3 Days in the Loire Valley — Touraine Itinerary from Tours (2026)
Loire Touraine essentials — Vouvray to Chinon with a Saumur push on day 3.
Last reviewed May 2026
Three days is the sweet spot for Touraine — enough time to cover both sides of the Loire (the white wine appellations east of Tours and the red wine country to the west), and to push as far as Saumur on day 3 without feeling rushed. The itinerary keeps Tours as the base throughout, which makes logistics straightforward: you're never more than an hour from your hotel. Day 1 is about chenin blanc — Vouvray and Montlouis, two appellations separated by the Loire itself but sharing the same grape. Day 2 is about cabernet franc — Chinon in the morning, then the lesser-known Bourgueil appellation across the river in the afternoon. Day 3 extends west to Saumur, home to the Loire's best sparkling wine (Bouvet-Ladubay), the legendary Clos Rougeard for Saumur-Champigny, and the possibility of a short detour to Savennières for Nicolas Joly's biodynamic chenin blanc if you have the appetite.
- Length
- 3 days
- Best for
- First-time Loire visitors / Chenin blanc and cabernet franc enthusiasts
- Cost estimate
- From €750 per person (mid-range, double occupancy, excluding travel to Tours)
- Sub-regions
- Tours (base) · Vouvray · Montlouis-sur-Loire · Chinon · Bourgueil · Saumur-Champigny · Saumur (sparkling)
Deliberately skipping: Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé (Centre-Loire, 2.5 hr east — needs its own day), Savennières/Anjou proper (possible half-day side-trip from day 3), Muscadet/Pays Nantais (far west, 2 hr drive). See the longer itineraries if you want to fit these in.
Book ahead
- Domaine Huet (Vouvray) — appointments required; contact via their website well in advance, especially May–June and September–October weekends
- Domaine François Chidaine (Montlouis-sur-Loire) — visits by appointment via the domaine website or phone
- Charles Joguet (Chinon, Sazilly) — bookable via the domaine website; weekend slots fill quickly in peak season
- Domaine Yannick Amirault (Bourgueil) — contact the domaine directly for a visit appointment
- Clos Rougeard (Chacé, Saumur-Champigny) — cellar visits by appointment only, limited availability; contact the domaine directly well in advance. Now owned by Bouygues (since 2017) but the estate continues to produce under its original name
- Bouvet-Ladubay (Saint-Hilaire-Saint-Florent, near Saumur) — open Monday to Saturday without prior appointment; easiest drop-in visit of the trip
- TGV Paris Montparnasse → Tours: book via SNCF Connect as soon as dates are fixed
Day 1 — Vouvray + Montlouis-sur-Loire (chenin blanc country east of Tours)
Base: ToursTours → Vouvray: 15 min by car. Vouvray → Montlouis: 20 min by car via the Loire bridge. Montlouis → Tours: 15 min. A rental car is recommended for the full three days.
- Morning
- Arrive Tours by TGV (55 min from Paris Montparnasse). Drive 15 minutes east to Vouvray for your morning appointment at Domaine Huet. This is one of the Loire's landmark estates: three distinct single-vineyard sites (Le Haut-Lieu, Le Mont, Clos du Bourg) on the north bank above the river, all planted with chenin blanc and producing dry, demi-sec and moelleux depending on the vintage. The visit covers the cellars cut into tuffeau rock and a tasting across the range. Allow 90 minutes.
- Afternoon
- Cross the Loire south to Montlouis-sur-Loire — the same grape, opposite bank, slightly different terroir (more flint and clay). Domaine François Chidaine is the reference producer here: serious about natural viticulture and ageing potential, with a tasting room in the tuffeau cellars that demonstrates how different Montlouis can look from Vouvray even when the winemaking approach is similar. Back to Tours mid-afternoon; walk the old quarter around Place Plumereau and the half-timbered streets of the Vieux-Tours.
- Evening
- Dinner in the old quarter of Tours — wine bars and bistros around Place Plumereau offer local Touraine wines by the glass. A dry Vouvray from your morning visit paired with something from the Loire's broader chenin blanc range is a useful comparison.
Day 2 — Chinon + Bourgueil (cabernet franc on both banks)
Base: ToursTours → Sazilly (Joguet): 45 min by car. Sazilly → Chinon: 10 min. Chinon → Bourgueil (Amirault): 30 min by car. Bourgueil → Tours: 40 min.
- Morning
- Drive 45 minutes west to Sazilly for your morning visit to Charles Joguet. Joguet is the producer who put Chinon on the map for serious wine drinkers — the domaine makes a range of single-vineyard cabernet francs from the Sazilly and Ligré terroirs, with Clos de la Dioterie and Clos du Chêne Vert at the top of the range. After the cellar visit, stop in Chinon town itself: walk the medieval centre, the quayside on the Vienne river, and if there is time before lunch, climb up to the Forteresse Royale (the castle where Joan of Arc met Charles VII in 1429).
