Saint Nazaire to Vaux-le-Vicomte

Our journey begins on the coast at Saint Nazaire and the mouth of the River Loire. And along the river valley are some of the finest castles, palaces, and houses in France. As we head upriver past Nantes, the main towns on this journey will be Angers, Tours, Blois, and Orleans. Some of the palaces we will see are enormous and built over 400 years ago. Many of the castles date back even further in time. At Orleans, we head northeast away from the river to end our journey at two palaces – Fontainebleau, and then on to one of the architectural masterpieces of Europe – Vaux-le-Vicomte.