Chenonceau, Chambord, Villandry are a few of the grand chateaux that have made the Val de Loire a destination for travelers the world over but there are over 300 chateaux in this region that has much to offer beyond the obvious.

In the family for six centuries the Chateau de Cheverny was first opened to the public in 1922. Today, Marquis de Vibraye and his family live in the chateau and employ American marketing strategies and attitudes to draw over 350,000 visitors annually.

Commissioned by François I in 1519, Chambord is the magnificent Renaissance centerpiece of the largest enclosed  park in Europe. He actively supervised its construction until his death in 1547. The vision was continued by his son Henry II and finally completed during the reign of Louis XIV.

I’d been tipped to a quirky lunch spot in Tours, so after grabbing the TGV at la Gare Montparnasse  I made my way to La Cuisine de Georges. My press colleagues and I were greeted by Georges, actually his name is Jaquelain, and as an MBA from Bowling Green University in Ohio speaks excellent vernacular English. After years of working for European multinationals he packed it in and pursued a passion for food and hospitalit

On the road from Blois to Tours the Chateau de Chaumont lies perched atop the Loire affording a commanding and strategic view of the valley below. At the insistence of Catherine de Medicis, after the death of her husband Henri II, his mistress Diane de Poitiers was “exiled” here. Catherine preferred the grandeur of Chenonçeau.

Less than 2 hours from the Gare d’Austerlitz and you enter the Valley of the Kings-Henry II, Henry IV and at our first stop, Le Chateau Royal de Blois, François I and Louis XIII, whose emblems of the salamander and porcupine adorn the façades and interiors

A 2-hour drive south Paris, Le Lion d’Or is an old aristocratic mansion,hôtel particulier builtin the 16th century by a friend of Francois 1er.

It had been a sweltering week, with an equally unbearable weekend on tap. Fortunately, M, the Berlin connection, had booked us into the Manoir de la Maison Blanche, a charming 17th chambre d’hote in Amboise.