France’s Loire: Château Country

Rick Steves' Europe Travel Guide © 2014 | Along the Loire River Valley, the beautiful French countryside is studded with evocative châteaux. Home-basing in Amboise, we visit four unique castles: elegant Chenonceau, massive Chambord, stately Cheverny, and fragrant Villandry. Along the way, we tour Leonardo’s home, feed hunting dogs, enjoy the local cuisine, and savor a princely garden. #ricksteves #ricksteveseurope #loire

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Rick Steves, America's most respected authority on European travel, writes European travel guidebooks, and hosts travel shows on public television and public radio.

00:00 Intro
02:21 Chambord
06:23 Loire River history
10:00 Amboise
11:30 Clos-Lucé
13:59 Chenonceau
16:26 Dinner in Amboise
19:09 Cheverny
21:56 Villandry

[oldschool]

I love traveling with Rick Steve's whilst sitting on my couch eating pizza Hot Pockets haha

[chrisk]

My wife and I with our ~4 yr old daughter and 14 month old son, took our two week trip of a lifetime in mid-May 1999. We spent 10 days in Paris and the rest in the Loire River Valley. We toured all the Chateau in this video except Cheverny. We also stayed in private Chateau's and castles (one with a real water filled and live ducks floating moat).
I don't know how my wife managed it, but we stayed in several "royal" sized furnished bedrooms. In the morning we were having fine regional breakfasts over looking the river.
We patronized several of the local winerys located in cool caves dug into the banks along the river. We were treated with an abundance of samples.
Glorious weather the entire time.
Rick Steves brings back so many wonderful memories.
We researched our itinerary using Rick's travel videos and guides.
So glad now that we went then rather than waited until the children were older!!!

[criticuttam]

Among many fortuitous occurrences in my life, discovering Rick Steves has been one of the best ones.

[PuaAloha]

We as a people, have really gone backwards; the architecture back in that day is glorious, no one ever continued building like this, I seriously doubt there's a man alive today that could match it- and without modern machines! Aloha

[DCLayclerk]

No one does travel like Rick Steves. I just ordered his book on France. Can't wait to visit this area in June.

[katecreate]

This reminds me of when I went to France a few years before this episode was on Youtube. I went with about 15-20 students in my school's travel club, and was lucky to go to Paris, the Palace of Versailles, and the Loire Valley. The Loire was my favorite part, as we were surrounded by the beauty the earth that France provided. Enjoyed the history and beauty of the Chateaus of Amboise, Chenonceau, and Leonardo DiVinci's home as I hope I can someday return to a place of such beauty. From the US

[darthstarkiller]

I fell in love with these chateaux when I had French class in high school. Such breathtaking architecture!

[graceserenachristie]

This area of France is so special it makes a special sound the birds sing different and it has the most beautiful and delicious fruit trees and beautiful food gardens in the the palaces are beautiful as well.  Thanks for the video..

[bhumanandamaharaj]

Wonderful! Amazing! France and Italy well known for their art., culture, and asceticism
India has a reliable friend in Europe and it's France thanks for Rafael!

[deemm]

OMG, I love France. Can not wait to go back.

[majorhoulihan]

"French kings tickled more than one tiara at a time..." LOL

[arriesone]

Love this part of France and its gorgeous chateaux.

[eguirald]

Within the treasure trove of Rick Steves’ travel videos, this is one of the very best!

[WestShoreMan]

I rented a car in Paris and drove through the valley Chateau hopping. So much fun and beautiful.

[RaySawhill]

Rick does such a good job, and I love how low-pressure his shows are.

[marcellostraps]

Steve Smith, once again shows up just in time for dinner. Classic! Glad to see hungry Steven return; he has a wealth of knowledge on all things French.

[lynnaelarson]

I've been to France and to this day it is certainly one of most favorite trips taken of many throughout the world. I never could get enough of the Chateaus and Cathedrals!!! I'm sure I saw over twenty
of each when I was there!! Going with a Grande Circle River Cruise we had choices of some of the things too! The food was great too!! Being polite is ingrained into their cultural traditions! Know a little French before you go! A wonderful place to visit!!
Lynnae Larson

[positivegradient]

These shows are invaluable. They provide everyone the means to experience the dreamy beauty and fine culture of Europe from the comfort of their home.

[grifin]

I have always loved this series. During this time of isolation... It's good to go back and look at these I just hope Europe will be the same afterwards.

[jakeanderson]

The work and the men; who designed the same in mind first, remain immortal.