Orléans Day Trip from Paris - Orléans Private Tour
Spend the day in Orléans with your own private guide, who will wait for you in the morning at the Orléans train station. You arrive from Paris on a morning train and leave on an evening one. Orléans, the capital of the Centre-Val de Loire region, is also the closest point of the Loire Valley to Paris, only 115 km away and approximately one hour by regional train. Come for a mini city break in Orléans and discover a key city in French history whose historical center has been brilliantly renovated. A must-visit.
Visit Orléans: Joan of Arc sculpture by Princess Marie d'Orléans - just behind on the left is a Renaissance caryatid © Broaden Horizons.
Full day private walking tour in Orléans Loire Valley
- +/- 7 to 8-hour walking tour in English
- Distance covered: usually +/- 5.5 km (without museum galleries)
- From €275 for 1 to 2 people, €325 for 3, etc.
- Really private tour (your party only, up to 6 people)
- Not available on Saturdays, Sundays & Mondays
- Postgraduate (MPhil) certified French national guide
Exclusions: train tickets (+/- €45 per Paris-Orléans round-trip ticket); Fine Arts Museum (€6 per ticket); food; drinks. Tour includes guiding services only.
Organization: tour starts in the morning at Orléans central train station and ends +/- 7 to 8 hours later at the same train station or nearby.
KNOW MORE / BOOK NOW
What Is the Tour About?
History
Loire Valley
Joan of Arc
Renaissance
Arts
Architecture
Highlights
Hôtel Groslot Mansion
Cathedral Sainte-Croix
Loire River Banks
Half-timbered houses
Orléans Fine Arts Museum
Belle Époque Rue de la République
Campo Santo
18th-century Rue Royale
Neoclassical Rue Jeanne-d'Arc
Art Deco District
Why Visit Orléans
Orléans, France, is a famous city that played a key role in French history. Many places in the world have been named after it, first and foremost New Orleans, Louisiana, in the USA.
As Orléans is the closest point of the Loire Valley to Paris (+/- 115 km), it is an ideal destination for a first insight into the atmosphere of this famous French region.
Its architectural diversity, its exceptional cathedral and Renaissance heritage, its Loire banks, and the nature all around make Orléans, the city of Joan of Arc, an ideal weekend or city-break destination.
Orléans' rich heritage is officially recognized. The city is:
- part of the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Loire Valley;
- classified as a « ville d’art et d’histoire » (VAH, the City of Art and History heritage label).
Orléans also has one of the most renowned fine arts museums in France.
What's in the Tour?
The tour is above all a city walk in the historical center of Orléans to discover its rich history and architecture. Orléans is best known for its impressive Renaissance heritage, but it also has a lot to show from the Middle Ages, French Baroque, Neoclassicism, the Belle Époque, etc.
Joan of Arc, to whom Orléans has a special devotion (the battle she won there in 1429 was a turning point in European history), and the banks of the Loire are also important milestones of the tour.
The tour normally includes a visit to the cathedral and the Hôtel Groslot (Renaissance).
It is also advisable to keep time for the Museum of Fine Arts (Correggio, Carracci, Velázquez, Van Dyck, the Le Nain brothers, Rigaud, de La Tour, Chardin, Corot, Gauguin, etc.).
A one-hour lunch break is planned at midday (lunch cost and organization not included).
The balance between all these elements depends on your wishes (tell your guide at the beginning of the tour), the weather on the day of the tour, and any other contingencies we may have to deal with.
Your Private Tour Guide in Orléans
Certified French national guide.
Centre-Loire Valley Region accreditation (VAH).
BA, Magna cum laude, Heritage Developpement & Preservation at Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers.
Postgraduate (MPhil) from Paris Dauphine-PSL University.
Example of a typical "full day" tour in Orléans
The program presented below, with its theoretical schedule, is non-contractual and for information only. As written before, our guide will do his best to adjust the tour to your wishes, but in practice the tour may be affected by many contingencies and will have to be adapted accordingly. The train schedule given here is an example from November 2021. See the booking section for updated exact train schedules.
Things to know before Booking
Meeting Point
Orléans central station, on the arrival of your train from Paris.
Access: your train departs from Paris-Austerlitz station
Attention Points
- The tour is on foot.
- Prices do not include transportation, food, drinks, museum tickets, or any other extra services.
- Museum tickets: to be purchased on site (€6 per ticket).
- Tour duration & content are purely indicative; they may vary due to contingencies.
- Entry to churches, museums, or monuments is never guaranteed.
Book Your Orléans "Full Day" Tour
The tour is designed to work with the two trains below. Of course, you can decide to take a later train back if you wish. The train times below are an example, as the schedule is not exactly the same every day (there are variations of a few minutes from one day to another).
- Morning train: Paris-Austerlitz to Orléans TER n°14037 - Typical schedule: departure 8.26AM arrival 9.32AM.
- Evening train: Orléans to Paris-Austerlitz TER n°14072 - Typical schedule: departure 18.24PM arrival 19.23PM
So if you want this tour, first check in our calendar (BOOK NOW button) whether there is an open slot on the day you want. If so, go to the OUI SNCF website and check whether the corresponding trains are available. If they are, request your tour via the "BOOK NOW" button and then follow the easy four-step booking process below.
(1) Receive our OK email (free reservation valid 48 hours)
(2) Buy your train tickets online (compatible schedule)
(3) Once you have your tickets, pay for your tour online
(4) Receive our
confirmation (email)
Nota bene - Warning: the answer at step (1) may sometimes be no! So never buy your train tickets before receiving our step (1) confirmation. Step (1) free reservation is lost if no step (3) payment is received after 48 hours.
Orléans "full-day" walking tour
Extended tour (7 to 8-hours)For 1 to 2 people + €50 for any extra person
A group of up to 6 people, exclusively yours
Tickets not included
English language
Visit Orléans: Traditional boats on the Loire River during the Loire Festival, held every two years in September © Broaden Horizons.
Visit Orléans: the Hôtel des Créneaux, Orléans' former city hall, is an emblematic monument of the transition between the Gothic and Renaissance periods. © Broaden Horizons.