Loire Valley Half-Day Tour: Exploring Villandry and Azay-le-Rideau Castles from Tours
4.7
29 Ratings
Tours

This morning, explore the exquisite and sophisticated gardens of Chateau de Villandry, as well as the charming Chateau of Azay-le-Rideau. Your enthusiastic guide will accompany you throughout the tour, regaling you with amusing stories and extensive knowledge about the area. A memorable experience!

Duration: 4 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Chateau of Azay-le-Rideau - Guided visit of chateau and gardens
  • Chateau de Villandry - Guided visit of the gardens only with passionate guide
What's Included
  • Driver/guide
  • Entrance fees included for Villandry Gardens and Chateau of Azay-le-Rideau
  • Guided visits provided
  • Comfortable transport in an air-conditioned minivan
What's Not Included
  • Gratuities
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
  • Lunch
  • French-speaking guide
Additional Information
  • Please advise any specific dietary requirements at time of booking
  • Pets are not allowed even service animals
Location
Tourist Office Tours Loire Valley
Rue Bernard Palissy
Your guide will meet you in front of the Tourist Office in Tours. He / She will be wearing a hat!
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.7
(29 Ratings)
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
Cheryl_f
Oct 5, 2023
Excellent Day - Our guide SOPHIE was so charming fun and knowledgeable the chateaus were so beautiful. Sophie filled us in on the history of each chateau..excellent guide...a great day spent
Review provided by Viator
Vanessa_h
Jun 26, 2023
Great Castle Tour! - Our tour guide Dimitri was friendly and accommodating. He had good knowledge of the castle history and guided us seamlessly through the day. The castles were extraordinary. The half day was a nice compliment to our full day the day before. If you are wanting to learn more about castles in the Loire Valley and how the people lived during that time - This is a great tour!
Review provided by Viator
Katie_r
Jun 22, 2023
Great tour of smaller castle and gardens - Great tour! Guide was very knowledgeable and made us feel comfortable. We had a very fun and relaxing time while still learning something.
Review provided by Viator
Pb45
Jun 19, 2023
Certainly worth a visit - A very pleasant trip despite the weather.The château was enjoyable and the gardens of Villandry were special indeed.Cami was a friendly and knowledgeable guide who allowed us to practise our poor French with great patience.Although a wet day we still enjoyed our visit.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kaye
May 17, 2023
Informative, comfortable and relaxing tour with a lovely guide. - Marion was a very personable and informative guide who engaged us with ease. We felt very relaxed and enjoyed the experience very much. Her English is very good.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Charles_s
May 4, 2023
Back to back jewels! - Perfect way to see these chateaux. We arrived at Azay almost ahead of everyone so had a very good visit, then walk in garden. Quick trip to Villandry and long garden walk, vast and varied sculpted spaces. Wonderful and fast (9:30-1:30).
Review provided by Viator
Flicht12
Aug 27, 2022
The Guide Made Our Day - The tour guide and driver Alex made the tour a wonderful experience. She was bright, knowledgeable, friendly, and created at atmosphere as though we were back in the era.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Craigpw7372sf
Oct 10, 2023
Château great, gardens good but meh - Azay le Rideau is magnificent. The chateau and its position are beautiful. The guided tour was very interesting and the restoration of the property allows a better understanding of the skill in construction. Villandry gardens are beautiful sure, but we would have preferred to skip Villandry and spend the extra time at Azay le Rideau.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mark_r
Sep 17, 2023
Outstanding tour leader Maryann and breathtaking castles - Maryann our group leader was A++++ outstanding. She was friendly, knowledgeable, humorous, a safe driver and top notch in every way. I cannot commend her more for the job she did in guiding our adventure. The two main castles were amazing and must-see sights…. almost unimaginable. The van was clean and comfortable to ride in. The time in the van was very tolerable for this big sightseeing trip as it was broken into small pieces going from place to place. That said, the time allowed at the two big castles was way too short! We had to rush on our free time to see just a few of the optional sites at each castle. And felt like we really got shorted on this experience. The needed extra time at the big chateaus would have been easy to add by removing the 3 hour visit to the small chateau where we had a very small, modest, unmemorable lunch. We appreciated seeing how a small privately owned chateau that is not funded by the government pales in comparison to the more glorious French funded chateaus but I would have gladly given up this one part of the day to have more time at the two big chateaus. This shortcoming was not Maryann’s fault, this was the fault of the planning by the tour company. In all, a wonderful opportunity to see the French countryside and two amazing chateaus but too little time to see more of them.
Review provided by Viator
Randolph_s
May 20, 2022
Two different types of castles - The Villandry castle was spectacular and the guide was very knowledgeable. And the pace of the tour was perfect.
Review provided by Viator
Select Date and Tickets
up to 8 guests
1 Adult
May 2024
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Today