Loire Valley Castles TourLoire Valley Map: the Castles, Clusters and Distances
A Loire Valley map makes sense of more than 300 chateaux strung along 280 km of river. This page reads that map for you: the UNESCO stretch from Sully-sur-Loire to Chalonnes, the five clusters where the famous castles actually sit, the stations that serve each one, and the road distances between the main names. Use it to decide which corner of the valley fits your trip, then follow the links to each chateau's own guide. The bookable tours are compared on Loire Valley castle tours.
The tall tufa walls of the royal fortress of Chinon beside the footpath up to the Clock Tower. Photo: Daniel Jolivet, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Quick answer The map in brief
The Loire Valley stretches 280 km along the river and holds more than 300 chateaux, with the UNESCO-listed core running from Sully-sur-Loire in the east to Chalonnes-sur-Loire in the west. The castles you actually visit sit in five clusters: Orleans, Blois, Amboise and Tours, Chinon and Saumur, and Angers.
Key takeaways
- The Blois cluster packs Chambord, Cheverny, Blois and Chaumont-sur-Loire within 20 km of each other. See how the castles spread out.
- Distances matter: Blois to Chenonceau is about 43.5 km by road, so the two-a-day rule is real advice, not a suggestion.
- Four stations put you at the castles' gates, and Chenonceaux station is only 400 metres from the ticket office.
- Short on time? A Loire Valley Castles Day Trip with Wine Tasting from Paris covers the Chambord and Chenonceau pins in one 12.5-13 hour day.
The Loire Valley Castles on One Map
Every chateau on this site and the better-known ones around them, with the stations that serve them. Bubbles grow with the number of tours on this site that enter the chateau, and the list under the map holds the same places.
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Château de Chambord
10 of the toursRoyal château begun in 1519 for François I, with a double helix staircase and a walled park. More on Château de Chambord.
Stops here: From Paris: Loire Valley Castles Day Trip With Wine Tasting, Loire Valley Wine and Castles Small-Group Day Trip from Paris, From Paris: Full-Day Loire Valley Chateaux Tour, Small-Group Loire Valley: Chambord, Chenonceau, lunch in Amboise, Paris Loire Valley 3 Castles Tour with Chambord & Chenonceau, Loire Valley Castles VIP Private Tour: Chambord, Chenonceaux, Amboise, From Tours/Amboise: Chenonceau & Chambord Chateaux Day Trip, Day Tour to Chenonceau and Chambord Castles, From Amboise: Chambord and Chenonceau Tour with Lunch, Guided visit of the Château de Chambord
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Château de Chenonceau
9 of the toursRenaissance château spanning the River Cher with a gallery on its arches, two formal gardens and a yew maze. More on Château de Chenonceau.
Stops here: From Paris: Loire Valley Castles Day Trip With Wine Tasting, Loire Valley Wine and Castles Small-Group Day Trip from Paris, From Paris: Full-Day Loire Valley Chateaux Tour, Small-Group Loire Valley: Chambord, Chenonceau, lunch in Amboise, Paris Loire Valley 3 Castles Tour with Chambord & Chenonceau, Loire Valley Castles VIP Private Tour: Chambord, Chenonceaux, Amboise, From Tours/Amboise: Chenonceau & Chambord Chateaux Day Trip, Day Tour to Chenonceau and Chambord Castles, From Amboise: Chambord and Chenonceau Tour with Lunch
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Château royal d'Amboise
4 of the toursRoyal château above the Loire whose Saint-Hubert chapel holds a marble stone marking Leonardo da Vinci's presumed resting place. More on Château royal d'Amboise.
Stops here: Loire Valley Wine and Castles Small-Group Day Trip from Paris, From Paris: Full-Day Loire Valley Chateaux Tour, Small-Group Loire Valley: Chambord, Chenonceau, lunch in Amboise, Loire Valley Castles VIP Private Tour: Chambord, Chenonceaux, Amboise
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Château du Clos Lucé
1 of the toursManor 500 metres from the royal château where Leonardo da Vinci lived from 1516 and died on 2 May 1519. More on Château du Clos Lucé.
