Loire Valley Cycle

Optional Extras (must be ordered in advance, and are subject to availability)

Independent Trip Extensions:
On to Chenonceaux, Amboise and Tours, by Bike or Train. See below....

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Day 2
Journey on downstream to Amboise, and then to Chenonceaux in the Cher Valley.
Cyclists will visit the two in reverse order.

The most beautiful of the region’s chateaux, Chenonceaux offers a fascinating history: religous, military, and romantic.

Amboise hosts Clos Lucé, the final home of artist and military engineer Leonardo da Vinci, and now a museum of his inventions. Not to mention a beautiful château featuring a spiral staircase for horses, and a postal museum. We're not sure what's in there.

The one-day extension has you back in Paris this evening. But why stop now?

Day 3
Spending a third day adds a wonderful variety of sights and activities.

Spend your second night “on the road” in beautiful Chenonceaux, for a fairy tale nocturnal visit to the château and its renowned son et lumière (sound and light show). Bike travellers can also work in mushroom caves at Bourré, and the vineyards (and wine tastings) of Vouvray.

All travellers visit Tours, the regional capital, and home to our favorite of France’s many glorious town squares. Return trains to Paris run until 9p. Or, spend a night in Tours, and continue the festivities around the Place Plumereau.

Included in the Extensions:

Hotel nights, in 2* hotels, conveniently located within a couple of blocks of the respective châteaux and train stations.
- The first night in Blois.
- The second night (if subscribed) in Chenonceaux.
The Chenonceaux hotel is available at extra cost to non-cycling guests who sign up for the 1-day extension.
For those staying in Chenonceaux for the night (in other words, subscribing to the 2-day extension), a 3-course “classic French” dinner in the Chenonceaux hotel’s dining room, or on the terrace should weather permit (beverages not included).
Continental breakfast(s).
Our complete “Route Book.”
The bike version includes route guides detailing our suggested routes and sights of interest along the way, and lunch stop recommendations.
The train version describes walks between rail stations, town centers, châteaux, and to / from the old town in Tours. It also provides detailed schedules for the several appropriate rail services on our routes.
Return tickets, schedules, and boarding tips for the train back to Paris from the Loire Valley.
Guests Travelling by Bike:
- Bike rental for an additional day or days, depending on the extension subscribed.
- Use of a detailed road map, in case you should get off-route, or choose to explore on your own.
Upon return to Paris, it is necessary to return the cycle to the Blue Marble office, during our opening hours. To avoid additional cycle rental charges, return should take place by 1:30p on the day following your final extension day. Detailed route instructions for the trip from the station to our office, on low-traffic streets or on streets with cycle lanes, are provided. If you do not wish to return the cycles from the station, you may have us pick them up at an additional cost (see below).
Guests Travelling by Train:
- Rail tickets from Blois to Amboise, and on to Chenonceaux (day 2). Also from Chenonceaux to Tours for guests subscribing to the 2-day extension.
Return tickets to Paris are “open” (for use on any regional train), but can be exchanged for TGV tickets on a space-available basis, for 20€ per person. The TGV is about 90 minutes faster. If you wish to pre-reserve tickets on a TGV, you may tell us that (giving us your desired travel schedule — service is frequent), and we will set that up for you in advance.

Extensions following other than Sunday day trips do not include the services of a Blue Marble representative: they are independent.

Prices
Wednesday Only: 110€ double or twin, 129€ single (+ 10€ for passengers travelling by train).
Wednesday and Thursday: 255€ double or twin, 299€ single.

Solo travellers may ask to share, and will be able to do so if someone else of the same gender requests the same. But you will be initially charged for the single rate, the difference refunded after the trip if a roommate can, indeed, be found.
Discount of 10€ per extension day for guests bringing their own cycles.

