Château de Chambord Tours›Loire Valley Day Tour Chambord and Chenonceau plus Lunch at a Private CastleUpdated 2026-09-10
Château de Chambord and Chenonceau Small-Group Tour, with a Château Lunch
★★★★★ 4.9
(443 traveller reviews)
Château ticket includedFrom Tours or AmboiseLive guideLunch at a family château
Eight people at most, a driver-guide who takes you through the rooms, and two hours at each of the Loire’s two great châteaux. In between you sit down to lunch at the Château de Villesavin, a family-owned house near Chambord that the coaches never reach. It holds the highest rating captured for Chambord on real volume, and travellers name their guide in almost every review.
Hours, prices and access verified by the Château de Chambord Tours team — last checked 2026-09-10
The longest Chambord time of any group day, with admission included.
Two hours at Chenonceau
The château on the Cher, given the same time rather than squeezed in.
Lunch at Villesavin
A home-cooked lunch at a family-owned château between the two, included in the fare.
Eight people, maximum
A minivan, not a coach, so you can ask questions and hear the answers.
A guide inside the rooms
Your driver-guide leads each visit before handing you free time to explore.
A Loire start
Pickup at the Tours tourist office at nine or Amboise at half past, not a 7am Paris coach.
Two hours at Chambord, and lunch at a family château
The trouble with seeing Chambord from Paris is the four hours on the road. This tour
starts in the Loire itself, so the day goes on the châteaux rather than the motorway.
You get two hours at each of Chenonceau and Chambord, which is the time you need to see the
staircase, the apartments and the terraces and still stand on the roof with nobody hurrying
you.
The guiding works the way small groups should. Your driver-guide takes you through the
main rooms and tells you what you are looking at, then gives you free time to wander; about
half the time at each château is yours. Travellers mention the balance more than
anything except the guide by name.
Lunch is the part nobody else offers. The Château de Villesavin is a family house a
few minutes from Chambord, and you eat there, away from the crowds, with a look at its
chapel afterwards. Tell the operator about any dietary needs when you book. Compare it with
the other Chambord castle tours if you want a different shape of day.
How the day runs
Pickup. Outside the Tours tourist office, 78 Rue Bernard Palissy, at 9:00, or the Amboise tourist office on the Quai du Général de Gaulle at 9:30. Your guide wears a hat.
Chenonceau. Two hours at the château on the Cher, guided and then free.
Lunch. At the family-owned Château de Villesavin, included.
Chambord. Two hours at the Château de Chambord, admission included, guided and then free.
Back. The minivan returns you to Tours or Amboise at the end of a nine-and-a-half-hour day.
Who this suits, and who should book something else
Book this if
You are staying in Tours or Amboise, or happy to get there first.
You want a guide who takes you round inside, not just on the road.
You want lunch sorted, and sorted somewhere memorable.
You would rather be one of eight than one of fifty.
Book something else if
You are based in Paris and want to be collected there:
the Paris day trip leaves from Denfert-Rochereau.
You use a wheelchair: this minivan is not wheelchair accessible.
You only want Chambord: the guided visit gives it ninety
minutes with a guide and leaves you there.
What the fare covers
In the fare
Lunch
Driver/guide
Transport by air-conditioned minivan
English-speaking guide
Not in the fare
Gratuities
Hotel pickup and drop-off
French-speaking guide
Where it starts
Two pickup points, one per booking option. In Tours, outside the tourist office
at 78 Rue Bernard Palissy, at 9:00. In Amboise, outside the tourist office on the Quai du
Général de Gaulle, at 9:30. Be there ten minutes early; your guide will be
wearing a hat.
Tours is about an hour from Paris by fast train, so an overnight stay makes the morning
much easier than a dawn train. Every meeting point on the site is on
the map page.
Know before you go
Get to the Loire first. There is no pickup in Paris or at hotels.
Tell them about food. Dietary requirements go in at booking, for the Villesavin lunch.
There are stairs. Both châteaux involve plenty of steps; a moderate level of fitness helps.
Tips are not included, and the guiding is in English.
It sells out. Eight seats go quickly, so book as soon as your dates are fixed.
No pets, and infant seats are available on request.
What travellers said about Villesavin and the guides
★★★★★
With only six others in the van we had time to get to know the group. The Château de Chambord and Chenonceau were magnificent and the lunch was first class. The only hard part was reaching Tours: take the train the night before rather than at six in the morning.
Carol C. · Two friends · May 2025
★★★★★
Our guide made every stop interesting. Lunch at Villesavin was a real escape from the crowds, and the little wedding chapel there was a surprise.
Jenna B. · Traveller · June 2025
★★★★☆
Great places and a friendly, knowledgeable guide. Worth knowing that about half the time at each château is free time, which suits some people more than others.
Yes, and nearly every tour listed here pairs them. From Tours or Amboise you get up to two hours at each; from Paris the time is shorter because of the drive. The two are very different châteaux, which is why the pairing works.
Which Chambord tours include the château ticket?
Almost all of them: admission is inside the fare on every tour from Tours and Amboise and on every group day trip from Paris. The two that leave it out are the 90-minute guided visit at the château and the customisable private car from Paris. Every card here says which it is.
How long do you need at Chambord?
Allow two hours for the château on your own and three with the gardens. Add the horse show and the park and it becomes a full day. Tours give you between one and two hours inside, depending on the operator.
Is any part of Chambord closed in 2026?
Yes. The François I wing, which holds the king's private apartments, has been almost entirely closed since 2023 and is being restored until 2030, with a reopening planned by 2032. The lapidarium, the carriage room, the king's room and his study are also closed, and more than 60 rooms stay open.
Can you cancel a Château de Chambord tour?
Every tour listed here refunds in full up to 24 hours ahead. The exception is the admission ticket sold as a booking of its own, which is non-refundable and says so on its card. Check the line on each card before you pay.
Is there a way to do this from Paris?
Not this tour, which starts in Tours or Amboise. The Paris day trip covers the same two châteaux by coach from Denfert-Rochereau, with both tickets included and less time at each.
