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Buenos Aires to France: Paris, the Loire châteaux and Mont-Saint-Michel

Buenos Aires → Paris → Loire Valley → Mont-Saint-Michel

Paris
"La_Tour_Eiffel_vue_de_la_Tour_Saint-Jacques,_Paris_août_2014_(2).jpg" by Yann Caradec from Paris, France, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons· licence
La Tour Eiffel vue de la Tour Saint-Jacques, Paris août 2014 (2) (Paris)
Photo: Yann Caradec from Paris, France, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

France châteaux Best season (general guide): Apr–Oct

This route links three of France's best-known sights: the capital, the Renaissance châteaux of the Loire and the abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel rising from the bay. From Buenos Aires there are direct flights to Paris. After that, the trip runs south-west by train or car, and you travel back through Paris for the flight home. The itinerary spends four nights in Paris, two nights in Loire Valley and one night in Mont-Saint-Michel.

How to pace it: Spend days one to four in Paris: day one, Seine walk; day two, Louvre and Tuileries; day three, Musée d'Orsay and Le Marais; day four, Montmartre. Then spend days five and six in the Loire Valley: day five, train to the Loire, then Chenonceau; day six, Chambord and Villandry. Then spend day seven in Mont-Saint-Michel: travel to Normandy, then abbey in the evening.

Four days in Paris allow time for the major museums, a walk along the Seine, Montmartre and at least one long lunch. A train from Paris to Tours or Blois puts you among the châteaux. Chambord is the grandest, with its double-helix staircase, Chenonceau spans the River Cher and Villandry is known for its gardens. Cycle paths run between villages and vineyards along the river. The road north-west into Normandy ends at Mont-Saint-Michel, where the abbey sits on top of a rocky island that the tide surrounds. Staying overnight lets you see it after the day visitors leave.

From about April to October, opening hours at the châteaux are longest, gardens are at their best and the countryside is green. Mont-Saint-Michel can be visited all year. At certain high tides the bay floods right around the island, and the official tide calendar lists those dates.

Never walk out onto the bay at Mont-Saint-Michel without a qualified guide, as tides and quicksand are dangerous. Book timed entry for the Louvre and popular châteaux in summer.

The Loire is easiest to enjoy with a car or a bike rather than by train alone, since many châteaux sit outside the towns. Tours and Amboise make good bases, and Amboise's own château and Clos Lucé, Leonardo da Vinci's last home, are within walking distance.

Suggested outline

  1. Buenos Aires

    Start

  2. Paris

    By air · 4 nights suggested

    The Louvre, Musée d'Orsay and Notre-Dame are the headline sights; neighbourhoods such as Le Marais reward wandering.

  3. Loire Valley

    Overland · 2 nights suggested

    Reached by train or road from Paris. Châteaux such as Chambord, Chenonceau and Villandry stand along the river and its tributaries.

  4. Mont-Saint-Michel

    Overland · 1 night suggested

    A tidal island in Normandy crowned by an abbey, reached by road and a shuttle or a walk across the causeway.

    Mont-Saint-Michel
    "Mont-Saint-Michel_vu_du_ciel.jpg" by Amaustan, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons· licence

Day by day

  1. Day 1 · Paris — Arrive; Seine walk· Buenos Aires → Paris (by air) — long-haul; may arrive the next calendar day
  2. Day 2 · Paris — Louvre and Tuileries
  3. Day 3 · Paris — Musée d'Orsay and Le Marais
  4. Day 4 · Paris — Montmartre
  5. Day 5 · Loire Valley — Train to the Loire; Chenonceau· Paris → Loire Valley (overland)
  6. Day 6 · Loire Valley — Chambord and Villandry
  7. Day 7 · Mont-Saint-Michel — To Normandy; abbey in the evening· Loire Valley → Mont-Saint-Michel (overland)
  8. Day 8 · Mont-Saint-Michel — Travel home from Mont-Saint-Michel· Mont-Saint-Michel → Paris (overland), then Paris → Buenos Aires (by air)

A suggested pace only; expedition days are set by the operator.

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Paris

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Loire Valley

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