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School trips to Loire Valley

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A school trip to the Loire Valley is a great option for a French school trip designed to inspire a passion for all things French in your students!

Our school travel experts will work closely with you to tailor-make an itinerary that meets your group’s requirements and satisfies your specific learning objectives.

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Why choose Halsbury?

We build your trip around you

Tell us your learning objectives, curriculum and budget and we’ll do the rest.

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We’re trusted for a reason

We’re members of ABTA, ABTOT and the School Travel Forum. We also hold an ATOL and the LOtC Quality Badge.

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Our Education specialists

Laura Martin

Tours Sales & Product Manager

Emma Gray da Silva

Senior Tour Consultant

Judit Eleod

Senior Tour Consultant

Paul Hudson

Senior Tour Consultant

Meet our travel specialists and get to know more about the people committed to making your educational trip the best it can be.

Meet the education team

Why visit the Loire Valley?

Fairy tale châteaux

The Loire Valley is a land of fairy tale château, orchards and vineyards. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, this is classic, romantic France.

You must include a visit to one or two of the area’s châteaux while on a school trip to the Loire Valley – there are over 300 to choose from, with most dating from the 13 th to 17 th centuries.

Some favourites among our groups include the Château de Chenonceau, which stretches across the River Cher, and the Château d’Ussé, which is said to be the inspiration behind Charles Perrault’s version of Sleeping Beauty (La Belle au bois dormant) and the Disney castles.

After the end of the Hundred Years’ War, in the mid 15 th century, the French kings tended to prefer spending time in the quieter, beautiful Loire Valley than in Paris.

As cities like Tours, Blois and Amboise became the preferred locations of the French court, so the French nobility was drawn to the region, where they refurbished existing châteaux and built lavish new ones for their summer residences.

Fascinating history and culture

A school trip to the Loire Valley offers your students some fantastic opportunities to immerse themselves in French culture and history.

As well as visiting spectacular, historic châteaux, we can arrange for you to visit a local patisserie, as well as the incredible Futuroscope – a theme park that combines thrilling rides with 3D and 4D films to make an exciting, futuristic experience!

Enjoy a taste of France

The Loire Valley is known as the garden of France, thanks to its top-quality produce – some of the best restaurants in Paris source their ingredients from this area!

What this means for your French school trip to the Loire Valley is that you’ll undoubtedly have the opportunity to visit one of the colourful markets, where your students can practise their French with the stallholders as they buy a lunch of delicious cheeses, charcuteries and fruits.

And, of course, you can be certain that your group will eat very well on a French school trip to the Loire Valley.

Learn more

24 May 2019

8 Reasons to Visit the Loire Valley On Your Next School Trip

Full of spectacular châteaux, linguistic adventures and exciting history, the Loire Valley is a fantastic alternative for your next school trip to France.

Activities in Loire Valley that your school group will love

Chateau de Chambord

This castle, located in the heart of the Loire Valley, is one of the finest examples of Renaissance architecture in

Chateau de Chenonceau

The Château de Chenonceau is a French castle, built on the River Cher in the Loire Valley in France.

Château d'Ussé

Literature describes this château, overlooking the banks of the river Indre, as the original Sleeping Beauty castle.

Parc des Mini Chateaux de la Loire

This tour gives you a chance to explore the Loire's most prestigious castles in miniature.

Bioparc de Doué-la-Fontaine

The zoo is in an old quarry with much evidence of troglodytic dwellings.

La Vallée des Singes

La Vallée des Singes, or Monkey Valley, is the only site of its kind in France.

Patisserie Bigot

The Maison-Bigot is a patisserie, chocolate shop and Tea House in Amboise.

Why Teachers Trust Halsbury

Over 40 years’ experience.

From making the most of your time to supporting you while you’re away, our experience means your trip is in safe hands.

Trusted by over 900 teachers every year.

And 98% of them rated their trip as ‘good’ or above last year*.

Financially protected school trips.

We’re members of ABTA, ATOL and ABTOT, so you know your trip is in safe hands.

We take safety seriously.

As an Assured Member of the School Travel Forum, we have a robust Safety Management System in place. 

Risk assessments made easy.

Our LOtC Quality Badge and Safety Management System make the risk assessment process quicker and easier.

We’re safeguarding champions.

We work with Patronus Safeguarding to ensure all safeguarding concerns are recorded and managed clearly and consistently.

Quality trips designed to deliver real impact.

Our experts will work closely with you to design a trip that meets your learning objectives (and we hold the LOtC Quality Badge).

24/7 support while you’re away.

We’ll be just a phone call away while you’re on your trip, ready to step in if the unexpected happens.

Free inspection visits.

Enjoy two nights’ free accommodation on an inspection visit so you can complete risk assessments.

Our smart digital portal makes trip admin easy.

Collect passport and dietary information quickly and simply with our My Trip Zone.

*Customer satisfaction survey January 2025 – December 2025