Château de Chenonceau is in the town of Chenonceaux which is 30 kilometres from Tours. We arrived by train, the stop being only about 500 metres from the chateau. Chenonceau is very different from previous chateaux we have visited as it spans the river Cher. It was built in the 16th century & was expanded by each of its owners. It has a very interesting history as Henry II gave it to his mistress Diane de Poitiers. When Henry died in 1559, his wife, Catheri...

Sunday We sadly said goodbye to Paris & headed via train to the city of Tours in the Loire Valley which is 240 kilometres from Paris. The Loire Valley is referred to as the garden of France due to the abundance of vineyards, as well as fruit & vegetables grown. The region is a very popular tourist destination as over 300 chateaux/castles are located in the area, some dating back to the 10th century. Many of the chateaux are open to the public. Tours is ...

Thursday we left Paris for the day traveling via high speed train to Reims a city in the Champagne - Ardennes region where the major champagne houses are located. We had a reservation for a tour of GH Mumm winery. Unlike Australia you are required to make a booking for a tour & tasting. Our tour guide was really enthusiastic about her job & champagne. She started with the history, moving from one area to another taking us through the process of making cha...

Exploring the Left Bank Tuesday we set off to wander the left bank & find a few places we had missed on previous visits. Our first stop was Saint Germaine des Pres district. This area is lined with wide boulevards, upscale art galleries, famous cafés, designer boutiques, restaurants, and a fine selection of museums. We spotted the famous Cafe de Flore & decided to return after our walk for their famous hot chocolate. Our next stop was Luxembourg gar...

Saturday we decided to visit a smaller Chateaux Vaux Le Vitcomte originally built for Nicolas Fouquet from 1658 to 1661 by Louis Le Vau as architect, Andre Le Notre as landscape architect and Charles Le Brun as painter and decorator. This chateau was a break from the design of all buildings before it, and the 3 young men worked in harmony to produce one of the most envied modern chateaus in Europe at the time so much that King Louis XIV became jealous of the styl...