Chateaux Day Trip Recommendations

[sdtraveller]

My wife and daughter want to do a day trip to see 2-3 châteaux during a June trip to Paris. They do not plan to have car, so a commercial bus-based tour seems the best. We are seeking recommendations--which tour company? which châteaux? which day of the week? etc?

In their ideal world there would be less time on a bus and more time in/around the sites, 4242423974but . . .

[PariS]

Hi there! I don't know of any bus tours from Paris, but Darryl and I did a day trip to Chenonceau and Chambord a few years ago by train. We took the train from Montparnasse to St. Pierre des Corps which is right by Tours (I think you can go direct to Tours as well, depending on the time table). From the train station, we took a cab to the Tours Visitors Bureau and signed up for an afternoon tour thru Saint-Eloi Excursions www.chateauxexcursions.com/index2.asp?idjour=2&idlang=uk
It would probably be wise to prebook the tour. We had a couple hours before the tour to walk around old town in Tours, and had plenty of time at each chateau to wander on our own. The driver was knowledgeable and told us all sorts of interesting things while we drove from spot to spot. She dropped us back at the train station when we were done to save us the taxi fare from town. It was a long day, but very enjoyable and doable.
I really enjoyed the 2 chateaux we saw, and would also like to see Villandry one day.

[travelluver]

My mother, sister, and I took a bus tour Chateaux excursion last July.
We booked with Viator, they have a few options. We saw the big three
in Loire, Chenonceau, Chambord, and Cheverny. It included entrance to
the three and the coach (which was very comfortable), with an English speaking guide,
Lunch was on our own on the grounds of one of the Chateaux and there was a bit
of time to visit the gift shops. We were all very pleased withe the day, though as Annette
mentioned, it's a long one.