Loire Valley to Paris Disneyland

Hi,

I am planning to stay for 2 nights at Loire Valley but have no idea which part would be ideal. I have a 5 year old son who would be thrilled with castles. I am also on a budget and hope to be in a not too expensive area.

More importantly, I plan to go directly from Loire Valley to Paris Disneyland. What is the best way to do this? Can I take the high speed train directly and is this very expensive compared to other modes of transport?

We are departing beginning of Jun so would be grateful for some fast responses!

Thanks in advance!

-Ann

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To see Loire Valley properly, I think you really need a car. It is difficult otherwise especially with a 5 year old.

It is then easier to go to Marne la Vallee where Disney is. BTW, if you want to see a great castle, see le Louvre !

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With no car, I recommend you stay in central Tours which has excellent train connections to many châteaux as well as a good selection of tours which depart from the Office de Tourisme:

http://www.ligeris.com/

There are differ possibilities to reach Chessy (Disneyland) from Tours but without a travel date I cannot suggest anything specific. Expect en route time to approximate just under 3 hours.

www.tgv-europe.com

from: TOURS (37) to: MARNE LA VALLEE CHESSY (77)

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Do you want to see some specific castles in the Loire Valley?? there are hundreds of them so you need to Google or get a guidebook.

Or do you just want to show a castle to your son? what type of castle? medieval, Renaissance, classical? they are different depending on the style.

For a medieval castle go to the Chateau de Vincennes, in Paris, by the metro. Fontainebleau is another one. Big and a mix of various periods. Not far from Paris by regualr trains. The Louvre is still another one. Before it was a museum it was a royal castle.

There is another one in Paris nobody think about: go to Ile de la Cite and you will see a building with towers, on the North side of the island. This was the first Royal palace. You can see some of the rooms by going to %26quot;la conciergerie%26quot;. If you are on a budget and don%26#39;t have much time forget about the Loire Valley. There are more castles around Paris. Provins is a town east of Paris with medieval walls and a castle. It doesn%26#39;t cost much to go there by regular train. Another is Pierrefonds.

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Thanks everyone for your great suggestions. I will definitely investigate all these ideas.

Is there one area of Loire Valley that is particularly nice and worth it to spend 2 days and 2 nights there even without a car? I heard that Loches is a good place to go.

Thanks!

Ann

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Thanks Sarastro! I took your advice and booked us a hotel in Tours.