Day Tour of Chateaux of Chenonceau, Chambord & Caves Ambacia XVth century

The chateaus were absolutely amazing and worth seeing. Would have liked a little more free time to explore on our own!

I had an enjoyable day on this tour. We were lucky to only have a small group of 3 for the day, and Audrey (our guide) was super friendly and full of energy. She certainly knows the history of each site, and she passed this knowledge on to us throughout the day. I highly recommend this tour.

Our guide, Marion, was absolutely wonderful. She always had some fun fact to add to the experience and was lots of fun to converse with. We had a great group dynamic, two couples and we all spoke English but all from different countries so there was plenty to discuss. Even the car rides, which we thought might be a bit long felt quick. Food at the local restaurant was delish and we had a very generous tasting afterwards. Great value. Hope to be back soon !

Andrea was amazing. Extremely knowledgeable and affable and managed to tell us a tremendous amount in our all day tour. The lunch was very nice and the wine tour enjoyable but the real bonus for this trip was seeing the two large chateaux with a person who is passionate abut the area and the history. It was fascinating to actually be in a wine cave and see the bottles stored for decades and learn from the guide there as well.

Audrey our guide was fantastic and we enjoyed all the history at each place she was very good and a lot of fun

Vincent was a great job and the tour was fabulous as well. We went to two chateaus, lunch and a wine tasting.

We enjoyed our day tour with our lady guide. She has very good knowledge of the the places we have visited, she speaks perfect English with a fun personality. We liked her a lot. Lunch was light and delicious in a very nice restaurant. The one done side of the tour is the winery visiting, we have to watch 5 short movie clip which was wasting of time (20 mins) and it was not very relevant to the wine. The Winery is very commercial they do not have the grape field and the lady works there does not speak very good English. Overall I found the winery part is not very educational compare with my other winery experience, but the wine tour is only took an hour, so not too bad.

Our guide was knowledgeable and explained the history of the chateaux. He did not accompany us beyond the 2nd floor of Chambord which puzzled me!

This tour was one of the highlights of our vacation and I highly recommend it. From the starting location at the Tourist office, the drive through the countryside, tours of the chateaux, and probably the best, the tour and lunch at the winery. Our guide Simon used a clean and comfortable van with air conditioning, and he was busy cleaning all of the windows while we waited for the group to assemble. He was knowledgeable and though English was not his first language, he easily and fully talked with us, even picking up some of words or phrases that we will use again. We used the first part of the drive to get to know the rest of group, one from California and two couples from Australia. This was good time to set ourselves up for the rest of the day and Simon allowed us to chat back and forth before switching into guide mode and relating the history of the area. At our first stop at Chenonceau we breezed by everyone waiting to buy tickets and got right into line to enter. Simon pointed out some of the animals and sights as we walked up to the chateau. He also took us on a tour inside of the building and grounds before setting us free to explore on our own. We then took a quick drive to the wine caves near Amboise. Our guide there took us through the history of the caves and the wine process. Though they do not produce their own wines, the program was informative and put us in a comfortable state of mind. Lunch out near the river was excellent and filling. Many smiles and laughs and I felt I could have easily stayed for a couple of more hours. Off to impressive Chambord next. I found it interesting the contrast between the female-centric Chenonceau and Francois I's hunting lodge. The architecture of the building and in particular the staircase boggled the brain. Again Simon talked us through many items we may not have seen on our own. It seemed we did not have as much time there, but the setting was less idyllic than Chenonceau. We had a relaxing ride back and a quick tour of Tours before being dropped at our starting point, with still enough time to catch dinner and explore the town. There were a few improvements to the tour that could be made. It seemed everyone in our group was confused as to where to meet. An email we received said to meet at the train station, whereas the website indicated the Tourist office. It is indeed the Tourist Office, which is located across the square from the train station, but the instruction seemed confusing. Also, we felt rushed to leave Chenonceau, I think an hour should be allowed to walk around on our own. Finally, guides are half of the tour. Simon brought his humor, knowledge, and experience to make our excursion as memorable as it was. I appreciated that he had and would share his opinions, and was open to ours. He seemed to be an insider wherever we went. I sensed he could adapt to any group he lead. And as agreed, I will give him the last word not necessarily mine, he was 'Sexy.' Thanks, Simon.

Wonderful day! Our guide was informative and our lunch was weather appropriate! Definitely recommend!