- Afternoon
- Drive north across the Loire to Bourgueil — Chinon's less famous neighbour on the north bank, where cabernet franc grows on gravel and tuffeau soils with a lighter, more aromatic character than the clay-limestone of Chinon. Visit Domaine Yannick Amirault, one of Bourgueil's most consistent producers, for an afternoon tasting. The contrast between Joguet's Chinon and Amirault's Bourgueil — same grape, same river valley, different bank and soil — is one of the Loire's most instructive comparisons.
- Evening
- Return to Tours (45 min). Dinner in the old quarter. If you want a different setting, the Rue Colbert near the cathedral has a cluster of reliable bistros and wine bars open late.
Day 3 — Saumur (sparkling + Saumur-Champigny reds)
Base: ToursTours → Chacé (Clos Rougeard): 1 hr by car. Chacé → Saint-Hilaire-Saint-Florent (Bouvet-Ladubay): 15 min. Savennières optional detour: 30 min northwest of Saumur. Saumur → Tours: 1 hr.
- Morning
- Drive one hour west from Tours to the Saumur-Champigny appellation. Your anchor visit is Clos Rougeard in Chacé — one of the Loire's most sought-after addresses, producing Saumur-Champigny from old cabernet franc vines in tuffeau soils. The estate has been owned by Bouygues since 2017 but continues to produce under the Clos Rougeard name and to the same standards. Cellar visits are by appointment only and availability is genuinely limited — book well in advance directly with the domaine. The wines are not widely available for retail purchase, so tasting here is the point.
- Afternoon
- Drive 15 minutes north into Saumur town and cross to Saint-Hilaire-Saint-Florent for Bouvet-Ladubay, the easiest visit of the entire three-day trip — open Monday to Saturday without prior appointment. The cellars here are extensive (kilometres of tuffeau tunnels) and the sparkling Saumur wines made by the traditional method give a useful counterpoint to the still reds of the morning. Optional: if you have the appetite and time, a 30-minute drive northwest toward Savennières opens up the possibility of visiting La Coulée de Serrant, Nicolas Joly's biodynamic estate — one of the Loire's great white wine addresses. Visits are by appointment only and the estate is in Anjou sub-zone, so treat this as an extension rather than a given.
- Evening
- Drive back to Tours (1 hr) for a last night, or continue directly to Angers (30 min from Saumur) if your onward journey goes west. If heading back to Paris, the last TGV from Tours is late enough to allow a full day in Saumur.
Frequently asked
Is Clos Rougeard worth the effort to book?
If you are serious about Loire reds, yes. Clos Rougeard was one of the Loire's cult producers before the Bouygues acquisition in 2017, and it continues to be — the wines are scarce in retail, so visiting the cellar is the realistic way to taste them. The appointment process takes some persistence but the estate does receive visitors; contact them directly via the domaine. If you cannot secure a slot, Château du Hureau and Domaine des Roches Neuves are excellent Saumur-Champigny alternatives that are more available for visits.
Can I add Sancerre as a day trip from Tours?
Technically yes — Sancerre is about 2.5 hours east of Tours by car, or about 2 hours by regional train to Cosne-sur-Loire and then taxi. But as a day trip on top of three already full days, it is punishing. We recommend saving Sancerre for the 5-day itinerary, where it gets proper space as a destination rather than a tack-on.
Is the Savennières detour on day 3 worth it?
Nicolas Joly at La Coulée de Serrant is a biodynamic pioneer whose wines (dry chenin blanc from a grand cru monopole) are among the Loire's most polarising and most interesting. If you are curious about biodynamic viticulture and complex oxidative chenin blanc, the detour is worth it — allow an extra hour each way on top of the Saumur day. If your day 3 is already full, skip it and save Savennières for a future trip focused on Anjou.
What is the difference between Chinon and Bourgueil?
Both are cabernet franc appellations on the Loire, separated by the river. Chinon (south bank) typically has more clay and tuffeau subsoil under the riverfront gravel terraces, producing wines with more structure and a slightly darker, more mineral character. Bourgueil (north bank) is mostly gravel and sandy soils with some tuffeau slopes — the wines tend to be lighter, more aromatic and earlier-drinking. Neither is 'better' — they are genuinely different expressions of the same grape, and tasting Joguet alongside Amirault on the same day makes the contrast obvious.
Want to customise this itinerary?
Use the trip planner to mix-and-match days, or read the full Loire Valley guide.
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