We just returned from a delightful 9-day trip through the regions of Loire Valley, Perigord, Quercy and Bordeaux. We took the flight from Dublin to Beauvais (always Ryanair!) and from there we set off to explore the country.

We drove around 2,000 km with the rental car, mainly traveling this route and following the itinerary below:

On the way to the Loire Valley, we decided to stop to see the cathedrals of Beauvais and Chartres, both beautiful, free and without huge groups of tourists, fortunately. 🙂

Node Loire Valley, we stayed almost 3 whole days and chose the city of Amboise to stay, as it was very central to the castles we wanted to visit and was more welcoming than Tours or Blois. We visited the castles of Chambord, Chenonceau, Amboise, Villandry, Cheverny and Le Clos Lucé (where Da Vinci lived in his later years), the famous Sunday market in Amboise and some wineries along the way.

From Amboise, we set off for the region of Perigord, famous for its fois grois and its beautiful medieval towns. (By far, it was my favorite region of the trip.) We stayed for 3 nights in the charming Sarlat-la-Canéda and from there we set off on day trips to other cities in the region, which are also wonderful: La Roque Gageac, Domme, Rocamadour and Beynac and Cazenac. Of course we took the opportunity to visit the most visited cave in Europe, the Padirac Gouffre  and we left there amazed by so much beauty. No wonder it is so popular!

At the end of the 3 days, we continued our journey to Saint Emilion, a city famous for its wonderful wines that made us laugh a lot. We only stayed there one night, but if I had more time, I would have stayed for 2 or 3 nights easily. There are so many wineries to visit…lol.

On Saturday at the end of the day, we left for the city of the last hotel on the trip, Chartre-sur-le-Loir, which is in the Loire Valley region, just above Tours. Again, we chose this city because it is smaller and calmer, and we were very lucky with the hotel we chose. It was the best of the whole trip and it was perfect to end with a flourish! 🙂

On the last day of the trip, Sunday, we left at lunchtime Chartre-sur-le-Loir towards Beauvais, but we stopped for a while in Giverny to visit Monet's famous garden. I thought it was beautiful, but I confess that I expected more and I was really irritated by the amount of tourists there. I can't relax when I see those huge groups of rude people. =/

We took advantage of the duty free shop from Beauvais airport to buy wines and typical French food and around 10pm, we caught our flight back home. We arrived in Dublin as the sun was setting, around 11pm. How nice it is to live so close!

To find out more details about the regions visited, click on the links below:

• Beauvais and Chartres – click here

Cities visited: Beauvais and Chartres.

Important attractions: Cathedrals of both cities.

• Loire Valley Region – click here

Cities visited: Amboise, Blois, Villandry and Cheverny.

Important attractions: Castles of Amboise, Cheverny, Chenonceau, Chambord, Villandry and Le Clos Lucé

• Regions of Périgord and Quercy – click here 

Cities visited: Sarlat-la-Canéda, La Roque Gageac, Domme, Beynac et Cazenac and Rocamadour

Important attractions: La Gouffre de Padirac, Marqueyssac Gardens and Château de Beynac.

• Bordeaux region – click here

City visited: Saint Emilión

Important attractions: Monolithic church, Eleanor of Aquitaine's bench (fertility)

• La Chartre-sur-le-Loir – click here 

Wonderful hotel!!!

• Giverny – click here

Monet's garden and house!

See some photos of the places we visited:

**********************************************************************

WhatWant to know more details about our 9-day trip through the interior of France (Loire Valley, Périgord, Quercy and Bordeaux)? Just click on the links below:

• Summary of 9 days in the French countryside – click here
• Beauvais and Chartres – click here
• Loire Valley Region – click here
• Regions of Périgord and Quercy – click here 
• Bordeaux region – click here
• La Chartre-sur-le-Loir – click here 
• Giverny – click here