Loire Valley Day Trip from Paris: Castles, Wine, Small Group

A full day from Paris through the Loire Valley — Chambord, Chenonceau and a tasting of the region's wines with a knowledgeable local guide. The Loire is where French kings went to show off. Chambord was François I's hunting lodge — 440 rooms, a double-helix staircase attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, and a roofline that looks like a small city floating above the forest. Chenonceau is the other extreme: intimate, feminine, built and defended by a succession of remarkable women, and stretched across the River Cher on a gallery of arches that reflects perfectly in the water. Between the two, we stop for a Loire wine tasting — Vouvray, Chinon, Sancerre depending on the season and the cellar — so the day ends with something you can taste as well as photograph. It runs in a comfortable vehicle with a guide who stays with you all day. No coach convoys, no rushed queues, no audio-headset shuffling.