We will be in paris for 5 days during first week of July. We are planning on making a day trip to Loire Castles (take the full day tour from Tours) and on another day arrive early at versailles (before 9 AM), spend time till late afternoon and head back to paris for the evening. This will give us 3 days to go around paris. This is our first trip to Paris, and was wondering if its OK to do both Loire and Versaille. Would I be seeing the same things at both the places? My 8 year old daughter loves fairy tales and would love to see the various castles and the region. Thanks for your thoughts.
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I wouldn%26#39;t say that you%26#39;d see the same things in both places - given the fact that we%26#39;re talking of seeing castles here, but they are pretty different even in an 8 years old girl..
On the other hand, One day for the Chateaux de la Loire will not give you the opportunity to see many things beside the bus.
I%26#39;d concentrate on 1 day on Versailles (don%26#39;t miss the Marie-Antoinette%26#39;s hamlet)and spare the Chateaux de la Loire for another trip. Versailles is pretty huge, so keep the time needed to see everything, then use your 4 other days for Paris.
If you stick on the Loire, then I%26#39;d concentrate on Chambord that is the most impressive one on my point of view.
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Chambord is the most impressive, but Ussé, less know is supposed to be the one which inspired the Sleeping Beauty, so they have inside wax figures showing the characters from the fairy tale so i think this would be magical for your daughter. Don%26#39;t think you would see the same, as most of the castles (except Cheverny) were built during the Renaissance, and Versailles dates back to the 17th-18th century, so quite different. But three days in Paris is really not much...
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Ussé was inspiring Sleeping Beauty ? i thought it was Neuschwanstein in Bayern? Ok must go to Ussé then.
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Perrault was more liely to know Ussé that Neuchwanstein, as he was French i guess
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And Neuchwanstein looks like it dates back to the King Ludwig, 19th century, much later than the time of Charles Perrault...
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If you feel you must pick one, and your daughter%26#39;s interests play a big part in the decision, I would head to the Loire. Usse IS the fairy tale castle, and hopefully you could find a tour that would include it for your daughter. Versailles is close, but I think it appeals more to those with a specific interest in 17/18th Century France, than those with a broad curiosity about castles and French history in general...meaning that if you don%26#39;t have a specific interest in Versailles, then yes, it%26#39;s %26quot;just another chateau%26quot; to many people. Being obsessed with these places myself, I have learned to try to curtail the number of chateaux and cathedrals I include on trips with others, because without some genuine interest, I have found that friends do sometimes get tired of seeing what they feel is just another place that was pretty much like the place before. So I think it depends on your interest in these places.
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Also i forgot to say as the other post, that one day is not much to truly appreciate the Loire Chateaux. Don%26#39;t miss Chambord, and Chenonceau
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I%26#39;m talking about the Disney movie, not the book.. The castle is a copy of Neuschwanstein, just like the one in Disneyland in fact. Somewhat bigger, though.
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Frankly, I%26#39; be inclined to do no more than one(1) day trip out of Paris in a five-day itinerary---EITHER...a day-trip out to the Loire Chateaux (hopefully any tour you hook up with at Tours should include both Chambord and Chenonceau, as the prime examples of %26#39;grande%26#39; and %26#39;petit%26#39; chateaux)...OR...Versailles (a %26#39;wonder-of-the-world%26#39;) Sometimes, LESS is MORE.
The train from Paris out to Tours and then driving from chateaux to chateau out in the Loire will also give you some idea of what the French countryside is like. Perhaps because of the time spent %26#39;..riding..%26#39; in trains and buses/vans the Loire may be a less taxing day in 8 year old legs.
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This is complete blasphemy, but my kids could not have cared less about visiting the castles in the Loire. They love fairy tales, and did like seeing them from afar, but in the words of my 11 yr. old, %26quot;One castle is pretty much like the other one, no need to see them all.%26quot; And even worse would be spending the day shut up in a bus! I think that this would be a very long, exhausting day trip for a family, when there are so many other options within Paris.
Versailles should be more than enough, and with the gardens it makes for an excellent family outing.
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