food shops or a bi-weekly market. Couple of chateaux wouldn%26#39;t go amiss either as we love photography.

Many thanks in advance.

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Welcome to the forum louiseheavens. There are a good number of small towns all over the Loire Valley. October is often a busy month here with the grape harvest and all of the associated work. Personally I like the area between the Loire and the Cher rivers but gites are available over the entire valley.

These sites might help you find what you area looking for:

http://www.fleursdesoleil.fr/

http://www.cheznous.com/

http://www.vacationfrance.com/

http://www.gites-de-france.fr/

http://www.clevacances.com/

http://gitelink.com/

http://www.francelodge.fr/

http://www.maisonsdhotesdefrance.fr/

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There%26#39;s also a poster here who posts under the name WizardofAus -- Simon knows the area extremely well, as he lives in the Loire.

His blog is daysontheclaise.blogspot.com -- he could give you some very good advice.

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I am a little confused as to how you are planning to travel to the Loire.

You start by saying that you want to drive from London, then you say that you don%26#39;t want a long journey from the Eurostar, which is a passenger train from London to Paris. Or perhaps you mean the channel Tunnel, where you can take your car by rail link from Folkestone to Calais. In my opinion a car is essential to properly explore the Loire Valley.

If you do mean the Tunnel, then somewhere like Tours or the surrounding area is about 5 hours non stop drive from Calais.

In addition to the sites mentioned by Sarastro, two sites containing gites aimed at the UK market (which as a gite owner I find more discerning than the French market) are:

http://www.frenchconnections.co.uk/

http://www.holiday-rentals.co.uk/

The Touraine area is very central for chateaux and other attractions in the Loire Valley.

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Hello again. Thanks for your replies and suggestions. Yes, it%26#39;s the tunnel I mean (doh!) and will be in a car.

I still can%26#39;t decide which town to base myself near.

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Visit Simon%26#39;s blog -- he and his wife have loads of gorgeous pictures of the entire region.

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I%26#39;m thinking Loches would be a great place for your base. It%26#39;s a bit south of the Loire and Cher valleys, which isn%26#39;t necessarily a bad thing as it gets you away from the tourist crowds — not that they should be all that bad in Late October. It happens to be close to the afore-mentioned Simon%26#39;s stamping ground. It has its own château and there are several others close by, and some lovely gentle scenery all around. It has a big and lively market on Wednesdays and a smaller one on Saturdays. It%26#39;s big enough to have a decent selection of shops yet small enough to enjoy strolling around. And it has several good places to eat in case you%26#39;re ever tempted to leave the pots and pans hanging where they are.

Do check it out. I think it might work well for you. And if you like it, do get in touch with Simon. I%26#39;m sure he%26#39;ll be happy to help.

Just BTW, and as long as we are on the Chinon forum, I happen to have a weakness for that town also, but it has become a mite touristy since I first set eyes on it more than 50 years ago. (Can it really be that long???!!!)

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%26lt;%26lt;it has become a mite touristy since I first set eyes on it more than 50 years ago. (Can it really be that long???!!!)%26gt;%26gt;

Well it%26#39;s been a scant 30 years since I first lived in the Loire Valley and back then very, very few from the US were familiar with either Chenonceau or Chambord. Amboise had one tiny hotel, the town was indeed quite charming and Tours had not yet outgrown its vibrant city center. The transformation of the Loire Valley in the last 15 years has been nothing short of stunning and I%26#39;m not so sure that the change is for the better.