By car, bike and public transport in the Loire Valley

Last Updated on 04/07/2024

In this topic we’ll look at how you can get around the Loire Valley by car, bike and bus. Public transport in the Loire Valley provides access to most attractions. However, when it comes to buses, this opportunity is often only available a couple of times a day.

Loire Castles. Blois region attractions map
Loire valley Chambord castle
Loire Valley Castles. Blois castle
Around Chenonceau: attractions map from Amboise to Loches
Loire valley Chenonceau castle
Attractions of Tours city
Amboise Castle, Clos Lucé and what else to see
Loches and Chedigny village
Around Chinon: Loire Valley map from Tours to Angers
Loire cycle route. Tours – Villandry
Best castles to see in Loire Valley
Pink granite coast (Cote de granit rose)
Brittany Crozon Peninsula, Locronan

Loire Valley by car

On the maps, the Loire Valley does not seem too large, but still, on average, 40-60 minutes for a round trip from Tours must be budgeted. The furthest is Angers (an hour and a half, give or take).

Getting around is complicated by local roads, which seem to have not changed their layout since at least the time of Francis 1, and maybe even the Romans. Local residents are trained to drive close to each other at high speed, but for those who are accustomed to other, for example, German streets, this can be very nerve-wracking.

Therefore, the main advice: if you are not used to two-way traffic on one-lane streets or if you have a large car (starting from family cars), choose a route in advance not using a navigator, but using satellite maps and maps indicating the road level. In the maps below, the highways and orange roads are decent. Already the yellow ones may turn out to be narrowed, but the white ones – depending on your luck (most often you’re not lucky).

Thus, in Amboise it is better to make maximum use of the bypass road, the roads along the Loire and the two yellow roads through the city center. From Amboise to the Cher River, drive exclusively along the orange expressway, even if there is a shorter route through the forest.
Along the Loire, the faster road goes along the right bank, on the left in some places.
Along the Cher, the faster road goes along the left bank, on the right – only halfway.
Driving along the Indre is generally very nerve-wracking and often very narrow, plus you have to share the road with cyclists.

Autobahns are paid, but if the autobahn does not have a free alternative road, then it is free. That’s why there are free highway sections around Tours. If the route is mainly on the autobahn, you can roughly count on 12 euros per 100 kilometers (give or take, because prices are different in different sections).

Loire Valley by bicycle

The Loire Valley, on the one hand, is perfect for cycling: many attractions, comfortable terrain along the rivers, picturesque old villages, fields with poppies. On the other hand, it is mainly the authorities of large cities who take care of cyclists. That is, the number of separate bicycle roads decreases the further you are from a large city. In all other places you can cycle on local roads. These local roads are quite actively used by local residents and tourists, whom the navigator leads directly through the bushes.

The most comfortable and safest way is to cycle along Cher: almost everywhere there is either a separate road, a dirt road, or a local road on which cars rarely drive, because a faster road runs parallel. Moreover, above Tours, for a considerable distance you can drive along both banks.

Maps of the route along the Cher from Tours to Villandry: Loire cycle route. Tours – Villandry

There are not very many normal straight ways along the Loire; it is often suggested to take local roads through the hills, which is inconvenient both because of the terrain and because of the cars.

Along the Indre you need to take local secondary roads, but there are quite a lot of cars and motorcycles, since there is no alternative faster road. Of course, they are forced to slow down, but I wouldn’t cycle there with children.

Public transport in the Loire Valley

The region is well served by rail. However, it should be taken into account that many stations are located one and a half to two kilometers from the castles.
You can go by train to:
– Tours (two main stations, high-speed trains stop mainly at the one not in the center)
– Amboise (station on the other side of the river)
– Blois
– Chaumont (station on the other side of the river)
– Montbazon and Loches
– Azay-le-Rideau (approx. 2 km) and Chinon
– Langeais
– Savonniers (caves – approx. 2 km, Villandry – approx. 3 km)
– Saumur (station on the other side of the river)
– Montreuil-Bellay
– Angers

Regional lines in the Loire Valley are served by two transport associations: Remi and Aleop.

Public transport from Blois to Tours (Region Center – Loire Valley)

Region website (tariffs, maps and bus schedules): https://www.remi-centrevaldeloire.fr
Trains: https://www.ter.sncf.com/centre-val-de-loire

Public transport in Blois and around

City public transport in Blois

Almost all the Loire castles around Blois (Chambord, Cheverny, Fougères and other smaller ones) can be reached by bus. The main thing is to make sure that they go during non-school hours and the schedule suits you, because it is not made for tourists.

There is a tourist bus for tourists in the summer season. For a long time it drived through all the castles at once. This year, only Chambord is on the schedule. Obviously, the full route did not pay for itself, but in my opinion this was a pricing problem: each exit from the bus was too expensive. With proper organization, the bus to Chambord and Cheverny (with the schedule adjusted to the entertainment in the castles) would be beneficial for the castles, buses, and tourists. Don’t forget to check the latest information: https://www.remi-centrevaldeloire.fr/tourisme/navette-chateaux/

There is also a tourist bus from Blois to Beauval Zoo: https://www.remi-centrevaldeloire.fr/tourisme/navette-zooparc-de-beauval/

Map of public transport around Blois. Red numbers correspond to points of interest (see here for more details: Loire Castles. Blois region attractions map). The numbers on a white background are bus numbers. If you don’t see the map, please enable cookies and advertising.

