347 miles: one week
Fly or take a train to 1 Tours (an hour by TGV from Paris; Ryanair flies from Stansted to Tours) with its soaring Gothic cathedral and the Loire Valley wine festival (May 28-29, with wine from £4 a glass).
Rent a car from the airport or station (avis.com). The Barn is a pretty cottage by the Vrigny vineyards and the old market town of Montrichard.
Take in 2 Amboise with its model village, Parc des Mini-Château, and the Château de Clos Lucé where Leonardo da Vinci lived, and Madame Bigot's 100-year-old patisserie on place du Château. Stop in Vouvray for a chenin blanc tasting.
Drive to 3 Sancerre, Henri Bourgeois's Pouilly Fumé tasting is memorable. Following that with lunch at the Côte des Monts Damnés in Chavignol (menus from £29). Head back west, driving by the fairytale Château d'Ussé in Rigny-Ussé – the inspiration for Sleeping Beauty and stop off to visit Château Villandry, straddling the river Cher, with its befuddling maze.
Drive on to 4 Chinon for red wines and views over the Vienne valley at family-run Château de Chinon . The goat house at Le Vazereau has amazing cheese (La Roche-Clermault, from £5). And there's a medieval fortress too (entrance from €7.50)
At 5 Saumur, sample garlic-drenched mushrooms at the Musee du Champignon and toast a great trip with a glass of sparkling Saumur. It's just an hour from here to Tours for the flight or train home.
