Chateaux of the Loire Cycling

• Perfect cycling routes: traffic-free lanes, flat paths, majestic forests, vines and sunflowers
• Hand-picked hotels in fabulous locations; superb cuisine throughout
• Renaissance splendour of Chenonceau - 'jewel in the Loire crown'
• Masses of historic and cultural interest: pretty wine villages, charming mediaeval towns, more chateaux than you ever knew existed!
• Wine tasting opportunities galore

This ever-popular cycling holiday explores the 'magic triangle' of the majestic Loire and Cher rivers, with the pretty Cisse valley winding through the middle. The cycling is easy, and mostly flat, following little country lanes and river banks, through a region packed with interest. Highlights include the beautiful Renaissance chateau at Chenonceau, which famously straddles the Cher; the flamboyant royal palace at Amboise, proudly dominating the riverside and town, and the dramatic chateau at Chaumont, once owned by Catherine de Medici (before being forcibly 'exchanged' for Chenonceau in a bitter lovebattle with her husband's mistress), and occupying one of the most stunning sites of all the river's chateaux.

You can visit the elegant Clos Luce, the C15 manor house where Italian genius, Leonardo da Vinci, spent the last four years of his life; the historic town of Blois which has long enjoyed strong connections with nobility and royalty, and fairytale Chambord, probably the most ostentatious of all the Loire treasures. The hotels on this circuit are superbly placed for you to easily visit all the 'must see' sights in this region and range from a fabulous **** chateau to an imposing C17 wine-brokers lodge on the banks of the river. Meals throughout are of a very high quality and, of course, world-famous local wines are in abundance!