French road trip Loire/Dordogne

[underneaththeash]

Currently planning a road trip for next August. I've booked ferry crossings and most of the accommodation, but looking for ideas for amazing experiences, restaurants etc around the following areas -

Mont louis sur Loire/ Ambroise and Dordogne area. I speak passable French.

We're also doing Char a Voile and Ile de Re/Puy de Feu

[Ricekrispie22]

Mini-Chateaux Land is a good starting point if you are unsure of which chateaux you wish to visit as you get to see them in amazing detail in one place.
One of my personal favorites is Chenonceau, which is fabulously furnished and has three different gardens and a re-created farm planted according to season. There’s also a carriage museum and a maze. For history buffs, it’s not to be missed.
The largest château is Chambord. It’s not as well furnished as some, but you can’t beat it for scale and majesty. I love to climb to the top-level terraces for a view of the rooftops and surrounding countryside.
The other popular château is Villandry. The château itself is nice, but its big draw is the over-the-top, formally maintained gardens (which appear on many of the Loire Valley tourism ads). The grounds are huge and you could spend hours wandering around snapping photos.
The International Garden Centre at nearby Chaumont-sur-Loire is a good day out.
There’s a zoo about an hour away (Beauval) that’s considered one of the best in Europe. There are also a number of hot air balloon operators that offer a bird’s eye view of the area in the early morning or late afternoon.
Amboise hosts two street markets each week. The Friday market is mostly food-oriented and the choices are almost overwhelming. The Sunday market—which has not only food stalls but also clothing, jewelry, kitchen supplies, furniture, garden equipment, bedding, and home goods—is the largest in the region. It was recently voted the favourite market in France. It’s great cheap entertainment and comes with lots of photo opps.
The mansion of Clos Lucé is worth going to as well.
Our favourite restaurant for reasonably priced, high quality meals is the Crêperie Anne de Bretagne. If you want authentic Brittany crêpes, this is the place to go. Service is continuous, so you can eat anytime you like.

[underneaththeash]

Fabulous - thanks

[NCTDN]

I love Chambord and Chenonceau.
Where in the dordogne are you going? Sarlat is a must, though very touristy. We went canoeing down the river from there. Domme is a gorgeous little village with fabulous views. Exploring some caves are a must as well.

[profpoopsnagle]

I am yet to visit, but I have always wanted to go to the French village of Oradour, which you could do en route from Loire- Dordogne.

Agree with Domme and Sarlat, also canoeing down the river, possibly Rocamadour and if they still do the food evening at Belves.

[NCTDN]

We found the journey to Rocamodour (sp?!) a long way for what was there. It was lovely but took ages to get there from where we were. @profpoopsnagle I'm guessing you were at les valades when you went there?

[profpoopsnagle]

Yes, lovely Valades! We decided Roc was too far as well from there, but might be good as an en route stop.