Day 2: Sully-sur-Loire Castle - Orléans - Visit Chambord Castle - Blois
Today begins at 6 in the morning, enjoying a unique sunrise from the window of our accommodation in Sully-sur-Loire, with which we started the day when after knowing Orléans we will go to visit Chambord Castle, one of the 10 essential Loire Castles.
After working for a while, we went down to the breakfast room of the Henri IV Hotel for when it is 8:30 in the morning to return to visit the Sully-sur-Loire Castle, where yesterday we enjoyed a unique sunset and which we want today Say goodbye with the morning light.
Sully-sur-Loire Castle
Although the initial idea is only to approach the entrance area of the castle, as happened yesterday, we are not able to resist a full turn and that is also at this time the light is fantastic and there is no one in the area , so we can enjoy it, in absolute solitude, something that makes this a much more spectacular place if possible.
Sully-sur-Loire Castle
And so, almost 45 minutes later, we are on our way to what will be the next stop of the day, but not before saying goodbye to the Sully-sur-Loire Castle, approaching us to one of its best perspectives, in which you can see the castle reflected in the water.
Sully-sur-Loire Castle
The first stop on the route through the Loire Castles will take us to Orléans, just over 45 kilometers from Sully-sur-Loire and almost an hour away.
Day route through the Loire Valley
Today will take us to know the beautiful city of Orléans and then visit the Castle of Chambord and end the day in Blois, the place where we will stay.
This route is done again through charming villages, such as those we saw yesterday in the last part of the route, and a fairly clear sky, which gives us a spectacular day for this trip to the Loire Valley in 9 days.
We arrive in Orleans when it is 10 in the morning, going first to the area of the historic center, where we are in the same street of the Orléans Cathedral, really spectacular in the distance, where we are lucky to find a parking lot.
Something to keep in mind is that in most of villages of the Loire Valley there is no need to pay to park on the street, except for some cases, such as Orléans, in which in the most central areas, you have to pay, as it is in our case in which when parking in the center, we pay, from 10 until 3 in the afternoon six euros, a price more than adjusted, considering that we are in the historic center and we are also in France.
Orléans, located just 100 kilometers from Paris, is known historically, in addition to its beautiful medieval pedestrian district, which you can travel from Rue Jeanne d'Arc to the Loire River, from where you have beautiful views of the city .
What to see in Orléans - Loire Valley
The route through Orléans will take us through several points of interest such as the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, the Rue, Jeanne d'Arc, the Place du Martroi, the House of Joan of Arc, the Rue Royale and Halles Châtelet, as well as a pleasant walk through the charming streets of the medieval center.
Orléans Cathedral
The Cathedral of Orléans or the Cathédral Ste-Croix was built in the 12th century, although it was subsequently restored several times. Although its exterior is beautiful, it is also remarkable its interior of columns, vaulted ceiling and a spire, visible from practically the entire city, with 106 meters.
Orléans Cathedral
Interior of the Orléans Cathedral
Rue Jeanne d'Arc
The ideal place to enjoy the best views of the Orléans Cathedral, is undoubtedly the Rue Jeanne d'Arc, as well as being one of the commercial arteries of the city and the perfect place to see the image from the tram with the cathedral in the background.
Rue Jeanne d'Arc
Joan of Arc House
If you want to know the life of Joan of Arc, there is no better way to do it than in this house in Orléans, rebuilt, which hosted it in the year 1429. The price of admission is 4 euros per person and the schedule is 10 to 18 from Tuesday to Sunday from April to September and from 14 to 18 from Tuesday to Sunday from October to March.
Joan of Arc House
Place du Martroi
This is one of the best known squares in the city, at the same time as one of the most frequented, since three of the main streets converge in it: Rue Bannier, Rue de la République and Rue Royale.
Place du Martroi
In the central area of the Place du Martroi you can also see a bronze statue of Joan of Arc, one of the symbols of the city.
Statue of Joan of Arc on the Place du Martroi
Rue Royale
This is one of the city boulevards, which go to Place Martroi and one of the places you can not miss in the city, along with the other main streets.
Rue Royale
Orléans Medieval Center
One of the areas that you can not miss from Orléans is its medieval neighborhood, which goes from the Loire River to Rue Jeanne d'Arc, full of half-timbered houses and a charming atmosphere that falls in love as soon as you set foot on it.
