Paris to the Loire Valley

September 30, 2022

Visit to Chateau de Chambord

Farewell from our apartment in the Latin Quarter.

The sun shines on Paris for our last ride along the Seine to Gare d’Austerlitz, the train station. Two RER trains – first to Orleans, then to Beaugency– will take us to the Loire River valley to see some of the luxurious chateaux over the next 5 days. It’s a relief that there is no need to bag the bikes on the RER, although space is tight when we roll them aboard.

With my bike partly folded and Barry’s standing up on the rear wheel, we have just enough room to get on the train.

The quiet village of Beaugency on the Loire River is a pleasant change from the hubbub of Paris. Narrow rues and cobblestones lead us to a pleasant bike path through farmland along the river. We cross the river at Muides-sur-Loire and ride along the south bank.

Bike path on the bridge across the Loire at Muides-sur-Loire

The low-stress path continues on the south side of the river.

The first place we try for lunch is full, which turns out to be a lucky break when we discover Chez Walter in Saint-Dyé-sur-Loire. Highly recommend! The starter of duck with mushrooms is a revelation.

Amazing food in a lovely courtyard at Chez Walter

Six kilometers further on we arrive at the Château de Chambord, the 16th century French Renaissance castle built by Francois I. Even with the scaffolding that surrounds the bell towers for a restoration project, it’s an awesome sight. Furnishings inside are minimal; the tour focuses on the architecture, notably the double helix staircase designed by Leonardo da Vinci for Francois I.

While unlocking the bike to ride to our stay for the night, I manage to knock it over, snapping off the front brake lever. It's not a huge issue here as the landscape is pretty flat but still a little disconcerting. Hopefully we'll find a bike shop soon where I can get it fixed.

It's an easy path through the woods from the chateau to our AirBnb near Huisseau-sur-Cosson for a one-nighter. Our host speaks little English and I find my French to be seriously wanting as we attempt to find out what the options might be for dinner around here. Up until now we've been lucky. In Paris we could usually find someone who spoke some English, and we benefited from our friend Terry's fluency in French. Moving south I expect I'll get many more opportunities to practice.

We take a short ride into town and find no restaurants open for dinner, but the market is still open. Our room doesn't have a kitchen so we pick up some picnic fare of cheese, apples, wine and chocolate and ride back. Time to study up on the sights for our next four nights in the Val de Loire.

Today's ride: 40 km (25 miles)
Total: 282 km (175 miles)

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Bob KoreisApples, cheese, wine and chocolate sounds like a good meal, in particular the chocolate.
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1 year ago

Janice BranhamI've never regretted getting the chocolate Bob.
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1 year ago