Stops here: Loire Valley Castles VIP Private Tour: Chambord, Chenonceaux, Amboise
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Château de Villandry
1 of the toursChâteau best known for its boxwood ornamental, water and kitchen gardens recreated by Joachim Carvallo from 1908. More on Château de Villandry.
Stops here: Loire Valley Half Day : Villandry and Azay-le-Rideau from Tours
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Château d'Azay-le-Rideau
1 of the toursRenaissance château on an island in the Indre, built from 1518 for Gilles Berthelot, with a straight-flight grand staircase. More on Château d'Azay-le-Rideau.
Stops here: Loire Valley Half Day : Villandry and Azay-le-Rideau from Tours
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Château de Cheverny
2 of the toursClassical château lived in by the same family for over six centuries and said to have inspired Hergé's Moulinsart. More on Château de Cheverny.
Stops here: From Paris: Full-Day Loire Valley Chateaux Tour, Paris Loire Valley 3 Castles Tour with Chambord & Chenonceau
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Château royal de Blois
No tourRoyal château in the town centre with four wings in four styles and the François I spiral staircase. More on Château royal de Blois.
No guided tour stops here. Self-drive only.
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Château de Chaumont-sur-Loire
No tourChâteau above the Loire that hosts an International Garden Festival every season. More on Château de Chaumont-sur-Loire.
No guided tour stops here. Self-drive only.
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Château d'Ussé
No tourChâteau linked to the Sleeping Beauty tale, with gardens attributed to Le Nôtre, still home to the Blacas family. More on Château d'Ussé.
No guided tour stops here. Self-drive only.
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Château de Chinon
No tourRoyal Fortress on the Vienne where Henry II of England died in 1189.
No guided tour stops here. Self-drive only.
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Château de Langeais
No tourChâteau 200 metres from the Loire where Charles VIII married Anne of Brittany in 1491.
No guided tour stops here. Self-drive only.
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Château de Montsoreau
No tourFlamboyant Gothic castle built in the Loire riverbed at the confluence with the Vienne, now a contemporary art museum.
No guided tour stops here. Self-drive only.
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Château de Saumur
No tourCastle overlooking the Loire and the Thouet.
No guided tour stops here. Self-drive only.
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Château de Brissac
No tourChâteau in Maine-et-Loire owned by the Cossé family, Dukes of Brissac, part museum and part private residence.
No guided tour stops here. Self-drive only.
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Château d'Angers
No tourCastle of the Dukes of Anjou in Angers.
No guided tour stops here. Self-drive only.
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Royal Abbey of Fontevraud
No tourAbbey begun in 1110 holding the tombs of Henry II, Eleanor of Aquitaine and Richard the Lionheart.
No guided tour stops here. Self-drive only.
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Château de Beauregard
No tourChâteau at Cellettes south of Blois, known for its Galerie des Illustres.
No guided tour stops here. Self-drive only.
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Château de Talcy
No tourState-owned château north of the Loire, tied to Ronsard's sonnets for Cassandre Salviati.
No guided tour stops here. Self-drive only.
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Château de Meung-sur-Loire
No tourFormer residence of the bishops of Orléans, called the château with two faces for its medieval and 18th-century façades.
No guided tour stops here. Self-drive only.
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Château de Sully-sur-Loire
No tourMoated castle on three islands at a Loire ford, seat of Henry IV's minister the Duke of Sully.
No guided tour stops here. Self-drive only.
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Château de Loches
No tourCastle with a massive square keep above the town, where Joan of Arc met Charles VII on 11 May 1429.
No guided tour stops here. Self-drive only.
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Château de Valençay
No tourBerry château compared in style to Chambord, home of the d'Estampes and Talleyrand-Périgord families.
No guided tour stops here. Self-drive only.
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Château du Rivau
No tourCastle at Lémeré mentioned in Rabelais, with royal stables.
No guided tour stops here. Self-drive only.
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Château de Villesavin
1 of the toursFamily-owned château with several museums, and the lunch stop on the Loire Castles Tour with Lunch at a Chateau.
Stops here: From Amboise: Chambord and Chenonceau Tour with Lunch
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Château-Gaillard (Amboise)
No tourRoyal domain wanted by Charles VIII on the southern flank of the Châteliers spur in Amboise, next to the Clos Lucé.
