In this guide
💡 The Short Version: One château is easy by train; two in a day needs a tour. Chenonceau, the château that spans the River Cher, is a TGV from Montparnasse to Saint-Pierre-des-Corps (Tours) in about an hour, then 25 minutes on the local train to Chenonceaux, whose station is 400 m from the ticket office. It is open every day and costs €19. Chambord is 80 minutes by train to Blois and a €3.30 shuttle bus; UK and US visitors pay €31, EEA visitors €21. Or book a tour: the château day trip with wine tastingad (from £93.42, 4.7 stars from 2,192 reviews, 13 hours) includes entry to Chambord and Chenonceau, which would cost a UK visitor €50 (about £43) on their own, before the trains.
Getting there on your own
From the châteaux’ own access pages, 30 September 2026. TGV fares change with the date; book on SNCF Connect.
| Château | Train | Last leg | Journey time from Paris |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chenonceau | TGV from Montparnasse to Saint-Pierre-des-Corps (Tours), about 1 hour | Local train (TER) Tours–Chenonceaux, 25 minutes; station 400 m from the ticket office | About 1½ hours, plus the change at Tours |
| Chambord | Train to Blois-Chambord, 80 minutes | Rémi line 2 shuttle bus, €3.30 single, €6.60 return; or a taxi, about 25 minutes | 80 minutes, plus the shuttle |
- Two châteaux by train means two separate trips out, one via Tours and one via Blois; the châteaux are about 47 km apart in a straight line. With a single day, pick one.
- Chambord’s shuttle: buy tickets from the driver, by card or cash, or buy a combined train and shuttle ticket, the Rémi Pack, on ter.sncf.com. Show a same-day train ticket at the château for its reduced rate.
- From Charles de Gaulle: a TGV runs straight from the airport to Saint-Pierre-des-Corps in about an hour, Chenonceau says.
Tours from Paris
A coach tour does two or three châteaux in a day, which the trains cannot. Prices are GetYourGuide’s lowest “from” price on 30 September 2026; euros are converted at the ECB rate of 29 September 2026 (€1 = £0.857).
Château day trip with wine tasting
From £93.42 · 4.7 stars from 2,192 reviews · 13 hours · wine tasting
From Paris: Loire Valley Castles Day Trip With Wine Tastingad includes entry to Chambord and Chenonceau, a stop in Blois and a tasting of local wine. The two entries alone would cost a UK visitor €50 (about £43).
Three châteaux by coach
From £77.14 · 4.5 stars from 1,499 reviews · 13 hours
From Paris: Full-Day Loire Valley Chateaux Tourad is the lowest-priced tour: Chambord, Chenonceau and Cheverny in one coach day, with commentary in several languages.
Three châteaux with entry tickets
From £124.28 · 4.7 stars from 106 reviews · 13 hours
Paris Loire Valley 3 Castles Tour with Chambord & Chenonceauad covers Chenonceau, Cheverny and Chambord, with the entry tickets, the coach both ways and a guide.
Small group
From £209.99 · 4.9 stars from 277 reviews · 12 hours
From Paris: Small-Group Loire Valley Castles Full-Day Tourad visits Chenonceau, Chambord and Amboise with a small group.
The Château de Chambord and its rooftop of turrets. Photo: Nono vlf, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
The châteaux
Chenonceau
Open every day · €19 with a printed guide, €24 with an audio guide · 7 to 18: €15 and €20 · under-7s free · 9:00–17:30 to 1 November, 9:30–16:30 from 2 November
The château spans the River Cher on a gallery of arches (chenonceau.com, 30 September 2026). It charges everyone the same, whatever their passport, and GetYourGuide’s Chenonceau ticketad is the same price, from £16.28. Hours through the winter of 2026:
Chenonceau’s gallery of arches across the River Cher. Photo: Antoine Montulé, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
| Dates in 2026 | Open |
|---|---|
| 28 September to 1 November | 9:00–17:30 |
| 2 November to 18 December | 9:30–16:30, except 5 and 6 December (9:00–17:00) and 12 and 13 December (9:30–17:00) |
| 19 to 25 December | 9:30–18:00 |
| 26 to 31 December | 9:30–18:30 |
Chambord
Closed 1 January and 25 December · €31 for non-EEA visitors, €21 for EEA · 9:00–17:00 from 26 October to 18 December 2026 · 9:00–18:00 from 19 December to 2 January 2027
The Renaissance château of the double-helix staircase, on a 5,000-hectare estate. Since 14 January 2026 it has charged visitors who are neither citizens nor residents of the European Economic Area €31, against €21 (chambord.org, 30 September 2026). On 24 and 31 December it closes at 16:00, and the formal gardens close 30 minutes before the château; the park is open every day. In July and August there is a one-hour guided tour in English at 11:15.
The double-helix staircase at Chambord. Photo: Zairon, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Christmas at Chambord starts on 28 November 2026, with a theme of Rabelais’s giant Gargantua and activities every weekend in December. See Paris at Christmas for the rest of the season.
One château or two
- By train, one: Chenonceau is the one to pick: its station is 400 m from the ticket office and it is open every day.
- On a tour, two or three: Chambord and Chenonceau are about 47 km apart, and the tours add Cheverny, Amboise or Blois.
The Loire is one of the day trips from Paris, which compares it with Versailles, Mont-Saint-Michel, the D-Day beaches, Giverny and champagne in Reims. Montparnasse, where the Tours TGV leaves, is also the station for Rennes and Mont-Saint-Michel. For what to book in the city, see what to book before you go.
Common questions
Can you do the Loire Valley as a day trip from Paris?
Yes. Chenonceau is the easiest by train: a TGV from Montparnasse to Saint-Pierre-des-Corps (Tours) in about an hour, then 25 minutes on the local train to Chenonceaux, 400 m from the château. For two or three châteaux in a day, a coach tour is the practical way; they last 12 to 13 hours.
How much does it cost to visit Chenonceau and Chambord?
Chenonceau is €19 with a printed guide or €24 with an audio guide, the same for everyone. Chambord charges €31 to visitors from outside the European Economic Area, including the UK and the US, and €21 to EEA visitors. Prices valid to 31 December 2026.
Are the Loire châteaux open all year?
Chenonceau is open every day of the year. Chambord closes only on 1 January and 25 December, with shorter hours from late October to mid-December.
