Featured Hotels

Auberge du Port des Roches

Auberge du Port des Roches

Luche-Pringe, Loire Valley, France

On the banks of Le Loir (not La Loire, further south), is this small country restaurant-with-rooms (Logis de France).

Hotel Diderot

Hotel Diderot

Chinon, Loire Valley, France

Near the famous château of this well-known wine town on the Vienne, this B&B is a delightful place to stay.

Hotel Anne d'Anjou

Hotel Anne d'Anjou

Saumur, Loire Valley, France

Beneath the white and turreted château built by Louis X, home of the French Cavalry Academy since 1763, is Jean-René and Mary Lyn Camus”s stylish hotel, an 18th-century listed building overlooking the Loire.

Hotel Agnes Sorel

Hotel Agnes Sorel

Chinon, Loire Valley, France

Named after a mistress of Charles VII who was also an enthusiastic cook, this 'sweet, unpretentious little place, astonishingly cheap', has long been loved by Guide readers.

Le Fleuray Hotel & Restaurant

Le Fleuray Hotel & Restaurant

Amboise, Loire Valley, France

This 19th century manor house has been converted into a charming country hotel restaurant by its English owners, Hazel and Peter Newington.

Chateau de Pray

Chateau de Pray

Amboise, Loire Valley, France

In a wooded park outside Amboise, facing the Loire, this small château was built in 1244 by Geoffrey de Pray; later, the wife of Alphonse Daudet lived here.

Hotel Plantagenet

Hotel Plantagenet

Chinon, Loire Valley, France

Martine de Carvalho, the new owner, is proud of the ambience familiale chaleureuse of her centrally placed, white-painted B&B hotel.

La Tonnellerie

La Tonnellerie

Tavers, Loire Valley, France

Once the home of a 19th-century wine merchant, this vine-covered building is now a 'charming small hotel', says a visitor. 'The friendly staff were very helpful.'

Chateau de Chissay

Chateau de Chissay

Chissay-En-Touraine, Loire Valley, France

In the Cher valley, near Chenonceaux and Blois, this 'idyllic' medieval château stands on a hillside. Owned by Philippe Savry, and part of the small Savray group, it is 'a perfect example of traditional local architecture', according to its nominators.

Le Manoir Saint Thomas

Le Manoir Saint Thomas

Amboise, Loire Valley, France

A 12th-century turreted former priory has been sympathetically restored, and is now a B&B hotel located two minutes' walk from Amboise centre.

Relais des Trois Chateaux

Relais des Trois Chateaux

Cour-Cheverny, Loire Valley, France

Set 800m from Château de Cheverny, and on the village square, this old inn has been owned by the Bricault family since 1865 and is now a member of the Chateau and Hotels Collection.

Chateau de Verrieres

Chateau de Verrieres

Saumur, Loire Valley, France

In the glorious Pays de la Loire in a great park, in Saumur, with its ancient houses and weekly market. this historic mansion is now an elegant luxury B&B hotel and spa.

Auberge du Centre

Auberge du Centre

Chitenay, Loire Valley, France

Convenient for visiting the Loire châteaux, this 'cool and pleasant' inn (Logis de France) is in a peaceful village south of Blois.

Les Hautes Roches

Les Hautes Roches

Rochecorbon, Loire Valley, France

Le Manoir de la Foret

Le Manoir de la Foret

La ville-Aux-Clercs, Loire Valley, France

Between Orléans and Le Mans, outside a village 18 km north of Vendôme, is this handsome, ivy-covered 19th-century former hunting lodge of Duc de La Rochefoucauld, now owned by Maryse and Guy Redon.

Auberge du Bon Laboureur

Auberge du Bon Laboureur

Chenonceaux, Loire Valley, France

'Lovely looking and efficiently run,' say visitors. At the château gates, this l8th century post house (Relais du Silence) has been owned by the Jeudi family since 1902.

Hotel du Commerce

Hotel du Commerce

Oucques, Loire Valley, France

In quiet street in the small village of Oucques is this small hotel/restaurant (Logis de France, Michelin Bib Gourmand) owned by chef M. Lanchais: 'He and his wife are warm and friendly. Our large second-floor room was huge, with good bathroom,' say nominators.

La Solognote

La Solognote

Brinon-Sur-Sauldre, Loire Valley, France

Owned by Marie-Christine Menec Lacube, this former coach house is now an auberge (Logis Hotels), with a low brick building and rear bedroom extension, and located by a river, in a village on the edge of the marshlands and forests of the Sologne.

Le Manoir les Minimes

Le Manoir les Minimes

Amboise, Loire Valley, France

Excellently situated, next to the château', this luxurious 18th-century manor house was built on the foundations of an ancient medieval monastery.

Domain de la Tortiniere

Domain de la Tortiniere

Veigné, Loire Valley, France

'A lovely hotel'. The owner/managers, Anne and Xavier Olivereau, are the fourth generation of the family to run this handsome pepperpotted Second Empire mansion, set amid woods and lawns in a park.

Hotel du Mail

Hotel du Mail

Angers, Loire Valley, France

'Bang in the middle of decent-sized, pleasant town', behind the Hôtel de Ville, is this converted 17th century Ursuline convent, now a B&B hotel.

Romantic, fairytale castles, serene green countryside and vineyards The Loire Valley, long known as the 'Garden of France', has green, hilly countryside, scenic vineyards and charming villages, but the main draw are the 1,000 plus extravagant fairy tale chateaux d'agrément – the pleasure palaces built by the nobility in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. Many of the most splendid are open to the public for viewing, and some you can even stay in – such as the Chateau de Chissay, Chateau de Marcay and the Chateau de Pray, along with many others listed in our selection below. Add to this top-notch regional cuisine and wine, and the fact that the region is only two hours' drive from Paris, and it's not hard to see why the Loire Valley is such a draw for visitors from around the world.

Other suggestions in Loire Valley