We rented a car for the weekend and decided to escape the busyness of Paris and head to the Loire Valley with our friends. This area, a few hours south of Paris, is known as the “Garden of France” thanks to its vineyards, orchards, and gentle countryside, and is also part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site celebrated for its extraordinary concentration of Renaissance châteaux, medieval fortresses, and historic towns. The Loire River — France’s longest — winds through the region, connecting villages, castles, and landscapes that once served as the playground of French kings.
Justin handled driving the French roads like a pro, navigating us out of the narrow, winding streets of Paris and into the open fields and rolling scenery of the Loire. We drove past huge fields of sun flowers (which would have been in their peak 3 weeks ago), playing our French kids song playlist and soaking it all in.
Our first stop was Château du Clos Lucé, Leonardo da Vinci’s final residence. Leonardo lived here from 1516 until his death in 1519, and when he arrived he came with three of his paintings — including the Mona Lisa. I wasn’t sure if there would be much for the kids to enjoy, but I was thankfully wrong. They had a great kids’ brochure full of activities, and the gardens were dotted with large‑scale interactive versions of Leonardo’s inventions — catapults, tanks, flying machines, paddle boats — all based on his original drawings. They had a model of the first ball bearing design, an engineers dream, so I made Justin take a photo with it.
We then headed to our Airbnb for the weekend, one of our more unique accommodations of the trip: the living and dining room were built directly into a man‑made cave carved from the region’s soft limestone. Houses like that are apparently common in the Loire Valley, where the stone is easy to excavate. Everyone thought it was magical and this house at air conditioning, which in Europe is a real highlight.
Day 2 was all about exploring castles and medieval life. Thanks to a brochure left in the Airbnb, we discovered a fantastic spot offering hands‑on workshops and medieval demonstrations — the Forteresse de Montbazon. This fortress is home to the oldest surviving keep in France, dating from the late 10th century. We ended up spending nearly five hours there. We shot a crossbow, watched a siege engine fire, made bracelets and candles, painted with medieval pigments, and even caught a magic show. The food was surprisingly delicious — traditional fouées baked over fire, a regional specialty.
We probably could have called it a very successful day at that point, but when in France… why not check out another castle. So we headed to the Royal Fortress of Chinon, perched above the Vienne River. Chinon is famous for its role in the Hundred Years’ War — it’s where Joan of Arc met the future Charles VII in 1429. The fortress offered a HistoPad, an augmented‑reality tablet that lets you see reconstructed medieval rooms, handle virtual objects, and even explore underground galleries. It also includes a scavenger hunt for kids, complete with a postcard reward. We did a quick loop of the site, just long enough to complete the scavenger hunt. On another day, we could have spent hours — the views alone were worth the visit — but we were running on medieval fumes.
That night ended up being one of our best yet. We took the girls to a playground for a quick runaround, then walked to a nearby restaurant. We played Go Fish while waiting for food and drinks, and when the girls didn’t want anything on the menu, we didn’t force it — we promised pasta and veggies back at the Airbnb. We finished the evening with a walk to the river, where yet another castle glowed in the distance. It was a beautiful way to end a very full day.
Just when I thought we were getting into a rhythm, the next morning Izzy had a 40‑minute meltdown — demanding chocolate croissants for breakfast. Maybe a sign we’ve been enjoying a few too many pastries during our time in France.
We eventually packed up and enjoyed one last stop in Blois, a royal riverside city famous for its Château Royal de Blois, a landmark that showcases 1,000 years of French architecture from medieval fortifications to Renaissance grandeur . We walked around town and ended up at the back of the Château and decided that was good enough for us, clearly we had reached the limit of our historical intrigue. To be fair, the back side was quite spectacular and had shade, a bench, and set of bike racks that the girls happily played on for half an hour. It was the perfect final taste of Loire Valley history before heading back to Paris.