Orléans Medieval Center
Halles Châtelet
This shopping center, located very close to the Loire River, has a special indoor market inside, a perfect place to buy local products, in addition to prepared food and of course, enjoy the local atmosphere, one of the best Ways to get to know a city.
Market in Halles Châtelet
Once in Halles Châtelet and after enjoying the visit to the covered market, we take the opportunity to make a stop at the Place du Châtelet, in one of the coffee shops, to have a couple of coffees for 1.20 euros each, with which we enjoy a few minutes of tranquility and especially watch life go by, something we always look for and try to do on our trips.
After this stop we continue the visit to the medieval quarter, especially delighting in the amount of little shops and houses that are there, which call us a lot of attention, both for their structure and for the products they have, which are extremely careful.
Orléans Medieval Quarter
Orléans Medieval Quarter
More practical information to prepare your trip to the Loire Valley
- The 10 essential Loire Castles
- 10 essential tips for traveling to the Loire Valley
After enjoying almost an hour through the medieval quarter, we cross the Rue Jeanne d'Arc again, to head back to the area perhaps a little more commercial, where three of the main commercial arteries of Orléans are located and leading to the Place du Martroi.
We are here for a while, we also take the opportunity to approach the Place du Général de Gaulle again, to the Post Office where we buy the stamps that will then accompany the postcards that we always send from our trips and then leave, when they are something more than 12 noon to the restaurant Chez Dionysios, a restaurant of traditional cuisine of this area of France, which is number three of Orléans.
Here we find a menu that is quite concise with two menus, one that is entree plus main course or main course plus dessert for 20.50 euros per person or the Grand Menu that includes an entree, a main course and a dessert for 26 , 50 euros per person.
In our case we ask for a menu of each option, one with a main dish that is foie and a main one that is a meat dish plus a Grand Menu, in which as an entree we order a watermelon gazpacho, plus a rissotto and 1 coulant de Chocolate, plus two coffees for which we paid 60.40 euros, a price that we believe is more than adjusted taking into account what we have eaten and where we are.
Eating at Chez Dionysios
It's almost 2:30 in the afternoon, when we decided to end the visit to Orléans, to return to the car and get on our way to the next point of this route through the Loire Valley, which will take us to visit Chambord Castle, the most visited in the Loire Valley, which is located 1 hour from Orleans.
As happened yesterday as we enter the Loire Valley area, the journey is surrounded by vegetation and charming villages to reach the Chambord Castle When it is 3:20 in the afternoon, at which time we approach Parking 2, very close to the castle, to go directly to the entrance area, where we get the tickets of 13 euros per person.
Recommendations to visit Chambord Castle
This castle, an example of Renaissance architecture, is one of the Castles of the Loire most visited, in addition to being one of the most striking and beautiful, at the architecture level.
It is also the largest, with more than 400 rooms, not all of them open to the public. Located very close to the Loire River, it is surrounded by a wooded area, chosen at the time by King Francisco I, dome his favorite place of hunting.
Designed by Italian architects, great masters in their art, the Chambord CastleIt is full of classic and Renaissance details, as well as an impressive interior staircase, attributed to the great Leonardo da Vinci.
Chambord Castle
- Visiting hours: every day from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. from April to October, the rest of the year closes at 5:00 p.m.
- Price: 13 euros per person.
- It is necessary to pay the entrance to be able to see the castle, since being in an enclosed area, it is impossible to see it outside without paying.
- There are three parkings in the Chambord Castle in which to leave the car. Parking number two is the one that is right in the middle and is about 200 meters from the entrance of the castle, making it a good option to park the car.
- The entrance to Chambord Castle It is located in a building that is just before entering, as you arrive at the parking lot you must go straight ahead and you are directly in front of the building where you can buy tickets and where there is also a small shop.
- When leaving the building where tickets are purchased there are a couple of coffee shops / restaurants where you can eat or drink something.
- At the entrance to Chambord Castle There is a small security check in which you have to show the bags. You can enter with a large backpack without any problem.
- After the security check there are some paper guides of the castle in several languages, which are perfect in case you do not want to pay the audio guide, in addition to if you have or want to make a quick visit.
In this guide you have an option that is a visit of about an hour, in which you mark the three floors of the castle and the different most important rooms marked with a star, which are the ones you must follow to make this itinerary of a hour approximately.
