Coach Rental Across France

Loire Valley Coach Hire from Tours, with Driver

Tours puts the Loire châteaux within about an hour by car. The work is in the order of visits, the coach parking at each, and the group bookings some sites insist on.

Pacing a château day

By car, Villandry is about 25 minutes from Tours, Amboise about 30, Chenonceau about 40 and Chambord a little over an hour. A day combining Chenonceau, Amboise and Chambord covers about 200 km. Coaches run slower than cars, so three châteaux make a full day.

EU drivers' hours apply to every long day, and to any Paris return: no more than 9 hours' driving in a day (10 on two days a week), with a 45-minute pause after four and a half hours at the wheel. Paris is about 2 h 40 each way by car, so a Paris group does better staying a night.

Setra 49-seat touring coach, exterior
Setra 49-seat touring coach, exterior

Coach parking at the châteaux

At Chenonceau, parking by the park gates is free for coaches too, and drivers get a rest room. Chambord's P1 costs nothing for a coach if the group buys or collects 8 or more entry tickets and shows the parking ticket. Villandry lets coaches and minibuses park free just 30 m from its gate.

In Amboise, coaches visiting the Clos Lucé use its free private car park on rue du Clos Lucé, entered from avenue Léonard de Vinci and some 300 m short of the gate. For the rest of the town, the Château royal issues its own coach parking plan. Cheverny uses P2, about 250 m away, and Blois has free parking about 400 m from its château.

Airports for groups arriving in Tours

Stadiums and arenas a coach can serve

  • Stade de la Vallée du Cher — The city football stadium (Tours FC was wound up in 2025)
  • Salle Robert-Grenon (Palais des Sports) — Tours Volley-Ball; about 3,000 places

Coach day trips from Tours

  • Vouvray vineyards — about 11 km, about 15 min
  • Château de Villandry — about 18 km, about 25 min
  • Amboise (Château royal and Clos Lucé) — about 25 km, about 30 min
  • Château d'Azay-le-Rideau — about 27 km, about 30 min
  • Château de Chenonceau — about 34 km, about 40 min
  • Chinon — about 48 km, about 50 min
  • Blois (Château royal) — about 66 km, about 50 min
  • Château de Cheverny — about 78 km, about 1 h
  • Château de Chambord — about 79 km, about 1 h 5 min
  • Saumur — about 84 km, about 1 h
  • Le Mans (Circuit des 24 Heures) — about 90 km, about 1 h 15 min
  • Paris — about 238 km, about 2 h 40 min

Rules for coaches in Tours

  • Aéroport Tours Val de Loire (TUF) is about 9 km by road north-north-east of the centre, about 15 to 20 min. Paris-Orly (ORY) is about 231 km (about 2 h 30 min) and Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG) about 266 km (about 3 h).
  • Trains arrive at Gare de Tours, in the city centre opposite the Palais des Congrès and the coach station, and at Gare de Saint-Pierre-des-Corps, the main TGV station just east of the city, about 20 km from Amboise. Shuttle trains link the two stations.
  • Tours Métropole has had a low-emission zone (ZFE-m) since 1 January 2025, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Heavy vehicles, buses and coaches registered before 30 September 2001 are banned, and a Crit'Air sticker is required. The first 18 months were an information period without penalties. Check the current rules before travel.
  • Chambord: coach parking at P1 is free when the group shows the parking ticket while buying or collecting at least 8 entry tickets.
  • Chenonceau has free car parks at the park entrance, including for coaches, and a rest room for drivers in the coach car park.
  • Clos Lucé (Amboise): free private coach parking on rue du Clos Lucé, about 300 m from the entrance, reached from avenue Léonard de Vinci. The Château royal d'Amboise publishes a coach parking plan for the town.
  • Tours is on the A10 (Paris to Bordeaux); the A85 and A28 also serve the area. All three are toll motorways (autoroutes à péage).
  • A château day from Tours that combines Chenonceau, Amboise and Chambord is about 200 km of driving. Long days, and any Paris return, fall under the EU drivers' hours rules (Regulation (EC) No 561/2006): no more than 9 hours' driving a day (10 hours twice a week) and a break of at least 45 minutes after 4.5 hours' driving.

Book the visits first

Chenonceau asks groups to reserve audioguides, except in July and August, when it accepts no group reservations at all. At the Château royal d'Amboise, guided group visits are reservation-only, for 20 people or more. Group terms start at 15 at the Clos Lucé and Villandry, and at 20 at Chambord.

Fix the timed visits, then build the coach plan around them.

In Tours itself

Since January 2025, Tours Métropole has run a ZFE-m covering all hours. Any coach first registered before 30 September 2001 is barred, and the Crit'Air sticker is compulsory. The first 18 months carried no penalties. Ask for the rules in force when you book.

No official coach drop-off point is published for the city centre, so the driver or the operator confirms it. Across from Gare de Tours are the coach station and the Palais des Congrès; TGVs also use Saint-Pierre-des-Corps, just east, with shuttle trains between the two. Tolls apply on the A10, the A85 and the A28.

Organisers ask

Which airport is nearest to Tours?

Tours Val de Loire, roughly 9 km north-north-east of the city centre. Paris-Orly is about 231 km and Paris-Charles de Gaulle about 266 km.

Can a group visit Chenonceau in August?

Yes, but group reservations are not taken there in July or August, so plan the visit without one.

How far is the Le Mans circuit?

Le Mans, home of the Circuit des 24 Heures, lies roughly 90 km from Tours, around 1 h 10 by car.

Other group trips we book

Vehicles with a driver