The Loire Valley Royal Chateau and town of Amboise

The pretty town of Amboise and its Royal Château is a great place to start a Loire Valley motorhome or campervan holiday.

Many of our clients head to the Loire Valley for their motorhome adventure, and it’s easy to see why. The area is peppered with famous, fairy-tale chateaux. There’s one around practically every corner if you follow the river west for the 200-kilometre stretch from Blois to Angers. Many of the chateaux are situated in charming towns with other historic sites to explore, plenty of restaurants and good parking options for motorhomes too.

One great example is the town of Amboise, with the imposing and world renowned Royal Château overlooking the River Loire, and Chateau Clos Luce and Chateau Gaillard.

Chateau Clos Luce was the last home of Leonardo da Vinci. The chateau visit tells the story of his incredible life and work. Chateau Gaillard is known as “the forgotten royal palace”, as it played host to many French kings and queens but is rather overshadowed by the splendour of it’s bigger neighbour. The Chateau Gaillard gardens alone are well worth a visit.

There are three options for parking your motorhome in Amboise:

• Camping Ille d’Or with full camping facilities (for about €16 per night including electricity).
• An “Aire de Service” (€12 per night) where you can spend the night/service your motorhome (both the aire and campsite overlook the river and are in front of the Royal Chateau).
• A free parking place for motorhomes in the town centre. The free place is a little small so head there early in the day to be sure you get a spot. All three options are an easy walk from the chateaux and restaurants.

Amboise is also one of the starting points for the many Loire Valley cycle routes that run alongside the river (800kms in total). It is well worth bringing, or hiring bikes from us, for a Loire Valley campervan trip. Whether you are looking for a family holiday, a trip with friends or a romantic break the Loire Valley has it all from chateaux to troglodyte caves and vineyards to many different watersports.

The drive to Amboise is now just 2hr 30 minutes from our depot in Sens on the new A19 autoroute. You can start your trip in Amboise and explore many other great castles including Chenonceau, Chambord, Cheverny, Blois, Chaumont, Saumur, Chinon and Angers.

A trip of about two weeks would allow time to fit in lots of chateaux, cycling and some of the many other attractions of this beautiful area. However, you could easily take longer and see more or condense it into a week if that is all you have.