Loire Valley Bike Tour: Cycling Between the Chateaux

What the Route Is

The Loire a Velo runs from Nevers to Saint-Brevin-les-Pins on the Atlantic. It is the westernmost section of EuroVelo 6, the long-distance route that crosses Europe. The network totals 900 km, made up of 630 km of linear route between Nevers and the sea plus 270 km of loops and variants. It is split into 37 stages, and France Velotourisme publishes a stage sheet for each one with distances and times.

Two things make the route easy for first-time cycle tourists. It is fully signposted, so you rarely need to navigate. And there are more than 700 Accueil Veloc accommodations along the way, places certified to welcome cyclists with secure parking and other services. For overnight bases, see the page on where to stay in Loire Valley. The route marked its 20th anniversary, so it is mature, mapped and well served.

The Chateau Stages Around Blois, Amboise and Tours

The heartland for chateaux sits between Blois and Tours. France Velotourisme lists the following stage distances and ride times from its Loire a Velo stage sheets, which date from around 2019, so minor route changes may exist on the ground. The Tours to Villandry figures differ between sources, so both are given.

The table below compares the stages so you can pick a day ride or chain several together.

Shorter Loops If 20 Km Sounds Long

You do not have to ride point to point. The Amboise tourist office lists six marked bike loops around Amboise. Loop 12 to Noizay is 12.5 km and about 1 hour on shared roads through vineyards and troglodytic hamlets. Loop 47 to Chenonceaux is 45 km in total and about 3h45, with 8 km of smooth bike path under forest cover, and the direct ride between Amboise and Chenonceaux is about 20 km.

Around Blois the picture is even simpler. The Blois-Chambord tourist office says Blois, Chambord, Cheverny and Chaumont-sur-Loire are all within 20 km of each other, and it publishes numbered and coloured Chateaux de la Loire a velo loops with a free map at the tourist offices of Blois, Chambord, Cheverny and Chaumont. A Pass covers five chateaux along 80 km of the Loire, from Meung-sur-Loire and Beaugency through Blois and Chaumont-sur-Loire to Amboise. The region also runs a Fete du Velo every first Sunday in September. For the full castle list, see the guide to the Loire Valley castles.

How Many Days You Need

The chateau stages above run 15 to 22 km, which is one to two hours of easy riding. That means a two-day loop works well. Ride Blois to Chaumont one day, visit the domain, then continue toward Amboise the next morning. A three-day version adds Tours and Villandry and returns by train.

If you only have one day, base yourself in Amboise or Blois. From Amboise, the ride to Chaumont-sur-Loire is about 20 km and 1h30 through the vineyards of Charge and the Mosnes greenway, and the ride toward Tours is 27 km in about 2 hours. From Blois, Chaumont is 20.42 km away. Both bases let you cycle out in the morning, visit a chateau and roll back before dark. The Loire Valley itinerary pages combine these rides into full days.

Chambord: a Forest Park Built for Bikes

Chambord is the strongest cycling destination in the Loire Valley. The estate is certified for both the Loire a Velo and the Accueil Velo scheme, it has more than 25 km of bike paths and it offers free bike parking. The estate says it covers 5,440 hectares and is Europe's largest walled park, behind a wall it puts at 32 km long, so once you ride in you are riding inside a forest. A 4 km canal loop created in 2014 is open to walkers and cyclists all year, and more than 20 km of new park paths open from May.

Time your ride and you get more than a castle. Stag rutting season runs from mid-September to mid-October and you can hear the bellowing from the paths. Allow at least an hour and a half inside for the essentials, or about four hours for the chateau plus gardens. The chateau opens 9:00 to 17:00 in low season and 9:00 to 18:00 in high season, and it closes on 1 January, 25 December and some Mondays in low season. The guided visit of Chambord Castle lasts 1.5 hours and starts at the entrance, which pairs well with a morning ride. Note that the Francois I wing has been closed to the public since 2023 and the estate does not expect it to reopen before 2032.

Villandry: 500 Metres from the Route

Villandry is the easiest chateau on the whole route. It sits 500 metres from the Loire a Velo and 15 km from Tours by bicycle, and it keeps free lockers for cyclists after the ticket office. The gardens are open every day all year except 25 December, which makes Villandry one of the few gardens open in every season. The chateau itself opens from 7 February to 11 November and again over the holidays.

Budget about one hour for the chateau and 1.5 hours for the gardens, which run from the maze and the wood to the ornamental salons, the water garden, the sun garden, the herb garden and the kitchen garden. The site stays open all day with no lunch closure and the ticket is valid all day, so you can lock the bike, wander and come and go. Picnics are not allowed in the gardens but there is a picnic area 100 metres from the entrance behind the tourist office, and the takeaway kiosk at the entrance sells sandwiches, crepes and ice creams. More detail in the Chateau de Villandry guide.

