Loire Valley Chateau-to-Chateau Trail
judy September 5th, 2007
Horseback Riding Vacation in France
$2,795 per person, double occupancy
$500 single supplement
The Loire Valley runs along the banks of the Loire River from south of Paris to the Atlantic Ocean. For hundreds of years, the nobility and royalty of France built immense and beautiful chateaux throughout the valley to flaunt their wealth and power. The result is one of the most famous and beautiful areas in all of France. This is an area of rolling hills, vineyards, sunflower fields and forests.
The Loire Valley Trail allows riders to experience the Loire Valley that most tourists miss. You will ride along the vineyards which produce the area’s excellent wines. You will ride through forests where the Kings of France amused themselves and their entourages with a wide variety of sport. You will visit chateaux and castles that most tourists miss. This in not the Loire Valley of tour buses and throngs of people. It is a relaxed and special ride through a beautiful countryside.
You will visit the Chateau de Menetou-Salon which is inhabited by the current Prince Arenberg. You will also visit a chateau for a wine tasting in the famous Sancerre region and can meet the lord of the chateau who traces his ancestry to Napoleon.
You will ride through the "Sologne" area, famous for its forests and wildlife. In the evening, you will arrive at the enchanting castle of La Verrerie. As you approach the castle you will see its reflection in the magical lake in the heart of the woods. Riders picnic near the Medieval fortress at La Chapelle d’Angillon and visit the castle where the famous Princess of Cleves, King Henry IV and King Louis XIV once stayed.
In the morning, riders travel through the vast forests of the "Berry Province." Here riders picnic on the banks of the River La Sauldre, which irrigates the moats of the castle Boucard. The castle features an inner courtyard dating back to the 16th-century.
This special horseback riding vacation features visits and overnight accommodations in chateaux, castles and farmhouses of the Loire Valley, to give riders a feel for all that the Loire Valley is and has been over its incredible and long history.
This package includes 6 nights hotel/château accommodations, all meals, 5 days of guided trail riding, horse, tack, luggage transfers, transfers to/from train station at pre-set time and tax.
Meeting Point: Cosne-sur-Loire train station. Transfers included at pre-set time.
Saddles: English, all purpose saddles
Other Activities: Golfing, hiking, sight-seeing.