No guided tour stops here. Self-drive only.
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Pagode de Chanteloup
No tourChinese-style pagoda built by the Duke of Choiseul, the only remnant of his château, 3 km from the centre of Amboise and 25 km from Tours.
No guided tour stops here. Self-drive only.
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Tours station
No tourTerminus station in the city centre, while most TGV trains call at nearby Saint-Pierre-des-Corps. More on Tours station.
No guided tour stops here. Self-drive only.
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Saint-Pierre-des-Corps station
No tourHigh-speed station five minutes from Tours, with TGV trains from Paris Montparnasse in about an hour.
No guided tour stops here. Self-drive only.
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Blois-Chambord station
No tourStation 500 metres from Blois château with a bus station opposite linking the main castles.
No guided tour stops here. Self-drive only.
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Amboise station
No tourRegional station with trains to Tours, Blois and Orléans, 20 km from Saint-Pierre-des-Corps.
No guided tour stops here. Self-drive only.
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Chenonceaux station
No tourStation 400 metres from the Chenonceau ticket office, about 25 minutes by TER from Tours.
No guided tour stops here. Self-drive only.
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Onzain station
No tourStation about 2 km from the Chaumont-sur-Loire domain.
No guided tour stops here. Self-drive only.
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Amboise
No tourTown on the Loire, about 26.4 km by road from Tours station. More on Amboise.
No guided tour stops here. Self-drive only.
How the Loire Castles Spread Out
The river runs from east to west, and the castles follow it in loose groups rather than one line. Reading a Loire Valley castles map is mostly a matter of knowing which cluster each pin belongs to.
The River and the UNESCO Stretch
The Loire flows roughly 280 km through the region and the valley holds more than 300 chateaux in total. The UNESCO World Heritage stretch runs from Sully-sur-Loire, east of Orleans, to Chalonnes-sur-Loire, downstream of Angers. Chambord was already recognised on its own in 1981, before the wider valley listing.
On any map of Loire Valley castles, the densest pin counts sit in the middle third of that stretch, between Orleans and Saumur. That is where the five visitable clusters form.
The Five Clusters
Each cluster works as a day out of its own, and each has a station nearby. The table below lists the main mapped chateaux per area and the closest station, using the places on the interactive map above. For day-by-day routes between them, see the Loire Valley itinerary.
| Area | Chateaux | Nearest station |
|---|---|---|
| Orleans | Sully-sur-Loire, Meung-sur-Loire | not stated |
| Blois | Chambord, Blois, Cheverny, Chaumont-sur-Loire, Beauregard, Villesavin, Talcy | Blois-Chambord, Onzain |
| Amboise | Chenonceau, Amboise, Clos Lucé, Château-Gaillard, Pagode de Chanteloup | Amboise, Chenonceaux |
| Tours | Villandry, Azay-le-Rideau, Langeais, Loches | Tours, Saint-Pierre-des-Corps |
| Chinon and Saumur | Chinon, Ussé, Montsoreau, Saumur, Brissac, Rivau, Fontevraud Abbey | not stated |
| Angers | Château d'Angers | not stated |
| Berry (off-river) | Valençay | not stated |
Which Cluster Suits a First Trip
If you have one day, pick either the Blois cluster or the Amboise and Tours pair. The Blois group is the tightest: the Blois-Chambord tourist office confirms Blois, Chambord, Cheverny and Chaumont-sur-Loire all sit within 20 km of each other, and castles around Blois are 15 to 20 km apart for cyclists. Chambord and Cheverny are only about 18.3 km apart by road, roughly 28 minutes.
The Amboise and Tours corner suits you if you want variety. Chenonceau, Amboise and Clos Lucé stand close together, while Villandry is just 15 km from Tours by bicycle on the Loire à Vélo and Azay-le-Rideau is 11.2 km beyond it. The western clusters around Chinon, Saumur and Angers reward a second trip. Each chateau gets its own page: start with the Château de Chambord and Château de Chenonceau guides, or browse Loire Valley castles one by one.
Sources: Château de Chambord, Château de Chenonceau, Blois-Chambord tourist office
Distances Between the Main Chateaux
A Loire Valley map looks compact, but the kilometres add up. These road distances come from OpenStreetMap routing between the chateaux coordinates, so treat them as indicative.
