Tailormade tour Loire Valley, Bordeaux and Dordogne rail-drive tour France

Your rail-drive touring holiday of the Loire Valley, Bordeaux and Dordogne starts with a Eurostar journey from London to Paris, a change of stations in Paris and then the high-speed TGV from Paris to Tours St Pierre des Corps, at the heart of the Garden of France. If you leave London about 09.30 hrs you arrive in Tours about 15.00 hrs. You collect your hire-car from the station and your first stay is at Amboise, just to the east of Tours and about 40 minutes’ drive. You stay in Amboise for three nights.

You have two full days to explore this part of the Loire Valley. There are numerous places of importance to visit within a very short drive. Amboise, on the banks of the river Loire, is home to the Chateau d’Amboise, a 15th century residence of Charles VIII and where you will find the tomb of Leonardo da Vinci. Nearby is the Chateau du Clos Lucé where Leonardo Da Vinci lived. In the grounds are displays of working models of this designs. Not far from Amboise is the Château de Chenonceau, known sometimes at the ‘Ladies Castle’ due to its string of female owners, such as Catherine de Medici and Diane de Poitiers, is not to be missed. This château offers an extensive art gallery and a collection of exquisite Flemish tapestries, as well as wine-tasting opportunities. You can dine in L’Orangerie, the on-site restaurant, or relax in the tea rooms, before exploring the wax museum or enjoying a boat ride. In the warmer summer months of July and August, night strolls around the castle and its grounds are very atmospheric, particularly with the backdrop of music by Arcangelo Corelli. Whilst in Amboise, you may want to visit the capital of the region, Tours. It is an ancient university town and this region purports to speak the ‘purest’ form of French. The old town is a delight with its narrow streets and tall, gabled, half-timbered houses. The Cathedral of Saint Gatien dates from the 12th century but most of it is obviously flamboyant Gothic, completed about the same time as the Chateau de Chenonceau. In Montlouis-sur-Loire, we recommend visiting the Domaine de la Taille aux Loups to taste the local wine: the dry and fizzy Moelleux wines from this region.

You return your hire-car to Tours St Pierre des Corps station and take the TGV to Bordeaux. This is a frequent service but if you take the train at 11.00 hrs from St Pierre des Corps you arrive in Bordeaux-St-Jean at just before 13.00 hrs. Time to collect your hire-car and drive the short distance to your overnight stop in the Bordeaux region. You stay here for two nights.

The city of Bordeaux is a thriving hub of wine-making in the Aquitaine region. On the bank of the Gironde Estuary, just south of the Médoc Peninsula, and about 40 minutes’ drive from world-famous Saint-Emilion, Le Saint-James is the ideal place to be based in order to explore this region. Track down one of the impressive wine châteaux dotted across the region, such as the Château Rauzan Gassies and the Château Mouton Rothschild, to taste the fruity Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, and experience the distinctive vanilla and coffee aromas that develop as the wines of the area age. Other grape varieties in the region include Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Malbec. Within the port city of Bordeaux, much more than wine-tasting is on offer. Stroll around the city streets to get a feel for the wealth of extensive and interesting architecture. Recommended stop-off points include The Amphithéâtre de Bordeaux dit Palais Gallien, the Cathédrale de Bordeaux, the Opéra National de Bordeaux, and the Basilica of St. Michael.

Today you leave the Bordeaux area to drive for just over two hours into the heart of the Dordogne to the village of Tremolat on the northern bank of the river. In terms of the route, we would suggest that you spend some time visiting along the way. Perhaps this is the day to visit St Emilion as you leave Bordeaux and possibly to call into the Bergerac before reaching your destination for the night. You spend three nights in Tremolat. Make the most of your days in Trémolat, walk into the centre of the village to appreciate the imposing and austere Saint Nicolas Church. Its riverside position makes it ideal for kayaking and fishing, and the neighbouring hills make for fantastic hiking trails. You stay here for three nights.

The Dordogne is renowned for its rich and hearty cuisine and the region produces all manner of fascinating food stuffs, from walnuts to mushrooms, from cheese to truffles, from foie gras to pork delicacies. There is wine too, at Bergerac and Monbazillac. The Dordogne has a great number of very picturesque small towns, most of which have markets on various days of the week. Sarlat is probably the best known but Domme, La Roche Gageac, Les Eyzies and Beynac are worth seeking out. Some of the towns also have night-time markets where you can eat, drink and listen to music. You have two full days in this area to become acquainted with all manner of foodie things but also to experience the rich culture and history of the region, from the prehistoric cave paintings at Lascaux and Les Eyzies to the mediaeval fortresses that perch on rocky crags above the meandering valley of the Dordogne, to beautifully fashioned gardens, at Eyrignac and Marqueyssac for example.

You return your hire-car to Libourne this morning and take the TGV from here to Paris. If you leave Libourne just before 11.00 hrs you arrive back in London on the Eurostar just after 16.30 hrs.