Good morning!
I posted this on Fodors last month and I forgot to do the same on this great message board. I have also added a link to a few (13) photos of our trip:
www.flickr.com/photos/timjstark/sets/645052/
Upon our return from a two week trip to Paris and Amboise, I would like to thank all the kind people who use this board to help each other plan trips. We were helped in many instances by the tips found here or by direct responses to my questions. For all of that, thanks!
I am not eloquent enough to post a full trip report (and thanks to all the red wine, do I actually remember all the things that we did... just kidding!)
However, this trip was all about doing things that we had not done on previous trips so I will briefly mention a few of them.
Paris:
1. Fat Tire Bike Tours:
This company is professional, irreverent, safe, and informative. We took the Paris Day Tour, but as we were staying on the Ile St. Lous, we met many others who took the Night Tour (when they stopped for Berthillion ice cream) and they shared our view. It is just a cool way to see Paris.
http://www.fattirebiketoursparis.com/
2. Paris Walks:
Based upon the London Walks that are so great, this company does a very thorough job with their guides. We took the French Revolution Walk and our guide was excellent. Note: Fat Tire always does walking tours, called City Walks of Paris, but since we did not take one I cannot vouch for them.
…compuserve.com/homepages/pariswalking/
3. St. Chappelle concert:
We have been to St. Chappelle many times before, but going at night with the wonderful lighting, acoustics, and atmosphere was truly a treat. There are posters all over listing the concert dates/times, but get your tickets early (we purchased ours the morning of the show) at the tiny box office near the main St. Chappelle ticket window. We paid the couple of extra Euros to sit in the first section very close the the musicians (it is first come seating) and we were able to observe the smiles and facial nuances expressed by this particular group of very talented people.
4. Riding bikes to Giverny
On previous trips we have driven a car to Giverny or taken a day trip from Paris on a tour bus. Both were great, but this trip we were trying new things so we took the train to Vernon and rented bikes at the cafe right across from the train station. It could not have been easier and the ride was 30 minutes or so mostly on a bike/walking trail. After leaving Giverny, we had a picnic in Vernon while we waited for the train back to Paris (Gare St. Lazare).
5. Paris Apartment:
This is a theme discussed at length on this message board.
We rented from Guest Apartment Services. They offer mostly high end (pretty expensive) places on the Ile St. Louis and a few in the Marias. I know that many of you state that you are not in your room much because you are in Paris for goodness sakes so why spend a ton of money on your lodging. I agree completely. However, some trips require a bit of a splurge (this was an anniversary trip) and this company fills that need wonderfully. They were always very prompt answering all of my many e-mailed questions, they do require 50% down to reserve the apartment, but they handle everything with class and flair and their website is very well done. Besides, when you walk over the bridge from Notre Dame at midnight to your home on the Ile St. Louis, you will feel very Parisian! Highly recommended!
http://www.guestapartment.fr/
Finally regarding two often discussed issues on this board-Carte Orange and the Museum Pass, I would recommend both. Do a search on either and you will find numerous threads discussing these. The Carte Orange was very easy to buy and the Museum Pass saves you time which is even more important than the Euros that you will also save.
Loire Valley/Amboise
We have based ourselves in Tours on prior trips to the Loire, but I think that Amboise is a better choice. The central location is crucial, but beyond that it is much smaller and while it is a bit touristy it lets you feel a part of the town while you meander the tiny streets that surround the chateau. The wonderful market on Sunday is huge!
We rented bikes in town and rode to three other chateaus/chateaux?. The Loire region is in the midst of developing a wonderful set of biking trails for the day trip cyclist and while they are not done yet, when they do complete it, you will be able to safely cycle all over the region.
My final tip is to recommend the hotel in which we stayed in Amboise - Le Manoir les Minimes. This hotel truly made our stay in Amboise wonderful. It is a first class place, but with a very relaxed atmosphere. It sits at the foot of the chateau with great views of the river as well. The staff was extremely helpful, the hotel is immaculate, and the feeling that you get when you stay there is that you do not wish to leave. Check out TripAdvisor for other traverlers%26#39; views. Very highly recommended!
http://www.manoirlesminimes.com/
Again, take these notes as just a few ramblings from someone who loves to travel, loves to plan to travel, and is very appreciative of those who help others plan their travels.
Merci!
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Very informative post, plus you just happened to anwer alot of my questions !
Re: bike ride to Giverny, I had also thought that would be a neat thing to do, but was concerned that we( my 14 yr old son and I) might arrive in Vernon, and that there would be no bikes availble at the bar across the street. Did it look like they had lots?
Also , when you rented and rode bikes to other chateau near Amboise, how far/ long is it to other castles. Do you remember which ones you saw? Was the riding suitable for a 14 yr old( not too far, nor on busy roads) and lastly where in Amboise did you rent bikes?
Thanks so much for any help you can offer, your trip sounded wonderful!
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Reply to Joan1,
Sorry for the delay in responding as I have been traveling.
Regarding the rental bikes at Vernon, the cafe had plenty of bikes (and there was another cafe near the station that also rented bikes) so I think you will be fine.
The bikes we rented in Amboise were from Locacycle which was right in town. Here is link to some options:
www.amboise-valdeloire.com/index.php…
I must say that the bike ride to Chenonceau was fine; on country roads, well marked, and not too tough for a 14 year old.
However, the ride to Chaumont sur Loire and then to Blois is a bit different:
The French are in the process of developing a tremendous new bike trail on which one will be able to bike from Nantes to Orleans (~500 miles) on strictly biking trails. It is not yet done especially near Amboise so I would advise getting good directions and a very good map if you go to any places other than Chenonceau from Amboise. We ended up on a very busy road after visiting Chamont and thus the ride to Blois was very tense. After visiting Blois, we ended up putting our bikes on a train and going back to Amboise that way rather than returning via the same road. If we had a good map, we probably could have avoided that. Locacycle will provide you with a general map, but that did help us enough. Perhaps by the time you arrive the trails will be done and well marked.
I hope this helps. Feel free to ask me further questions and again sorry about the delay in responding.
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