Road Distances and Driving Times
The table lists every chateau-to-chateau and station-to-chateau road distance in the source routing. Distances between the main chateaux range from about 10 km to about 67 km, which is why pairing castles inside one cluster matters.
| From | To | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Chambord | Blois château | about 18.2 km, roughly 29 min |
| Blois château | Cheverny | about 15.4 km, roughly 24 min |
| Chambord | Cheverny | about 18.3 km, roughly 28 min |
| Blois château | Chaumont-sur-Loire | about 18.6 km, roughly 23 min |
| Chaumont-sur-Loire | Amboise château | about 17.6 km, roughly 23 min |
| Amboise château | Chenonceau | about 20 km, roughly 27 min |
| Amboise château | Blois château | about 35.2 km, roughly 39 min |
| Amboise château | Loches | about 37.6 km, roughly 41 min |
| Chenonceau | Loches | about 31.7 km, roughly 38 min |
| Cheverny | Chenonceau | about 40.7 km, roughly 52 min |
| Blois château | Chenonceau | about 43.5 km, roughly 55 min |
| Tours station | Amboise château | about 26.4 km, roughly 35 min |
| Tours station | Chenonceau | about 34.3 km, roughly 42 min |
| Tours station | Villandry | about 16.6 km, roughly 26 min |
| Tours station | Azay-le-Rideau | about 25.9 km, roughly 29 min |
| Tours station | Langeais | about 30.9 km, roughly 30 min |
| Tours station | Chinon | about 46.2 km, roughly 47 min |
| Tours station | Blois château | about 66.7 km, roughly 51 min |
| Villandry | Azay-le-Rideau | about 11.2 km, roughly 15 min |
| Villandry | Langeais | about 10.2 km, roughly 12 min |
| Azay-le-Rideau | Ussé | about 15.6 km, roughly 23 min |
| Azay-le-Rideau | Chinon | about 20.2 km, roughly 21 min |
| Ussé | Chinon | about 12.4 km, roughly 17 min |
| Chinon | Saumur | about 31.8 km, roughly 37 min |
What Fits in a Day
The Blois-Chambord tourist office advises visiting no more than two castles a day. The distances above explain why: Chambord to Blois is about 29 minutes by car, but Blois to Chenonceau is about 55 minutes, and Tours to Blois is about 51 minutes. A sensible pairing keeps both pins inside one cluster, for example Chambord with Cheverny, or Amboise with Chenonceau, or Villandry with Azay-le-Rideau, which are only about 11.2 km apart.
Cyclists should note the same rule in bike terms. The Châteaux à Vélo network around Chambord has 15 loops of 10 to 43 km totalling 500 km, and all Rémi regional trains accept bicycles, with a weekend reservation at 1 euro per bike per the Tours tourist office. More route ideas live in the Loire Valley itinerary.
AUTUMN ROAD TRIP IN THE LOIRE VALLEY: Chateau Chenonceau, Amboise, Saumur | BEST PLACES IN FRANCE
A road trip through the Loire Valley linking Chenonceau, Amboise and Saumur. Third-party video by Carmela Viajera. This site did not shoot it and has no relationship with the creator.
The Stations That Serve the Chateaux
A Loire Valley castles map without stations is only half a map. Four stations put you within walking distance or a short bus ride of the main pins.
Tours and Saint-Pierre-des-Corps
Tours is the valley's rail hub, about 238 km from Paris by road. Tours station is a terminus in the city centre, but most TGV trains from Paris Montparnasse stop at Saint-Pierre-des-Corps instead, which the Chenonceau estate quotes as about 1 hour from Paris. The two stations are linked by rail shuttles, and Amboise is 20 km from Saint-Pierre-des-Corps. Saint-Pierre-des-Corps also sees Ouigo, Intercités, Interloire and Rémi Express trains, while Tours station sits on the TER line running Nantes, Angers, Tours, Blois and Orléans.
From Tours, the train reaches some castles directly: Azay-le-Rideau is 25 minutes by train plus 25 minutes on foot, Chinon is 48 minutes by train plus 25 minutes on foot, and Loches is 1 hour by train plus 15 minutes on foot. The Paris to Loire Valley by train page covers the fares and timetables.
