Beauvais to Loire valley?

We are flying to Beauvais in July for 7 nights and wud love to visit the Loire valley.We will rent a car at the airport and drive hopefully to the Loire.,We have 3 children 15, 13, and 10, therefore we will be looking for someplace where they would have interesting things to do.My questions are where wud be a good base for us to stay, and what kind of accomadition would be best, as we are arriving on a tuesday.

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I can suggest several hotels and restaurants in the area. I am not sure that children of that age will appreciate many of the special things that the Loire Valley has to offer but there are several attractions that I should never otherwise recommend: an aquarium, châteaux in miniature, le Clos Lucé which has some models of da Vinci inventions.

Here is the promised list of hotels:

1. The Cheval Blanc in the small village of Bléré, between Chenonceau and Tours. Bléré is much quieter and less touristy than Amboise. This hotel/restaurant changed hands in early 2008 with the long-time owners retiring. Under the new owners, (Hélène et Fabrice Tavernier) the service is reportedly much more efficient but their culinary reputation is yet to be established. During the week (Tuesday to Friday) two courses (entrée and main dish) are €22 with a €7 supplement for dessert. Despite a change of owners, I still find this location worth considering as a place to base oneself.

www.lechevalblancblere.com

2. Personally I enjoy staying in the center of Tours, it%26#39;s central to all of the châteaux of the valley and there are plenty of restaurants, cafés, museums, and shopping for everyone%26#39;s taste. There are a number of chambres d%26#39;hotes (B%26amp;Bs) in Tours as well as outside of town.

For a complete list of area%26#39;s lodging possibilities, check here:

http://www.ligeris.com/

My favorite hotel in Tours is (with free parking):

Hotel du Manoir :

2, rue Traversière

http://site.voila.fr/hotel.manoir.tours

3. Between Blois and Tours

Auberge de Launay

in a beautiful setting and a wonderful restaurant

http://www.aubergedelaunay.com/

4. Hostel du Roy

in Chenonceaux

http://www.hostelduroy.com/

5. la Ferme des Berthiers

just south of Tours in a very homey setting

http://www.lafermedesberthiers.fr/

6 Near Chenonceaux:

Le Bon Laboureur

http://www.bonlaboureur.com/