Book a Loire Valley wine and castles tour to Azay le Rideau, the Villandry Gardens, and Chinon.This Loire Valley tour will begin at the Amboise or Tours tourist office. Your Loire Valley tour is available Monday and Thursday year round.

• Loire Valley Tour days: Monday and Thursday year round
• Loire Valley Tour Duration: 9:00 AM - 6:30 PM
• Included: Stops in Azay le Rideau, wine-tasting. Villandry Gardens, Chinon; lunch
• Vehicle: Minibus that holds a maximum of 8 passengers.

The first castle you'll visit is the Renaissance castle Azay-le-Rideau. Azay is built on an island in the Indre River, a Loire tributary. Gilles Berthelot, Treasurer to King Francois I built the castle between 1518 and 1527. The king suspected that the castle had been constructed on embezzled funds and Berthelot fled for his life (leaving the castle incomplete forever!).

The style of architecture is Italianate with a very special elegance and unique appearance and looking at it, it's hard to believe that it was once a defensive fortress.

Next stop in your Loire Valley tour is wine tasting and lunch at a family estate situated among the the vineyards. Cheeses, charcuterie and organic wines of the region will very special and you will taste the AOC Azay le Rideau -- truly a very wonderful experience in the Loire Valley!

Next stop is Chinon for a guided tour of the town. Chinon is a picturesque town with a lot of history. The King of England, Henry II Plantagenet once lived in Chinon when that region was under English rule. Then Charles VII became king in the early 1400s. Chinon is where Joan of Arc came to acknowledge Charles VII and gather her army to liberate the country from English domination.

The Loire Valley tour continues to the Villandry Gardens. The Villandry Gardens include the Love Garden, Kitchen Garden, Aromatic and Medicine Garden, Water Garden, Sun Garden all surrounded by 1150 linden trees.

Your Loire Valley wine and castle tour to Azay le Rideau, Chinon, and Villandry will end with your return to the Amboise or Tours tourist office to get your train back to Paris.