- Even if you want to follow this quick visit to the Chambord Castle, you should keep in mind that the duration of the visit more or less, between the rooms, the garden and the exteriors to have the best perspectives, is extended to approximately two and a half hours.
- The best perspectives of Chambord Castle they are had from the distance, so a good option to enjoy them is, after visiting the gardens, to move far enough, to the parking areas, inside, to cover a larger perimeter.
Chambord Castle
- The gardens close at 5:30 in the afternoon, so if you come around 3-4 in the afternoon, it is best to visit the ground floor of the Chambord Castle, then the gardens with the perspectives of the castle and then continue with the rest of the visit to the rest of the plants.
- The price of parking is 4 euros, no matter how long you are. To pay you have a couple of options:
- Directly at the parking door, where you can only pay by credit card.
- In the ticket purchase building, where you can only pay in cash and where, you have to take into account, you are returned all the change in currencies.
Something that is worth bearing in mind is that normally in the parking machine there is usually a lot of queue, so when you leave Chambord Castle, it is much better to pay right next to the store, which is passed to the exit , which is much faster and then go directly through the parking lot.
Visit Chambord Castle
Visit Chambord Castle
Visit inside the Chambord Castle
As we mentioned earlier, the visit inside the Chambord Castle It can be done following the guide you can take after paying the entrance and decide whether to make the long or short visit, what you can do following the rooms marked with a star and that takes you through the most important areas of the castle.
Ground Floor of Chambord Castle
On the ground floor of Chambord Castle We have 8 visitable areas, among which one of them stands out, the double spiral staircase, which captivates all eyes and is attributed to Leonardo Da Vinci.
Double spiral staircase of Chambord Castle
First Floor of Chambord Castle
On the first floor, where there are different furnished apartments from the 16th to the 18th centuries, in addition to a museum dedicated to the Count of Chambord, we can visit again 8 rooms, among which the Room 1, which is Francisco's room, stands out in the quick visit I and Room 4, which is the Parade Apartment.
Parade Apartment
Second Floor of Chambord Castle
On the second floor of Chambord Castle There are sculpted vaults, as well as several rooms that tell the story of hunting in Chambord and several rooms that are currently used for artistic or temporary exhibitions.
Of the 4 rooms, in the quick visit, the vaulted rooms stand out, in which you can see the emblems of Francisco I.
Vaulted rooms of Chambord Castle
Chambord Castle terraces
At this point of Chambord CastleIn addition to the incredible panoramic views, you can see the impressive decks.
The quick visit highlights all the places that can be visited in this area, such as the views of the entire perimeter surrounding the castle from the terraces and the impressive dome.
Views from the terraces of Chambord Castle
Dome
In this area of Chambord Castle It is also the point at which the great spiral staircase ends, one of the great masterpieces that can be seen during the visit.
Chambord Castle spiral staircase
As we mentioned before, we need practically 3 hours to visit Chambord Castle, still opting for the quick visit, so as we also said, we recommend coming early, especially if you want to make the visit with peace of mind.
The best tours and excursions in the Loire Valley in Spanish
If you prefer to forget about preparations or have little time, you can book the following tours in SPANISH
- Excursion to the Loire Castles
- Normandy and Loire Valley in 3 or 4 days
- 2-day tour of the Loire Castles
After this visit we go out to the garden, from where we take some photos from a slightly more distant perspective, which at least for us, is one of the best views of Chambord Castle, since from a distance the majestic vision is incredibly attractive.
Chambord Castle
Once we finish the visit to Chambord Castle and we get out to the parking area, we decide that before we leave we want to go to the furthest area to see the castle from afar, so we follow the small road that is right in front of the entrance, parallel to the parking number two, about 200 or 300 meters approximately.
Chambord Castle
We finish the visit when it is 5:30 in the afternoon, at which time we pick up the car and go on the way to Blois, the city where we will stay tonight, at the First Inn Hotel Blois and where we arrived after 30 minutes on the way from Chambord Castle.
It's a little after 6:30 in the afternoon when we park the car, make a quick check-in and after resting for a while, make a quick dinner and start dreaming of tomorrow, one day we know, it will be the same or even better what, today.
Day 3: Blois - Visit Cheverny Castle - Chaumont-sur-Loire Castle
