Cost: 1,190 euro per person

 

Includes:

• Visits as indicated on the programme
  
• Pick up airport, train, station or hotel in Paris
• Chauffeur-guide services during the 3 days
• Diners, nights and breakfasts in a 2-star hotel on days 1 and 2(price based on 2 people sharing, single supplement : 75 €)
• Lunches on day 1, 2 and 3
• Transport in air-conditioned minibus
• Drop off in Paris at the end of the trip

Itinerary

DAY1: Montlouis-Vouvray-Chinon

Our guide will take you from Paris to the Loire Valley. In the morning, discovery of the vineyards and visit a cellar : “La Cave” in Montlouis, in the heart of the Touraine region.

Lunch in the restaurant situated in "La Cave". You will be surprised by the warm and magic atmosphere of this troglodyte restaurant built in the tuffa.

In the afternoon onto Vouvray.
Visit the "Domaine de Marc Bredif " : this is one of the most famous cellars in the region. It dates back to the Xth century and includes one million bottles spreading along 2 km. During the visit, you will learn how Vouvray is made.
At the heart of the Vouvray region, you will discover the "Vigne Blanche" : one of the most beautiful plots overhanging the Loire. A wine-producer will explain the vine cycle and make you taste a glass of Bredif Brut.

You will then stop on the riverside at a place called "la Grenouillère" to taste 2 white wines and 2 red wines of the Loire valley.

Direction Chinon and the romantic ruins of a castle full of history

You will dine at the restaurant "L'Océanique" where both the cuisine and the atmosphere of Marie-Paule and Patrick Descoubes are welcoming and refined.
The night will be spent at the hotel "Le Diderot", a delightful residence where centuries run alongside.

DAY2: Chinon-Saumur-Fontevraud

In Chinon.
Visit of François Rabelais' house : "la Devinière". With his strong and poetic voice combined to great erudition, in his book "Pantagruel" Rabelais personifies a French reality : the search for pleasure and buffoonery.The view on the château of Coudray Montpensier is exceptional from this modest and quiet place…
Then, Visit of the wine and cooperage museum. Rabelais is initiating you to work in the vineyards and barrel manufacturing !

Visit of St Mexme cellars in Chinon. An old tufa quarry which served to build St Mexme collegiate church. The cellar is now used for maturing and aging the best wines of the Couly-Dutheil family.   

Lunch at the Saut Aux Loups, where mushrooms are grown. A delightful site overhanging the Loire with a traditional cuisine based on mushrooms called "Les Galipettes".

Montreuil Bellay

Guided visit of the château. A beautiful Renaissance residence is hidden inside the fortified walls. The medieval kitchen with its chimney in the centre is similar to Fontevraud's. It was rebuilt during the 15th century. The stove with its seven ash heated hearths and the copper kitchen ustensiles are still intact.
Grenelle Cellars in Saumur
The cellars are still in activity. They are 700 metres long and include 4 million bottles. A technician will take you round, telling you all about tufa extraction and wine making….He will offer you wines to taste and organize wine tasting games.

Dinner and night at Fontevraud, at the heart of History, in the Hôtellerie de l'Abbaye Royale

DAY3: Foutevraud-Doué le Fontaine

In the morning you will visit the abbey of Fontevraud which has the most beautiful Roman kitchen in France. Guided tour.

Lunch in the Saulaie cellar under the town in bloom of Doué La Fontaine. You will enjoy local specialities.

Then, you will be taken to an unusual place to visit a "cathedral cellar" called Les Perrières in Doué La Fontaine. This is essential to understand the troglodyte phenomenon. ! A maze of 60 ogival shaped rooms with vaults reaching up to 20 metres high. This cellar used to be a quarry ; it is now used as a residence and a mushroom bed.

Return to Paris