Public transport in Amboise and around

There is a local bus in Amboise. The schedule can be found at city website.

The main route of interest for tourists from Amboise is bus C from Montrichard through Chenonceau to Amboise and then along the left bank of the Loire to Tours. It rarely goes.

Public transport in Tours and around

City public transport in Tours

To travel from Tours you will mainly need the train and a local bus to get around the city. By bus from Tours you can get to Villandry (number 32, not from the city center) and to Rochecorbon (53, 54).

Map of public transport around Tours and Amboise. The lines are schematic. Red numbers are points of interest, for more details see Around Chenonceau: attractions map from Amboise to Loches and Around Chinon: Loire Valley map from Tours to Angers
The numbers on a white background are bus numbers.
If you don’t see the map, please enable advertising and cookies.

Remi network travel tickets

Prices 2024

1. There are several annual cards that give a discount of 33-50 percent or more on trips within the region and neighboring regions – Carte Remi for people of different ages (from free to 30 euros per year)

2. Pass REMI DECOUVERTE for 45 euros for 2 days, 60 euros for 3 days for unlimited trips around the region for 5 people.
It looks very good, but there is a small BUT: I did not find information whether this ticket is valid for city buses. Most likely no. In this case, you should try to avoid using city transport or pay also for this.

3. Bus ticket Billet de car départemental: ticket for intercity buses within the department – 3.20 euros. If the trip is between departments, then the price depends on the distance.
10 tickets Carte 10 voyages de car Rémi cost 22.40. They entitle you to travel within the department and, in department 37, also include round trip travel on the local bus in Tours.

4. Train tickets – depends on the distance. The earlier you buy, the greater the chance of finding a discounted ticket, which exists in limited quantities. (Prix flash).

Tickets in Tours

1. Single ticket for 1 hour on trams and buses in Tours (1 Voyage), children pay from 5 years old
in the machine – 1.60 euros (for two trips – 3 euros),
by the driver – 2 euros (2 trips – 3.50 euros).

2. Single ticket for 1 hour for 3-4 people on weekends and holidays (1 Heure Famille) – 2.60 euros

3. 10 trips for 1 person (10 Voyages) – 14 euros

4. Ticket for 24 hours (24 Heures) – 4.10 euros

5. Ticket for 48 hours (48 Heures) – 6.10 euros

Public transport in the Pays de la Loire region (Saumur and Angers)

Regional transport website: https://aleop.paysdelaloire.fr/
Public transport in Saumur and around: https://ogalo-saumurvaldeloire.fr
Public transport in Angers: https://www.irigo.fr/

Angers, rather, belongs to a next region and is not well suited for exploring the castles of the Loire (too far), so I do not consider transport there. I will focus on Saumur, especially since the city cares about tourists.

From Saumur you can take a bus to Doue-la-Fontaine, Montreuile-Bellay, Breze, Fontevraud Abbey and the beautiful villages along the coast – all this with urban transport system. Regional transport of the Aleop system is numbered with three-digit numbers.

There are summer tourist lines:
А – three museums in St-Hilaire and the equestrian school Noir Cadre
C – Breze castle
1 – Montsoreau (from there you can make a 4 km circular route to Candes-St-Martin), Fontevraud Abbey

Please note that not all lines go from the station, some from the city center. Transport lines are drawn on the map schematically and not completely, only what is relevant to the attractions. Red numbers are attractions on the topic Around Chinon: Loire Valley map from Tours to Angers (second map). The numbers on a white background are bus numbers.

Tickets in Saumur

First, let’s note the group ticket for the Aleop network – Forfait multi. This is a day ticket for a group of up to 5 people for 30 euros. For 2 days a similar ticket costs 45 euros. The region includes areas up to the coast. Valid on trains and buses of the network.

Tickets in Saumur and around (prices 2024):

1.Ticket for 2 hours with transfers Ticket dépannage – 2 euros. Buy on the bus, validate it, present it when transferring.
Ticket for 10 trips – 12.10 euros.

2. Day ticket Ticket dépannage journée – 4 euros.

Loire Castles. Blois region attractions map
Loire valley Chambord castle
Loire Valley Castles. Blois castle
Around Chenonceau: attractions map from Amboise to Loches
Loire valley Chenonceau castle
Attractions of Tours city
Amboise Castle, Clos Lucé and what else to see
Loches and Chedigny village
Around Chinon: Loire Valley map from Tours to Angers
Loire cycle route. Tours – Villandry
Best castles to see in Loire Valley
Pink granite coast (Cote de granit rose)
Brittany Crozon Peninsula, Locronan