Blois-Chambord, Amboise, Chenonceaux and Onzain
Blois-Chambord station sits 500 metres from Blois château, with a bus station opposite linking the main castles. Paris Austerlitz reaches it in about 1h30, though the Cheverny site quotes 1 hour 40 minutes. The Rémi line 2 bus runs from the station to Chambord year-round, departing at 9:20 and 12:20 and returning from Chambord at 13:10 and 17:00, a ride of about 35 minutes. A single costs €3.40 and a return €6.80 per the Rémi site, and the ticket earns a discount on Chambord entry.
Amboise station has regional trains to Tours, Blois and Orléans, and Amboise is 1.5 hours from Paris by train per its tourist office. Chenonceaux station is the star of the map at 400 metres from the Chenonceau ticket office, about 25 minutes by TER from Tours. Onzain station lies about 2 km from the Chaumont-sur-Loire domain, handy for the garden festival crowd.
Château de Saumur beside a vineyard at the edge of town. Photo: Kev22, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Where the Tours Go on the Map
Guided tours solve the map's one weakness, the distance between pins. They depart from three cities and cluster on the same two or three chateaux.
Departure Cities and the Pins They Cover
Paris departures head for the two biggest pins, usually Chambord and Chenonceau, sometimes adding Amboise or Cheverny. The Loire Valley Castles Day Trip with Wine Tasting costs $115 per person and enters Chambord and Chenonceau with a free-time stop in Blois over 12.5-13 hours. The Small-Group Loire Valley Castles Tour at $280 per person caps the van at 8 and adds Château d'Amboise to Chambord and Chenonceau. The Chambord, Chenonceau and Cheverny Tour from Paris is the lowest-priced Paris option at $101 per person and swaps Amboise for Cheverny.
Tours and Amboise departures work the middle of the map. The Loire Valley Castles Tour from Tours and Amboise at $231 per person is a 9-hour minivan day with guided entry at Chenonceau and Chambord. On the western side, the Villandry and Azay-le-Rideau Half-Day Tour at $131 per person covers the Tours cluster's gardens in 4 hours. Compare every departure city and pin on the homepage listing of Loire Valley castle tours.
Reading a Tour Route Against the Map
Match a tour to the cluster logic above and you can see what it trades away. Paris days run 12 to 13 hours. Tours-based days cut the transfer and fit two castles comfortably, which is the two-a-day advice in tour form.
No tour in the comparison includes every cluster, and none covers the far-west pins around Saumur and Angers, so a map-first traveller with a car still has an edge there. For more on the local departures, see the Loire Valley chateaux tours from Tours guide.
Loire Valley Map Questions
How many castles are in the Loire Valley?
The valley stretches 280 km and holds more than 300 chateaux. The Loire Valley map groups the main ones into five clusters so you can shortlist fast.
What is the most famous castle in the Loire Valley?
Chambord is usually named first. It is the largest château in the valley, begun in 1519 for François I with a double helix staircase, and it was individually listed by UNESCO in 1981. Details are in the Château de Chambord guide.
Where exactly is the UNESCO Loire Valley site?
The listed stretch runs from Sully-sur-Loire to Chalonnes-sur-Loire. The eastern end near Sully-sur-Loire appears in the Orleans cluster on the clusters table.
Which cluster is best for a first visit to the Loire Valley?
The Blois cluster is the densest, with Blois, Chambord, Cheverny and Chaumont-sur-Loire all within 20 km of each other per the local tourist office. If you would rather see the two headline pins in one day, a guided Loire Valley Castles Day Trip with Wine Tasting from Paris covers Chambord and Chenonceau.
Which train station is closest to a Loire chateau?
Chenonceaux station is 400 metres from the Chenonceau ticket office, about 25 minutes by TER from Tours, which makes it the closest station-to-gate walk on the map. The other stations are listed in the stations section.
How far apart are the main Loire castles?
Between roughly 10 km and 67 km by road, depending on the pair. Chambord to Blois is about 18.2 km, Amboise to Chenonceau about 20 km, and Tours to Blois about 66.7 km. The full list is in the distances table.