Auberge de la Caillère

A small Loire Valley hotel sitting within easy reach of six chateaux, including Chambord, which tends to make the neighbors look modest. The 30 rooms split between a contemporary building and an old stone property from the 1700s, and both look out over thick forest. The bistro does classic French cooking on a terrace with the same view, and on cold nights the lounge bar has a fire going, which the Loire Valley has plenty of cold nights to justify.