Optional Extras for the Extensions

Luggage Storage in our Paris office during your trip. Details are here.
Rental of cycle saddlebags (paniers): 20€.
Luggage transfer, should you wish to travel light.
- From Blois to Chenonceaux during the day on Day 2 (only available to guests spending the night there).
- From Blois (Day 1’s night stop) or Chenonceaux (Day 2’s night stop) to our Paris office, or to our Paris guest apartments.
Pieces transferred to our office can usually only be claimed on the morning after your return to Paris, as you will not reliably reach Paris in time to claim them on the evening of your arrival. Our Paris office opening hours and location are here.
- From Blois (Tuesday night stop) or Chenonceaux (Wednesday night stop) to our “usual Paris hotels” (which can be reserved through us without any booking charge).
Delivery to other Paris hotels is available for a fixed additional cost of 20€ / hotel, regardless of the number of pieces.
- From Blois or Chenonceaux to our Tours hotel (only available to guests spending the night there).
Cost:
30€ 1st piece, 15€ per additional piece, per person, per transfer. Cycles count as 2 pieces.
Conditions of Luggage Transfer:
- Pieces transferred to our Paris office can usually only be claimed on Thursday morning, as you will not reliably return to Paris in time to get them on Wednesday night. Our Paris office opening hours and location are here.
- At least two people must subscribe to the service towards any one destination for it to be offered.
- 20% discount for groups of 4 or more.
- For the purposes of pricing, guests travelling together are assumed to have evenly distributed luggage, even if one person signs up and pays for the shipment of all pieces.
- Other terms and conditions (responsibility, weight limits, pick-up and delivery times) can be consulted here.
Transfer of your cycle(s) from the end of your extension back to our Paris office by us.
80€ for the first one or two cycles, 40€ for each additional cycle beyond 2.
For this fee, we transport your cycle(s) from the Amboise railway station to our Paris shop (at the end of the day on Day 2) or from the Tours station to Paris (at the end of the day on Day 3). If you request this service, we can also deliver baggage to you at the station where you give us the bikes, for the usual Luggage Transfer charge (see previous point).
Transfer of your cycle(s) from Paris’ Austerlitz station to our Paris office.
25€ for the first bike, 10€ per additional bike.
This assumes that you bring them with you on the train as far as Paris. If you request this service, you lock your cycles in the (guarded) parking lot at the Gare d'Austerlitz when you get off the train from the Loire, and we claim them (and pay the parking charge) the following morning. We will show you where, precisely, to lock them on Tuesday, when we meet you at the station.
Night in Tours, in a pretty hotel in the heart of the old city.
47€ / person / night in a double, twin or triple. 59€ single, including all taxes.
Available after either extension. Breakfast, if desired, is additional.
A more modest hotel (still 2*) is available if you prefer, also perfectly located: 26€ / person double or twin, 44€ single.

How to Sign Up, for the base trip, or for the base trip plus extensions.
Please follow the appropriate link to your trip application:

Train + Bike – – – Train + Bus

If part of your group is doing each, please fill out two application forms, one for each part of the group.

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Train + Bike itinerary
Train + Bus itinerary
Prices
Discounts
Optional Extras
Trip Extensions (Day 2, Day 3)

Meeting Your Trip
Trips assemble at the bumper for track 8 of the Austerlitz station. The bumper is the thing at the end of the track, the point at which an arriving train would plow into concrete were it to fail to stop.

An alternate meeting is available in Blois, at 11a, in front of the station, on the right side of the main entrance as you face the station, beyond the café terrace.

Cancellations and Refunds

Trips Operate “Rain or Shine.”
If you have signed up for the “Train + Bike” version, and wish to switch to the “Train + Bus” version, you may do so at any time until the eve of departure (in the event of a bad weather report, for instance). There is no additional charge, but the difference in price between the bus and bike versions is not refunded.
Call or e.mail our Paris office before our close of business, and obtain your change code (absolutely required — without it, there will be a 20€ additional charge for the change).

If you reach Blois with the bike, look at the sky, and decide you prefer the Train + Bus version, you may switch on the spot for a fee of 20€.

Cancellation of Your Participation
Cancellation of your participation in a trip, and / or of any optional extra services, is effective only when received in writing by our Paris office (e.mail is OK). For cancellation to be effective, you must obtain a cancellation code. No refunds will otherwise be made. With a cancellation code, costs will be refunded less the following amounts:

2 weeks or more prior to trip departure: an administrative charge of 25€ / person.
If either the hotel night in Blois, or independent extensions which include hotel nights, has been subscribed, an addtional 20€ / room cancellation charge applies.
5 - 13 days prior to trip departure (in other words, by close of business on the Friday before trip departure): 50€ / person.
If either the hotel night in Blois, or independent extensions which include hotel nights, has been subscribed, an addtional 20€ / room cancellation charge applies.
By close of business in our Paris office on Monday, the eve of trip departure: 90€ / person.
If either the hotel night in Blois, or independent extensions which include hotel nights, has been subscribed, an addtional 40€ / room cancellation charge applies.

No refunds can be made on or after the start date of the trip.

For the purposes of cancellation, optional extras are considered to be a part of the total trip cost.
Examples: if you cancel your trip and your helmet 3 weeks prior to the trip, the total trip cost is considered to be 184€ (179€ + 5€). The refunded amount is 159€ (184€ - 25€). If you cancel only your helmet, no refund is available, as the administrative charge is greater than the refund amount. But, at least you don’t have to lug around an extra piece of styrofoam for the day.

Cancellation by Blue Marble
Trips require a minimum of 4 participants to operate. In the event of fewer participants, we will make the decision to cancel the trip on the Saturday prior to trip departure, at the close of business.
On your application form, please be sure to give us a means to reach you at the close of business on Saturday. If an e.mail address, be sure to check your e.mail on Sunday. If you are travelling, and cannot, call us on Monday morning to confirm the conditions of operation of your trip.

In the event of a cancellation, registered participants will have a choice of either:
- A full refund
- Making the trip independently, with a “Route Book” provided by us.
There is no reduction in price if this option is selected. A Blue Marble representative meets you at the Austerlitz station at the regular meeting time, briefs you on the day’s activities, and remits any equipment ordered, as well as the route book. If applicable, you will return any equipment (such as the bike) to our office on Wednesday.

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