Chaumont-sur-Loire: the Natural Stage Stop

Chaumont-sur-Loire sits exactly where the Blois and Amboise stage sheets meet. The ride from Blois is 20.42 km in about 1h21 via Cande-sur-Beuvron, and the onward ride to Amboise is listed at 18.68 km on the Loire a Velo sheet, 22.60 km on the EuroVelo 6 version, or about 20 km and 1h30 per the Amboise tourist office. That makes Chaumont the natural lunch stop on a two-stage day, with the castle and its grounds above the river.

Winter hours at the domain differ between the domain page, which gives 10:00 to 17:30 from November to January, and ticket-seller listings giving 2 November to 31 December. Check the domain site before a winter ride. Read more in the Chaumont-sur-Loire guide.

Amboise and the Chenonceau Link

Amboise works as both a destination and a base. The chateau stands in the town on the Loire a Velo itself, and the town has bike rental. Rouelib in Amboise rents hybrid, gravel, electric, tandem and child bikes, and it offers one-way rentals to Tours, Angers, Blois, Chinon, Orleans and Saumur, so you can ride onward and drop the bike. Each bike comes with a pump, repair kit and lock.

Chenonceau, ranked France's second most visited château after Versailles, is a side trip from here. France Velotourisme lists an Amboise to Chenonceau link of 12 km using the D81 and D40, while the Amboise tourist office says the direct ride is about 20 km and its loop 47 is 45 km, so the signposted distance depends on the route you take. Amboise station also has about 10 trains a day that accept bikes toward Tours, Blois and Orleans, which shortens any return. The Amboise France guide covers the town and the Chateau de Chenonceau guide covers the castle.

Bikes on Rémi Trains

All Rémi trains allow bicycles on board. On weekends and public holidays you need a reservation at 1 euro per bike. That single rule covers the whole local network, including the regional lines that connect Amboise, Chenonceaux and Chinon.

The useful bike-accepting frequencies come from France Velotourisme. Amboise station has about 10 trains a day that accept bikes toward Tours, Blois and Orleans. Blois station and Onzain station each have about 10 a day. Tours station has about six a day toward Nantes, Angers and Orleans. Chenonceaux station is 400 metres from the chateau, and the TER from Tours takes 25 minutes. So the classic trick works everywhere: ride one way with the wind, put the bike on a train for the return. From Paris itself, the high-speed TGV to Tours takes just over an hour, and Tours is about 238 km from Paris by road.

The Rémi Bus to Chambord, With or Without Bikes

If the ride from Blois to Chambord feels too long for the day you have planned, Rémi line 2 runs year-round from Blois-Chambord station to Chambord. It departs Blois at 9:20 and 12:20 and returns from Chambord at 13:10 and 17:00, and the trip takes about 35 minutes. The single fare is €3.40 with a €6.80 return per the Rémi site, though chambord.org quotes €3.30 single and €6.60 return, so carry change for either figure. A bus ticket also gives a discount on Chambord entry.

Crucially for cyclists, Rémi buses carry bikes by reservation, up to 8 bikes, booked by 17:00 the day before on 0 806 70 33 33. Ride out to Chambord through the forest, then call ahead and bus the bike back to Blois if you are tired.

Renting a Bike

Rental exists on both ends of the chateau stretch, but published prices are thin, so none are given here. What is confirmed: Rouelib in Amboise rents hybrid, gravel, electric, tandem and child bikes, offers one-way rentals to six towns including Tours, Blois, Orleans and Saumur, and supplies every bike with a pump, repair kit and lock. Détours de Loire has 4 hire points and 4 partners along the Loire a Velo and offers luggage transfers and cycle tours, which suits a multi-day self-guided trip.

A practical note from Chambord: the estate lists bike rental among its services, so check the current rental prices on site or on chambord.org. Also note that Chambord provides free lockers at the chateau entrance for bags and helmets, and items larger than 55 x 35 x 20 cm must go in a locker after the security check, so panniers stay behind while you visit.

Be Honest About Your Legs and Your Days

The chateau stages are 15 to 22 km each, which sounds easy until you add a 90-minute Chambord visit, summer heat and a headwind on the Loire. The Blois-Chambord tourist office itself advises visiting no more than two castles a day. If you have one day in the region and want to see two big castles inside them, a van tour is the honest answer. It also solves the two problems bikes cannot: rain and distance between valleys. Chambord and Chenonceau sit in different clusters, so a bike day rarely covers both.

Two bookable options stand out. The Loire Valley Castles Tour from Tours and Amboise is a 9-hour day in an 8-passenger minivan at $231 per person, departing Tours at 9:00 or Amboise at 9:30, with guided entry to Chenonceau and Chambord and 2.5 hours in Amboise for lunch. Meals are not included. If you are coming from Paris, the Small-Group Loire Valley Castles Tour runs 12 hours at $280 per person for up to 8, with entrance tickets to Chambord, Chenonceau and Amboise plus a wine tasting. It leaves from 6 Avenue de Wagram in Paris and lunch is not included. Both compare in the table of Loire Valley castle tours on the homepage.

Tickets and Prices

The table lists the entry ticket for each chateau with its starting price and the rating travellers gave it on the booking page. Prices change by date and option, so the final figure shows at checkout.