Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
If you're stopping in Blois around lunchtime, plan on eating at one of the places on
the square in front of the château.
Le Marignan
is a good choice (daily, good salads and
crêpes, €13-15
menus,
fast service, 5 Place du Château, tel. 02 54 74 73 15). At the top
of the hour, you can watch the stately mansion opposite the château become the “dragon
house,” as monsters crane their long necks out its many windows.
Between the Château and the River:
Thetraffic-freestreetsbetweenthechâteauand
the river are home to many cafés with standard, easy meals.
Le Clipper,
dishing upwood-
fired pizza and basic café fare, has a favored location on Place Louis XII with great out-
door seating and Wi-Fi (daily, tel. 02 54 78 22 39).
La Banquette Rouge,
a block above
St. Nicholas Church's left transept, delivers good regional cuisine with creative twists to
diners in long red booths—as the name suggests (€28 and €33
menus,
closed Sun-Mon,
16 Rue des Trois Marchands, tel. 02 54 78 74 92).
Le Castelet,
also near St. Nicholas, is
simple and cheap with good vegetarian choices (
menus
from €19, closed Sun and Wed, 40
Rue St. Lubin, tel. 02 54 74 66 09).
Between the Cathedral and the River:
To dine cheaply on an atmospheric square
with no tourists in sight, find Place de Grenier à Sel (a block from the river, below St.
Louis Cathedral). You'll find these options nearby:
La Grolle
specializes in tasty fondues,
raclettes, and other melted-cheese dishes (36 Rue de la Foulerie, tel. 02 36 23 64 65), and
next door,
Le Vespa
does a Franco-Italian mix (€22
menus,
cheap pizza, daily, 11 Rue
Vauvert, tel. 02 54 78 44 97).
From Blois by Train to: Amboise
(14/day, 20 minutes),
Tours
(roughly hourly, 40
minutes),
Chinon
(6/day, 2-2.5 hours, transfer in Tours and possibly in St-Pierre-des-
Corps),
Azay-le-Rideau
(6/day,1.75-2.5hours,transferinToursandpossiblyinSt-Pierre-
des-Corps),
Paris
(5/day direct, 1.5-2 hours, more with transfer in St-Pierre-des-Corps or
Orléans).
By Bus to Chambord and Cheverny:
From April through early September,
Trans-
ports du Loir-et-Cher
(TLC) excursion buses to Chambord, Cheverny, and (less import-
ant) Beauregard leave from the Blois train station—look for them immediately to the left
as you leave the station (TLC bus marked
Navette-Châteaux, line #18
). Morning depar-
tures from Blois station at 9:30 and 11:30 go to Chambord; from Chambord, departures
linkChevernyandBeauregardwithvariousreturntripstoBlois,allowingyoufromtwoto
sevenhoursatachâteau.VerifythesetimesataTIoronline(€6busfare,discountsoffered
onchâteauentriesincludingtheChâteauRoyalinBlois;buyticketsandgetschedulefrom
TI or bus driver,
www.tlcinfo.net
). You can also board these buses at the Blois château (2
minutes later than the train station departure).
