Loire Valley France Complete Guide 2026: Chambord, Chenonceau, Amboise, Villandry and Leonardo's Final Home
Browse more guides: France travel | Europe destinations Loire Valley France Complete Guide 2026: Chambord, Chenonceau, Amboise, Villandry and Leonardo's Final Home TL;DR I planned my Loire Valley trip thinking I would see two or three castles and head back to Paris. I ended up staying nine nights, cycling between vineyards, and standing inside the double-helix staircase that Leonardo da Vinci probably sketched before François I built it into Chambord. The Loire Valley is a 280-kilometre cultural landscape stretching from Sully-sur-Loire to Chalonnes-sur-Loire, classified by UNESCO in 2000 for its Renaissance architecture, formal gardens, riverside villages, and wine country. The river itself is 1,012 kilometres long, the longest in France. The headliners are Chambord, where construction began in 1519 with 440 rooms and 282 fireplaces, and Chenonceau, the 1513 "Ladies' Castle" with its 1576 bridge gallery arching over the Cher River. Amboise gives you the royal c...