Château de Chambord
A Renaissance fantasy of turrets and a double-helix staircase — let the children count the chimneys on the rooftop.
The Loire Valley
Fairytale châteaux and gentle river cycling
Best time
April – June & September – October
Gentle pace
4–6 slow days
Ideal for
Families · Cyclists · Castle lovers
The Loire Valley is a garden of a region — a slow river threading between hundreds of châteaux, each more improbable than the last: turreted, moated, and reflected in still water. It is also one of France’s easiest places to travel with children, thanks to a network of flat, traffic-free cycling paths that link the castles through vineyards and forest.
With children, rent bikes with child seats or a trailer, ride a section of the Loire à Vélo between two châteaux, picnic on a riverbank, and end the day in a family room in a troglodyte village carved into the soft tuffeau cliffs.
Worth lingering over
The Loire à Vélo cycle path
Flat, signed and traffic-free along the river — ride a gentle section between Amboise and Chaumont.
Château de Chenonceau
A castle built clean across the river, its arches reflected in the water — the most romantic sight in the valley.
Hidden gem
The troglodyte village of Trôo
Halfway down the valley, perched on a hillside riddled with caves, sits the village of Trôo — a living troglodyte settlement where houses, chapels and gardens are carved straight into the soft rock, terraced down the slope with views over the Loir valley. Most visitors stick to the grand châteaux; those who make the detour wander lanes tunneled through stone, peek into cave dwellings still lived in, and climb to the chapel above for one of the quietest, strangest views in France.